The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th
UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year
2006-07The UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It is the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship....
competition, which allowed the change to odd-numbered years.
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
hosted the final tournament in June 2009; therefore,
their under-21 teamThe Swedish U-21 national football team is the football team representing Sweden in competitions for under-21 year old players. Sweden U21's current captain is Jiloan Hamad with Jakob Johansson as vice captain.-UEFA European U-21 Championship Record:...
qualified automatically. 51 of the 52 other nations in
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
's jurisdiction, including
MontenegroThe Montenegro national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Montenegro and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro...
and
SerbiaThe Serbia national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia....
who competed separately for the first time, went through a series of qualifiers to decide the seven other teams to join Sweden at the finals.
AndorraThe Andorra national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Andorra and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation....
did not take part. Players born on or after 1 January 1986 were eligible to play in this competition.
Qualification groups
The 51 nations were divided into ten qualification groups, with group matches scheduled from 31 May 2007 until 10 September 2008. The draw for the qualifying round was made on 13 February 2007 in
StockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Group 1The teams competing in Group 1 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Greece and Italy.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 2The teams competing in Group 2 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Armenia, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Turkey and Ukraine.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 3The teams competing in Group 3 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Bulgaria, England, Montenegro, Portugal, and Republic of Ireland.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 4The teams competing in Group 4 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Georgia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia and Spain.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 5The teams competing in Group 5 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Estonia, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 6The teams competing in Group 6 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Scotland and Slovenia.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 7The teams competing in Group 7 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, and Slovakia.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 8The teams competing in Group 8 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Belarus, Hungary, Latvia, San Marino and Serbia.-Standings:Key:...
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Group 9The teams competing in Group 9 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Moldova and Northern Ireland.-Standings:...
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Group 10The teams competing in Group 10 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition are Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Malta, Romania and Wales.-Standings:Key:...
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Play-offs
The ten group winners and four best runners-up from the group stage met in play-offs to determine the seven qualifying nations; the play-off matches were in October 2008.
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Qualified teams
as host nation
The finals' tournament draw took place on 3 December 2008 at the Svenska Mässan exhibition centre, Gothenburg. Prior to the final draw, Sweden had been seeded first in Group A as hosts of the tournament, while Spain were seeded first in Group B.
Final draw
Pot A assigned to A1 assigned to B1
Pot B
Pot C
The first pot contained the top seeds, these would have been host nation Sweden and the reigning champions, The Netherlands. However, The Netherlands did not qualify meaning that the team with the best qualifying record, Spain, took their place. Sweden and Spain were then automatically assigned to A1 and B1 respectively. The second pot contained the teams with the next two best records in qualifying: these were England and Italy. England were drawn into position B3 and Italy into A3. The final pot contained the other four qualified teams: Serbia, Finland, Germany and Belarus. Belarus were drawn first into position A2, Germany went into B2, Serbia into A4 and Finland into B4.
Venues
The following venues were chosen to hold the final tournament matches:
| Stadium |
Location |
Normal capacity |
Tournament capacity |
Swedbank StadionSwedbank Stadion, often known simply as Stadion, is a football stadium in Malmö, Sweden and the home of Allsvenskan club Malmö FF. In UEFA competitions the stadium is known as Malmö New Stadium due to sponsorship reasons...
|
MalmöMalmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
|
24,000 |
21,000 |
Gamla UlleviGamla Ullevi is a football stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden that opened on 5 April 2009. The stadium replaced the city's previous main football stadium, also called Gamla Ullevi, and is the home ground of three football clubs: GAIS, IFK Göteborg and Örgryte IS. It is also the national stadium for the...
|
Göteborg |
18,800 |
16,700 |
OlympiaOlympia, sometimes referred to as Olympiastadion , is a football stadium in Helsingborg, Sweden. It was opened in 1898, but has been rebuilt both 1993 and 1997, and has a capacity of 17,200 . All stands can be converted into seaters, giving a capacity of around 13,000)...
|
HelsingborgHelsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...
|
17,000 |
12,000 |
| Örjans Vall Örjans Vall is a football stadium in Halmstad, Sweden, built in 1922.- History :It was finished on 30 July 1922 and was then named Halmstads Idrottsplats , it was opened by HRH The Crown Prince of Sweden Gustaf Adolf, later king of Sweden, 12 000 people had been allowed entrance to see the opening,...
|
HalmstadHalmstad is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County...
|
15,500 |
8,000 |
Sponsorship issues
Following the refusal of the Swedish hamburger chain
MaxMax Hamburgerrestauranger AB is a fast food corporation which was founded by Curt Bergfors in Gällivare, Sweden in 1968...
