UEFA Euro 2008 Group B

Group B of the 2008 UEFA European Championships was one of four groups of competing nations at UEFA Euro 2008. The first of the three rounds of matches were played on 8 June, and the final round was completed on 16 June. All six of the group's matches were played at venues in Austria, in Vienna and Klagenfurt. The group is made up of four central European nations; co-hosts Austria, as well as Croatia, Germany and Poland. Austria and Poland are appearing in a European Championship finals for the first time.

Croatia became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals from Group B when they followed up a 1–0 win against Austria in their first match with a 2–1 win over Germany. This, in conjunction with Austria's 1–1 draw with Poland, meant that Croatia would finish top of the group. The second quarter-final spot was decided by the group's final games, with Germany defeating Austria through a Michael Ballack free kick, making the result of the Poland vs Croatia match irrelevant. Had Germany lost, Poland could still have qualified with a win over Croatia. However, a goal from Ivan Klasnić won the game for Croatia, making the Croatians the first team to gain maximum points in the group stage.

Contents
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Croatia 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3 9
 Germany 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
 Austria 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1
 Poland 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1

All times local (UTC+2)

Austria vs Croatia

2008-06-08
18:00
 Austria  0 – 1  Croatia Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna
Attendance: 51,428
Referee: Pieter Vink (Netherlands)
(Report) Modrić  4' (pen.)

AUSTRIA:
GK 21 Jürgen Macho
CB 15 Sebastian Prödl 68'
CB 3 Martin Stranzl
CB 4 Emanuel Pogatetz 3'
DM 6 René Aufhauser
DM 19 Jürgen Säumel 21' 61'
RM 2 Joachim Standfest
LM 12 Ronald Gërçaliu 69'
AM 10 Andreas Ivanschitz (c)
CF 20 Martin Harnik
CF 9 Roland Linz 73'
Substitutions:
MF 7 Ivica Vastić 61'
MF 11 Ümit Korkmaz 69'
FW 18 Roman Kienast 73'
Manager:
Josef Hickersberger

CROATIA:
GK 1 Stipe Pletikosa
RB 5 Vedran Ćorluka
CB 4 Robert Kovač 51'
CB 3 Josip Šimunić
LB 22 Danijel Pranjić
RM 11 Darijo Srna
CM 10 Niko Kovač (c)
CM 14 Luka Modrić
LM 19 Niko Kranjčar 61'
CF 18 Ivica Olić 83'
CF 21 Mladen Petrić 72'
Substitutions:
DF 15 Dario Knežević 61'
FW 20 Igor Budan 72'
MF 8 Ognjen Vukojević 83'
Manager:
Slaven Bilić

Man of the Match:
Stipe Pletikosa

Assistant referees:
Adriaan Inia
Hans ten Hoove
Fourth official:
Kristinn Jakobsson

Germany vs Poland

2008-06-08
20:45
 Germany  2 – 0  Poland Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt
Attendance: 30,461
Referee: Tom Henning Øvrebø (Norway)
Podolski  20', 72' (Report)

GERMANY:
GK 1 Jens Lehmann
RB 16 Philipp Lahm
CB 21 Christoph Metzelder
CB 17 Per Mertesacker
LB 2 Marcell Jansen
CM 8 Torsten Frings
CM 13 Michael Ballack (c)
RW 4 Clemens Fritz 56'
LW 20 Lukas Podolski
CF 9 Mario Gómez 75'
CF 11 Miroslav Klose 90+1'
Substitutions:
MF 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger 64' 56'
MF 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger 75'
FW 22 Kevin Kurányi 90+1'
Manager:
Joachim Löw

POLAND:
GK 1 Artur Boruc
RB 13 Marcin Wasilewski
CB 14 Michał Żewłakow
CB 6 Jacek Bąk
LB 4 Paweł Golański 75'
CM 5 Dariusz Dudka
CM 18 Mariusz Lewandowski 60'
RW 17 Wojciech Łobodziński 65'
AM 9 Maciej Żurawski (c) 46'
LW 8 Jacek Krzynówek
CF 7 Euzebiusz Smolarek 40'
Substitutions:
MF 20 Roger Guerreiro 46'
MF 16 Łukasz Piszczek 65'
FW 11 Marek Saganowski 75'
Manager:
Leo Beenhakker

Man of the Match:
Lukas Podolski

Assistant referees:
Geir Åge Holen
Jan Petter Randen
Fourth official:
Craig Thomson

Croatia vs Germany

2008-06-12
18:00
 Croatia  2 – 1  Germany Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt
Attendance: 30,461
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Srna  24'
Olić  62'		 (Report) Podolski  79'

CROATIA:
GK 1 Stipe Pletikosa
RB 5 Vedran Ćorluka
CB 4 Robert Kovač
CB 3 Josip Šimunić 45+1'
LB 22 Danijel Pranjić
RM 11 Darijo Srna 27' 80'
CM 14 Luka Modrić 90+3'
CM 10 Niko Kovač (c)
LM 7 Ivan Rakitić
SS 19 Niko Kranjčar 85'
CF 18 Ivica Olić 72'
Substitutions:
FW 21 Mladen Petrić 72'
MF 16 Jerko Leko 90+2' 80'
DF 15 Dario Knežević 85'
Manager:
Slaven Bilić

GERMANY:
GK 1 Jens Lehmann 90+2'
RB 16 Philipp Lahm
CB 21 Christoph Metzelder
CB 17 Per Mertesacker
LB 2 Marcell Jansen 46'
CM 8 Torsten Frings
CM 13 Michael Ballack (c) 75'
RW 4 Clemens Fritz 82'
LW 20 Lukas Podolski
CF 9 Mario Gómez 66'
CF 11 Miroslav Klose
Substitutions:
MF 19 David Odonkor 46'
MF 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger  90+2' 66'
FW 22 Kevin Kurányi 82'
Manager:
Joachim Löw

