The beginning of the match between Sweden and Spain.
Group D of UEFA Euro 2008 was played from 10 to 18 June 2008. All six group matches were played at venues in Austria, in Innsbruck and Salzburg. The group was composed of defending championsGreece, as well as Sweden, eventual champions Spain and Russia. Greece, Spain and Russia had all been drawn together in the same group in the previous European Championship as well.
Following a 4–1 win over Russia in their first game, Spain qualified for the quarter-finals with a 2–1 victory against Sweden in their second. They clinched the top spot after Russia beat Greece later that day, condemning the title holders to last place in the group. The second quarter-final berth was to be decided by the Sweden–Russia match, with Sweden only needing to avoid defeat to go through. However, Russia scored a goal in each half to beat Sweden 2–0 and qualify for the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, despite going behind towards the end of the first half, Spain scored two second half goals, one coming three minutes before full time, to become the third team in the tournament to qualify for the quarter-finals with a 100% group stage record.
Greece lost all three of their group games, thus finishing bottom without a single point, becoming the worst defending champion in the history of the European Championships.
Assistant referees:[13][3] Peter Hermans (Belgium)
Alex Verstraeten (Belgium)
Fourth official: Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland)
Reserve assistant referee: Egon Bereuter (Austria)
See also
Greece at the UEFA European Championship
Russia at the UEFA European Championship
Spain at the UEFA European Championship
Sweden at the UEFA European Championship
References
^ ab"Full-time Spain-Russia"(PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 30, 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
^ ab"Full-time Greece-Sweden"(PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 20, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012.