Greece lead the celebrations
Saturday, October 11, 2003
Article summary
Greece joined Germany, England, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004™.
Article body
Spain in play-offs
Vassilios Tsiartas's second-half spot-kick earned Greece a 1-0 win against Northern Ireland and secured first place in Group 6 ahead of Spain, who despite a 4-0 win in Armenia, now enter the play-offs.
'The better team'
Greece last reached the finals of the UEFA European Championship in 1980 and their German coach, Otto Rehhagel, said: "We were the better team but you're always scared when you don't score that something might go wrong. We don't want to go to Portugal just to represent Greece - we want to achieve something there."
Eriksson delighted
Despite a penalty miss from David Beckham, England's 0-0 draw in Turkey ensured they won Group 7, consigning their hosts to the play-offs. "I'm very proud of the players and congratulations to them," said England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson. "They have had a strange week and the answer they gave today was exactly what was hoped for. They played like a team with a lot of experience."
Germany win
Germany beat Iceland 3-0 in Hamburg with goals from Michael Ballack, Fredi Bobic and Kevin Kuranyi to clinch qualification from Group 5. Ballack scored after nine minutes but Iceland were left ruing a disallowed Herman Hreidarsson goal moments before Bobic made it 2-0.
'Vital experience'
Germany coach Rudi Völler said: "We got off to a great start. We were lucky to escape the equaliser. After that we improved and games like this are vital for the young players in the squad. The experience will take them to the next level." Germany's win meant Scotland progressed to the play-offs by overtaking Iceland thanks to Darren Fletcher's solitary strike against Lithuania.
Italy confirm progress
Italy's progress to the finals as Group 9 winners was confirmed by a 4-0 success against Azerbaijan. Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi (2) and Marco Di Vaio scored the goals and coach Giovanni Trapattoni said: "We played a good match, in defence and in midfield we were excellent." Wales, who were already sure of second place, lost 3-2 at home against Serbia and Montenegro.
Danes hold out
Denmark ended Bosnia-Herzegovina's hopes of qualifying with a 1-1 draw in Sarajevo. Martin Jørgensen's goal for Denmark was cancelled out by an Elvir Bolic header but the Danes held out, despite Thomas Gravesen's late dismissal.
'Tough match'
"This was a tough match but my players played exactly as we wanted," said Denmark coach Morten Olsen. "We also managed to resist pressure from this fantastic crowd." Norway climbed above both Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina into second place after Tore André Flo earned them a 1-0 win against Luxembourg.
Swiss bliss
Switzerland overcame the Republic of Ireland 2-0 through goals from Hakan Yakin and Alexander Frei to gain first place in Group 10. Russia must make do with a play-off berth despite coming from behind to beat Georgia 3-1.
Birthday present
For Köbi Kuhn, the Switzerland coach, it was a perfect way to celebrate his 60th birthday on Sunday. "I'm turning 60 tomorrow and got my present early - having 30,000 people sing happy birthday is not something very many people experience," he said.
Automatic qualifiers
The six newly confirmed group winners join France, Czech Republic, Sweden and Bulgaria as automatic qualifiers for next summer's finals. Add the hosts, Portugal, and there now remain only five places to be filled - to be decided by next month's two-legged play-offs.
Perfect record
France beat Israel 3-0 to secure the only 100 per cent record in qualifying while the Czech Republic also impressed with a 3-2 win in Austria.
Latvia make history
Group 4 winners Sweden fared less well, suffering their first defeat in a qualifying match since 1997 against Latvia - a result that earned Aleksandrs Starkovs' side their first play-offs appearance. Maris Verpakovskis scored the only goal in Stockholm and Starkovs said: "I am happy to see the profile of the Latvian football raised by this victory."
Belgian heartbreak
Latvia's result rendered irrelevant Poland's 2-1 win in Hungary and there was similar disappointment for Belgium who despite beating Estonia 2-0 were pipped to second place in Group 8 by Croatia, 1-0 winners over Bulgaria thanks to substitute Ivica Olic's goal.
Countries qualified for UEFA EURO 2004™
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N.B. Portugal have also qualified automatically as hosts
Countries in UEFA EURO 2004™ play-off draw:
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N.B. The play-off draw takes place on Monday.
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