Man of the Match:
Luka Modrić

Assistant referees:
Peter Hermans
Alex Verstraeten
Fourth official:
Stéphane Lannoy

Austria vs Poland

2008-06-12
20:45
 Austria  1 – 1  Poland Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna
Attendance: 51,428
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
Vastić  90+3' (pen.) (Report) Guerreiro  30'

AUSTRIA:
GK 21 Jürgen Macho
RB 14 György Garics
CB 15 Sebastian Prödl 72'
CB 3 Martin Stranzl
LB 4 Emanuel Pogatetz
DM 6 René Aufhauser 74'
RM 8 Christoph Leitgeb
CM 10 Andreas Ivanschitz (c) 64'
LM 11 Ümit Korkmaz 56'
CF 20 Martin Harnik
CF 9 Roland Linz 64'
Substitutions:
MF 7 Ivica Vastić 64'
FW 18 Roman Kienast 64'
MF 19 Jürgen Säumel 74'
Manager:
Josef Hickersberger

POLAND:
GK 1 Artur Boruc
RB 13 Marcin Wasilewski 58'
CB 2 Mariusz Jop 46'
CB 6 Jacek Bąk (c) 90+3'
LB 14 Michał Żewłakow
RM 5 Dariusz Dudka
CM 18 Mariusz Lewandowski
LM 8 Jacek Krzynówek 61'
AM 20 Roger Guerreiro 85'
CF 11 Marek Saganowski 83'
CF 7 Euzebiusz Smolarek
Substitutions:
DF 4 Paweł Golański 46'
MF 17 Wojciech Łobodziński 83'
MF 19 Rafał Murawski 85'
Manager:
Leo Beenhakker

Man of the Match:
Roger Guerreiro

Assistant referees:
Darren Cann
Mike Mullarkey
Fourth official:
Viktor Kassai

Poland vs Croatia

2008-06-16
20:45
 Poland  0 – 1  Croatia Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt
Attendance: 30,461
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
(Report) Klasnić  53'

POLAND:
GK 1 Artur Boruc
RB 13 Marcin Wasilewski
CB 14 Michał Żewłakow (c)
CB 5 Dariusz Dudka
LB 3 Jakub Wawrzyniak
CM 19 Rafał Murawski
CM 18 Mariusz Lewandowski 38' 46'
RW 17 Wojciech Łobodziński 55'
AM 20 Roger Guerreiro
LW 8 Jacek Krzynówek
CF 11 Marek Saganowski 69'
Substitutions:
DF 23 Adam Kokoszka 46'
FW 7 Euzebiusz Smolarek 55'
FW 21 Tomasz Zahorski 84' 69'
Manager:
Leo Beenhakker

CROATIA:
GK 23 Vedran Runje
RB 2 Dario Šimić (c)
CB 6 Hrvoje Vejić 45'
CB 15 Dario Knežević 27'
LB 22 Danijel Pranjić
RM 16 Jerko Leko
CM 8 Ognjen Vukojević 85'
CM 13 Nikola Pokrivač
LM 7 Ivan Rakitić
CF 17 Ivan Klasnić 74'
CF 21 Mladen Petrić 75'
Substitutions:
DF 5 Vedran Ćorluka 27'
FW 9 Nikola Kalinić 74'
MF 19 Niko Kranjčar 75'
Manager:
Slaven Bilić

Man of the Match:
Ivan Klasnić

Assistant referees:
Dimitris Bozatzidis
Dimitris Saraidaris
Fourth official:
Olegário Benquerença

Austria vs Germany

2008-06-16
20:45
 Austria  0 – 1  Germany Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna
Attendance: 51,428
Referee: Manuel Mejuto González (Spain)
(Report) Ballack  49'

AUSTRIA:
GK 21 Jürgen Macho
RB 14 György Garics
CB 3 Martin Stranzl 13'
CB 17 Martin Hiden 55'
LB 4 Emanuel Pogatetz
CM 6 René Aufhauser 63'
LM 5 Christian Fuchs
AM 10 Andreas Ivanschitz (c) 48'
RW 20 Martin Harnik 67'
LW 11 Ümit Korkmaz
CF 22 Erwin Hoffer 31'
Substitutions:
MF 8 Christoph Leitgeb 55'
MF 19 Jürgen Säumel 63'
FW 18 Roman Kienast 67'
Manager:
Josef Hickersberger[note 1]

GERMANY:
GK 1 Jens Lehmann
RB 3 Arne Friedrich
CB 17 Per Mertesacker
CB 21 Christoph Metzelder
LB 16 Philipp Lahm
CM 8 Torsten Frings
CM 13 Michael Ballack (c)
RW 4 Clemens Fritz 90+3'
LW 20 Lukas Podolski 83'
CF 9 Mario Gómez 60'
CF 11 Miroslav Klose
Substitutions:
MF 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger 60'
FW 10 Oliver Neuville 83'
MF 18 Tim Borowski 90+3'
Manager:
Joachim Löw[note 1]

Man of the Match:
Michael Ballack

Assistant referees:
Juan Carlos Juste Jiménez
Jesús Calvo Guadamuro
Fourth official:
Damir Skomina

Notes

  1. ^ a b Both managers were expelled by referee Mejuto González in the 41st minute.
Stages
Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Knockout stage · Final
General information
UEFA Euro 2008 finalists
Champions
Runners-up
Eliminated in semi-finals
Eliminated in quarter-finals
Eliminated in group stage