Group C of UEFA Euro 2004 was one of four groups in the final tournament's initial group stage. It began on 14 June and was completed on 22 June. The group consisted of Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria.
Sweden won the group and advanced to the quarter-finals, along with Denmark. Italy and Bulgaria failed to advance.
Three teams – Italy, Denmark and Sweden – all finished with five points, with each team having defeated Bulgaria but drawn their two other games. As all results between the three teams in question were draws, both the points won in these games and the goal difference accrued in these games still left the teams undivided. The decisive tiebreaker was therefore the goals scored during the games between one another: Italy having scored the fewest goals of the three teams were therefore eliminated.
This became so with a 2–2 result between Denmark and Sweden in the last group game, a result that Italy knew would eliminate them and one that representatives of both teams denied would happen in advance of the game, Sweden co-coach Lars Lagerbäck quoted as saying in response to Italian questions on the likelihood of this score occurring: "I don't think it will end 2–2 — that is a very unusual result".[1]
Teams
edit| Draw position | Team | Pot | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
UEFA Rankings November 2003[nb 1] |
FIFA Rankings June 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 |  Sweden |
1 | Group 4 winner | 10 September 2003 | 3rd | 2000 | Semi-finals (1992) | 3 | 18 |
| C2 |  Bulgaria |
4 | Group 8 winner | 10 September 2003 | 2nd | 1996 | Group stage (1996) | 18 | 40 |
| C3 |  Denmark |
3 | Group 2 winner | 11 October 2003 | 7th | 2000 | Winners (1992) | 14 | 15 |
| C4 |  Italy |
2 | Group 9 winner | 11 October 2003 | 6th | 2000 | Winners (1968) | 5 | 10 |
Notes
- ^ The UEFA rankings of November 2003 were used for seeding for the final draw.
Standings
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden
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3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 5[a] | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Denmark
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3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5[a] | |
| 3 | Italy
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5[a] | |
| 4 | Bulgaria
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 |
In the quarter-finals,
- The winner of Group C, Sweden, advanced to play the runner-up of Group D, Netherlands.
- The runner-up of Group C, Denmark, advanced to play the winner of Group D, Czech Republic.
Matches
editDenmark vs Italy
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Man of the Match:
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Sweden vs Bulgaria
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 Bulgaria
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Bulgaria vs Denmark
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Denmark
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Italy vs Sweden
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Sweden
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Man of the Match:
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Italy vs Bulgaria
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Bulgaria
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Man of the Match:
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Denmark vs Sweden
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Sweden
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Man of the Match:
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Christenson, Marcus (18 June 2012). "Euro 2004: Sweden v Denmark – they said it would not end 2-2 … but it did". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ Burkert, Sturmius; Sivritepe, Erdinç (7 July 2004). "European Championship 2004". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Thomas Sørensen". Union of European Football Associations. 14 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
- ^ "Henrik Larsson". Union of European Football Associations. 14 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
- ^ "Thomas Gravesen". Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
- ^ "Zlatan Ibrahimović". Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Antonio Cassano". Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Jon Dahl Tomasson". Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 June 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2012.