to close their restaurant at
Borås ArenaBorås Arena is a football stadium in Borås, Sweden. It is the home ground of IF Elfsborg and Norrby IF and was opened in 2005. Borås Arena has an artificial turf pitch, Playfoot XM40 by FieldTurf, and has a capacity of 14,500–17,800 depending on usage. Both clubs presently using the stadium...
during the tournament (as they are not an official UEFA sponsor), UEFA disqualified Borås Arena from hosting games during the tournament. There is a contract between UEFA and the city and between UEFA and its sponsors saying that the UEFA sponsors shall have
monopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
around the arena. A city cannot force Max to close down even if it happened to sign a contract with someone saying so, as Max have a tenancy agreement with the city.
On 2 September, the
Swedish Football AssociationThe Swedish Football Association is the governing body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues — Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women — and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in Solna and is a founding member of both FIFA and UEFA...
nominated
Örjans VallÖrjans Vall is a football stadium in Halmstad, Sweden, built in 1922.- History :It was finished on 30 July 1922 and was then named Halmstads Idrottsplats , it was opened by HRH The Crown Prince of Sweden Gustaf Adolf, later king of Sweden, 12 000 people had been allowed entrance to see the opening,...
in
HalmstadHalmstad is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County...
as a replacement venue for Borås Arena, and they officially became the fourth host city a few days later. They were awarded the three group stage games that were to be hosted by Borås Arena, while the second semi-final was moved from Borås to Helsingborg and
OlympiaOlympia, sometimes referred to as Olympiastadion , is a football stadium in Helsingborg, Sweden. It was opened in 1898, but has been rebuilt both 1993 and 1997, and has a capacity of 17,200 . All stands can be converted into seaters, giving a capacity of around 13,000)...
.
Swedbank Stadion was referred to as
Malmö New Stadium during the tournament, as
SwedbankSwedbank AB is a leading Nordic-Baltic banking group with 9.5 million retail customers and 534,000 corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Sweden, the group has 377 branches. In the Baltic countries, it has another 224 branches...
- which owns the naming rights to the stadium - are not official UEFA sponsors.
Group A
| Team |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
2
7 |
|
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
4 |
5
6 |
|
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
−2 |
2 |
|
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
−5 |
1 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group B
| Team |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
3
7 |
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
2
5 |
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
−5 |
0 |
----
----
----
----
----
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
----
Final
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
| 
GERMANY: |
| | |
| GK |
1 |
Manuel Neuer Manuel Neuer is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the German national football team.-Schalke 04:Neuer signed professional terms in 2005 after progressing through every age group at his hometown club. He made his Bundesliga debut when he came on to substitute the...
|
| RB |
2 |
Andreas Beck |
| CB |
4 |
Benedikt Höwedes Benedikt Höwedes is a German footballer currently playing for FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. On 23rd July 2011 it was confirmed that Höwedes was the next Captain of FC Schalke 04.-Club career:...
|
| CB |
5 |
Jérôme BoatengJérôme Agyenim Boateng is a German international footballer who currently plays for Bayern Munich. A versatile defender, Boateng primarily is a centre back, although he is a capable full back on either side....
|
| LB |
3 |
Sebastian Boenisch Sebastian Boenisch is a Polish-German football player who plays for the Polish National Team and for Werder Bremen at club level, mainly as a left back.-Career:...
|
|
| DM |
15 |
Mats Hummels Mats Julian Hummels is a German footballer who plays for Borussia Dortmund, as a central defender.-Club career:...
|
|
|
| RM |
14 |
Fabian Johnson Fabian Johnson is a German-American soccer player who plays for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, mainly as a defender.- Career :...
|
|
|
| CM |
20 |
Gonzalo Castro Gonzalo Castro Randon is a German footballer of Spanish descent, he currently plays as a defender for Bayer Leverkusen.- Career :He made his UEFA Champions League and Bundesliga debuts at the age of 17....
|
| CM |
8 |
Sami Khedira Sami Khedira is a German footballer currently playing for Real Madrid and the German national team. Khedira moved to Real Madrid from VfB Stuttgart in 2010...
(c) |
| LM |
10 |
Mesut ÖzilMesut Özil is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated...
|
|
|
| CF |
13 |
Sandro Wagner Sandro Wagner is a German footballer who can play as both a midfielder or forward, and presently plays for SV Werder Bremen.-Bayern Munich:...
