SOCCER - EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
EURO 2004 - PORTUGAL
2003
Qualifier - Turkey (0) @ (2) England - England got their Euro 2004 qualification back on track with a big game against Turkey. Coach Sven Goran-Eriksson gave 17 year old Wayne Rooney his first England start and he didn't disappoint, as his overall play energised the English. The goals didn't come until the 2nd half with Darius Vassell and David Beckham (penalty) earning the points. England also featured Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen (8, Transfer from VHS, 1 Disc, BBC - Motson/Brooking, PAL)
FINALS
Group A - Greece (2) v (1) Portugal - In the opening game of the tournament, Greece upset the hosts with a solid display. Georgios Karagounis and Angelos Basinas scored the goals to offset a late Ronaldo header (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Davies/Lawrenson, PAL)
Group B - France (2) v (1) England - In one of the wildest games in European Championship history, France recovered from a 1-0 deficit in injury time to pull out the win. Zidane converted a free-kick and a penalty both in the last minute of the game and France stole the win (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Robson, PAL)
Group B - England (3) v (0) Switzerland - Wayne Rooney inspired a morale boosting win with 2 goals. Steve Gerrard added the other goal and England were off the mark with their 1st points of the championship (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley / Robson, PAL)
Group B - England (4) v (2) Croatia - England needed a win to guarantee a place in the next round. Goals from Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and 2 from Wayne Rooney secured the win. (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Motson/Royle, PAL)
Group C - Italy (2) v (1) Bulgaria - Italy needed a win and needed the Sweden / Denmark game to end in anything but a 2-2 draw. In a torrential downpour Italy scored the winning goal in injury time but even as Cassano wheeled away to celebrate, he heard the Sweden game had finished 2-2 and Italy were out (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Pleat, PAL)
Group D - Czech Republic (3) v (2) Holland - The game of the tournament. Holland went 2 goals up within 19 minutes with goals from Bouma and Van Nistelrooy. But the Czech Republic came back with goals from Jan Koller and Milan Baros before Vladimir Smicer scored the winner with 2 minutes left in the game (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Motson/Royle, PAL)
Quarter Final - Portugal (2) v (2) England - England faced the hosts in an emotional rollercoaster of game. England were 1-0 up when the turning point of the game came when Wayne Rooney was forced to go off with a broken foot. England managed to hold on until the 83rd minute but Portugal score to force Extra-time. Both side scored to force a Penalty shoot-out. David Beckham blazed over the top with the 1st kick but Rui Costa also missed. The hero was Portugal keeper Ricardo who saved the kick from Darius Vassell then kicked the winning penalty himself (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Motson/Royle, PAL)
Quarter Final - Greece (1) v (0) France - The holders France were stunned by a 65th minute header from Angelos Charisteas that knocked them out. France had many chances but couldn't finish any of them (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Pleat, PAL)
Semi-Final - Portugal (2) v (1) Holland - Figo was inspired as he led the Portuguese to their 1st major final. Goals from Ronaldo and Maniche (the goal of the tournament) held of the Dutch and Portugal held on to reach the final (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Motson/Lawrenson, PAL)
Semi-Final - Greece (1) v (0) Czech Republic - Greece stunned the hot favourites, the Czechs, with a "Silver Goal" in the last seconds of the 1st half of extra-time. Defender Traianos Dellas scored on a header from a corner as time was about to expire. With no time to reply, the Czechs were out (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Final - Greece (1) v (0) Portugal - Greece pulled off one of the biggest shocks in world football by beating the hosts in the final. With strong team-work, solid defence and an opportunistic attack, Greece controlled the game and won it all with an Angelos Charisteas header from a 2nd half corner (2 versions ; 9, 2 Discs, BBC - Motson/Lawrenson, PAL / 9, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)