Germany Tumbles From Euro 2004
Three-time champion Germany was eliminated from the European Championship, losing its final first-round game to the Czech Republic, 2-1, Wednesday night at Lisbon as the Netherlands advanced by beating Latvia, 3-0, at Braga, Portugal.
Germany, which would have moved on to the quarterfinals with a victory, was eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive European Championship. The Czechs, who already had clinched a berth in the quarterfinals, started nine backups.
“It’s a huge disappointment,” Germany Coach Rudi Voeller said. “Two years ago, we were so happy to be World Cup runner-ups. Now we are out, that’s bitter.”
Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored twice for the Netherlands, tying England’s Wayne Rooney for the tournament lead with four goals.
“We deserve this. We worked so hard for it,” Van Nistelrooy said. “Our supporters were fantastic. The stadiums have been filled with orange, which gives us power.”
Van Nistelrooy said the most important moment of the match came when the Dutch learned the Czechs had gone ahead.
“We had hope and that was the most important thing,” he said.
The Czechs (3-0) won Group D with nine points, followed by the Netherlands (1-1-1) with four, Germany (0-1-2) with two and Latvia (0-2-1) with one. Four years ago, the Germans finished last in their group.
The Germans went ahead on Michael Ballack’s goal in the 21st minute, but Marek Heinz tied the score nine minutes later with a bending, left-footed free kick that curled around a defensive wall and beat diving goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
The Czechs went ahead in the 77th minute when Milan Baros scored off a rebound after Kahn saved his initial shot.
Bernd Schneider and Ballack missed good chances in the second half for Germany, and Tomas Hubschman headed away a shot by Germany’s Lukas Podolski at the goal line.
“Our greatest problem is that we don’t score goals,” Ballack said. “We gave it our best. We had many chances, but it just wasn’t enough. We have now to work hard to create a good team for the 2006 World Cup.”
In the other game, Van Nistelrooy converted a penalty kick in the 27th minute after Vitalijs Astafjevs was called for a foul on Edgar Davids in the penalty area, then scored on a header eight minutes later. Roy Makaay scored a goal in the 84th minute for the Netherlands, the 1988 champion.
In the quarterfinals, England (2-1) plays Portugal (2-1) today, defending champion France (2-0-1) meets Greece (1-1-1) on Friday, Sweden (1-0-2) plays the Netherlands on Saturday and the Czech Republic faces 1992 champion Denmark (1-0-2) on Sunday.
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First-time finalist Once Caldas of Colombia held defending champion Boca Juniors of Argentina to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final at Buenos Aires.
Boca dominated play throughout long stretches of the match, and Once Caldas showed little interest in attacking, instead relying on a tenacious defense that carried the squad to the South American club championship.
Boca, winner of three of the last four Copa Libertadores titles, and Once Caldas, which is seeking to become the first Colombian team to win the title since Atletico Nacional in 1989, will meet again on July 1 in the second leg of the series in Manizales, Colombia.
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D.C. United acquired St. Vincent and the Grenadines defender Ezra Hendrickson from the Dallas Burn for a fifth-round draft pick in 2005. Hendrickson, a former Galaxy player, had spent the last few months playing with the Charleston Battery of the A-League.... Iran beat Iraq, 2-1, and will play Syria in the final of the West Asian Football Federation championship. Syria defeated Jordan, 3-2, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.