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|
| Substitutions: |
| MF |
16 |
Daniel Schwaab Daniel Schwaab is a German footballer who plays for Bayer Leverkusen.-Freiburg:Schwaab began his career with SC Freiburg in the 2. Bundesliga. In his second season with the first team, he started in every single match that he played. Overall, he scored six league goals for Freiburg despite being a...
|
|
|
| MF |
6 |
Dennis Aogo Dennis Aogo is a German footballer of Nigerian and German descent who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for Hamburger SV and the German national team.-Early life:...
|
|
|
| DF |
19 |
Marcel Schmelzer Marcel Schmelzer is a German footballer who plays for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund as a left back. He has been capped by Germany at international level.-Club career:...
|
|
|
| Coach: |
 Horst HrubeschHorst Hrubesch is a retired German football player employed as a youth trainer at the German Football Association. His nickname was Das Kopfball-Ungeheuer for his heading skills.-Career:...
|
|
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center>
| 
ENGLAND: |
| | |
| GK |
22 |
Scott LoachScott James Loach is an English footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper for Watford in the Football League Championship, having previously spent loan spells with non-league Stafford Rangers and League Two sides Morecambe and Bradford City. He has played for England at under-21 level, and in August...
|
| RB |
2 |
Martin Cranie Martin James Cranie is an English footballer, currently playing for Championship club Coventry City. He began his career with the famous Southampton youth academy playing alongside Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale before moving to local rivals Portsmouth and later to Coventry City after several loan...
|
|
|
| CB |
17 |
Micah Richards Micah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...
|
| CB |
6 |
Nedum OnuohaChinedum "Nedum" Onuoha is an English-Nigerian footballer. He currently plays for Manchester City. He is a defender, typically a centre back, but he can also play at right back or left back.-Biography:...
|
|
|
| LB |
19 |
Kieran Gibbs Kieran James Ricardo Gibbs is an English footballer who plays for Arsenal and was a product of their academy who came to prominence during 2006-07 FA Youth Cup by scoring in the semi-final prior to his first-team breakthrough...
|
| DM |
12 |
Fabrice MuambaFabrice Ndala Muamba is a footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers as a midfielder in the Premier League. He previously played for Arsenal and Birmingham City. At international level, he has represented England at under-21 level....
|
|
|
| CM |
4 |
Lee Cattermole Lee Barry Cattermole is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League. His preferred position is in central midfield in front of the back four and he is known for his tough-tackling midfield play.-Early life:Cattermole was...
|
| CM |
10 |
Mark NobleMark James Noble is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He has played all his youth and first team football for West Ham and made 20 appearances, scoring 3 goals, for the England under-21 team which he captained.Despite his relatively young age, Noble is the longest serving player...
(c) |
| RW |
7 |
James Milner Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...
|
| LW |
11 |
Adam Johnson |
| CF |
14 |
Theo WalcottTheo James Walcott is an English footballer of Jamaican descent who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. He is a striker who is usually deployed on the right wing as a wide forward to exploit his speed...
|
| Substitutions: |
| DF |
18 |
Michael MancienneMichael Ian Mancienne is an English footballer who plays for German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV as a defender.Schooled primarily as a centre back, Mancienne can also play as a defensive midfielder as well as both fullback positions as he showed during appearances for Chelsea, and multiple loan...
|
|
|
| MF |
15 |
Jack Rodwell Jack Christian Rodwell is an English footballer who plays for Everton as a midfielder. Rodwell has represented his country at all levels from Under-16 to the senior team.- Club career :...
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|
|
| MF |
8 |
Craig GardnerCraig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position...
|
|
|
| Coach: |
 Stuart PearceStuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...
|
Man of the Match:
Mesut ÖzilMesut Özil is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated...
(Germany)
Assistant referees:
Joël De Bruyn (Belgium)
György Ring (HungaryThe Hungarian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungarian national team. It is based in Budapest.György Szepesi was Chairman of the Hungarian Football Association from 1978 to 1986....
)
Fourth official:
Pedro ProençaPedro Proença Oliveira Alves Garcia is a Portuguese football referee.Born in Lisbon, Proença has refereed in the Portuguese Liga since 1998, and he was promoted to the FIFA international referees list in 2003...
(PortugalThe Portuguese Football Federation is the governing body of football in Portugal. The Portuguese National team is going to win the Euro 2012. It organises the Second and Third Division, the Cup of Portugal, the Portuguese SuperCup, youth levels, women's football, beach soccer, futsal, and also...
