Group B calculations: what teams need to qualify
Sunday, June 19, 2011
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After head to head calculations came into play in Group A last night, UEFA.com looks at the possible outcomes of tonight's Group B deciders with all four teams in contention to qualify.
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Group A concluded in dramatic style last night, with Belarus becoming only the second team in UEFA European Under-21 Championship history, after Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, to reach the semi-finals with three points.
Georgi Kondratyev's side were beaten 3-0 by Switzerland, as Iceland defeated Denmark 3-1 to leave the three teams below the Swiss on three points. Head to head calculations from the matches between the three teams came into play, with Belarus (+1) just edging out Iceland (0) and Denmark (-1) on goal difference as the nations each won a game against another.
UEFA.com looks at the different scenarios that could apply tonight in Group B, with all four sides still harbouring hopes of advancing to Wednesday's semi-finals.
The permutations below are for information only; the official calculations will be made by UEFA after the games finish according to article 8.06 of the Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, 2009–11 competition.
Group B
England (2pts) v Czech Republic (3), Ukraine (1) v Spain (4)
• England will be through with a win and out with any other result.
• Czech Republic will progress with a victory. They will also qualify with a draw unless Ukraine defeat Spain by three goals or fewer. However if Spain lose exactly 3-0, then the Czech Republic would qualify with a high-scoring draw of 2-2 or more, but not 1-1 (due to their inferior coefficient) or 0-0 (on overall goals scored).
• Ukraine will advance with a win and will be eliminated with any other result
• Spain will be through with a point and could even afford to lose by three goals or fewer if the other game is drawn. However, if they lose 3-0 they would need the other game to be 0-0 or 1-1 but not any higher-scoring draw.