) |
Goalscorers
7 goals
Marcus BergMarcus Berg is a Swedish football striker who currently plays for German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. He is nicknamed Svarte-Marcus due to scoring a lot of goals in the junior teams, in reference to Filip "Svarte-Filip" Johansson....
3 goals
Robert AcquafrescaRobert Acquafresca is an Italian footballer of half-Polish descent who plays for Serie A club Bologna as a striker.-Club career:...
Ola ToivonenOla Toivonen is a Swedish footballer who plays for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. He plays as a striker...
2 goals
Syarhey KislyakSyarhey Kislyak is a Belarusian professional footballer. In summer 2010 he was signed by Rubin Kazan, but stayed on loan in his previous team Dinamo Minsk until the end of 2010 season...
Gonzalo CastroGonzalo Castro Randon is a German footballer of Spanish descent, he currently plays as a defender for Bayer Leverkusen.- Career :He made his UEFA Champions League and Bundesliga debuts at the age of 17....
Sandro WagnerSandro Wagner is a German footballer who can play as both a midfielder or forward, and presently plays for SV Werder Bremen.-Bayern Munich:...
1 goal
Fraizer CampbellFraizer Lee Campbell is an English footballer who plays for Sunderland as a striker. He previously played for Manchester United, Royal Antwerp, Hull City and Tottenham Hotspur....
Lee CattermoleLee Barry Cattermole is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League. His preferred position is in central midfield in front of the back four and he is known for his tough-tackling midfield play.-Early life:Cattermole was...
Martin CranieMartin James Cranie is an English footballer, currently playing for Championship club Coventry City. He began his career with the famous Southampton youth academy playing alongside Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale before moving to local rivals Portsmouth and later to Coventry City after several loan...
James MilnerMilner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...
Nedum OnuohaChinedum "Nedum" Onuoha is an English-Nigerian footballer. He currently plays for Manchester City. He is a defender, typically a centre back, but he can also play at right back or left back.-Biography:...
Micah RichardsMicah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...
Jack RodwellJack Christian Rodwell is an English footballer who plays for Everton as a midfielder. Rodwell has represented his country at all levels from Under-16 to the senior team.- Club career :...
1 goal, cont.
Tim SparvTim Sparv is a Finnish footballer who plays for FC Groningen as a midfielder.-Club career:Born in Oravais, Ostrobothnia, Sparv signed for Southampton in 2003, leaving the Finnish third division outfit Norrvalla FF. He spent three years in the renowned youth academy of Southampton...
Andreas Beck
Ashkan DejagahAshkan Dejagah is an Iranian-German footballer who Currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg, usually as a striker or a winger. He has represented Germany at youth levels.-Club career:...
Benedikt HöwedesBenedikt Höwedes is a German footballer currently playing for FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. On 23rd July 2011 it was confirmed that Höwedes was the next Captain of FC Schalke 04.-Club career:...
Mesut ÖzilMesut Özil is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated...
Mario BalotelliMario Balotelli is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for English team Manchester City and the Italian national team.He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and only played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently...
Gojko KačarGojko Kačar is a Serbian footballer who plays for Hamburger SV and the Serbia national team.-Career:...
Pedro LeónPedro León Sánchez Gil , known as León, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Getafe CF on loan from Real Madrid, as a right winger.-Murcia:...
Marc Torrejón
Gustav SvenssonGustav Svensson is a Swedish football midfielder and defender, currently playing for Bursaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig. He played for a local team in Gothenburg as well as a French team in his youth but joined IFK Göteborg at the age of 14. He has played there since and won the Swedish...
Own goals
Alyaksandr MartynovichAlyaksandr Martynovich is a Belarusian professional footballer. Currently, he plays for FC Krasnodar. In June 2011, he acquired Russian citizenship as well and is not considered a foreign player in Russian football competitions.-International career:...
(for Sweden)
Mattias BjärsmyrMattias Bjärsmyr is a Swedish football defender playing for Panathinaikos. He goes by the nickname "Bjärsa".-Career:Bjärsmyr made his first appearance for IFK Göteborg on 30 May 2005 as the club took on IF Elfsborg. He became a regular starter later in the year and was nominated best newcomer at...
(for England)
Match ball
The match ball for the competition is called the Adidas Terrapass, which was unveiled at the tournament draw in Gothenburg on 3 December. The ball is bright blue and yellow, the colours of the Swedish flag. It features 12 watermarks including one containing a map of Europe and one of the tournament logo. It is composed of 14 thermally bonded panels, which are claimed to improve the ball's accuracy and swerve.
External links