Euro2008 Quarterfinals Set; Aztex to Host Tigres
By Nick Barbaro, 6:32PM, Wed. Jun. 18, 2008
The Austin Aztex got another road win Saturday, beating Houston, 2-0 – their eighth shutout in nine league games – and cementing their spot atop the Premier Development League Mid South. The Aztex are off this weekend, but make up for that next week when they play three home games on consecutive days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 27-29.
The big news there is the June 29 game: The Aztex announced this week that they will host an exhibition game against Tigres, a Mexican first division team from Monterrey. Sunday, June 29, 7pm, at Round Rock Dragon Stadium.
Group play in the 2008 European Championship has just ended as we go to press, with the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Croatia all winning their groups even before the third game was played, pretournament favorites Germany and Italy stumbling through with second-place finishes, and underdogs Turkey and Russia staging dramatic comebacks to claim the last two quarterfinal spots. The quarters start right away, this Thursday through Sunday, with semifinals next Wednesday-Thursday, and the championship final next Sunday, June 29 (all at 1:45pm).
Schedule below. Also: U.S. & Iraqi World Cup qualifying; U.S. Women's actionEURO2008 Schedule
Quarterfinals
Thursday, June 19: Portugal-Germany (ESPN)
Friday, June 20: Croatia-Turkey (ESPN)
Saturday, June 21: Holland-Sweden (ABC)
Sunday, June 22: Spain-Italy (ESPN)
Semifinals
Wednesday, June 25 (ESPN)
Thursday, June 26 (ESPN2)
Championship
Sunday, June 29 (ABC)
All games at 1:45pm.
The U.S. men routed Barbados, 8-0, on Sunday in Los Angeles, in their first step in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. The return leg is this Sunday in Barbados (2pm, ESPN Classic). Highly recommended for those who like to see lots of scoring.
Elsewhere in WC qualifying, Iraq, almost banned from international sports two weeks ago, shocked previously unbeaten Australia, 2-1, in Dubai, then beat China, 2-1, on the road, to climb back into contention for an Asian qualifying spot. They now must beat Qatar this weekend at "home" (probably Dubai again) to make it into the final group stage.
The U.S. women got some measure of revenge for their 2007 WC semifinal drubbing, beating Brazil on Tuesday 1-0 on an Amy Rodriguez goal, in the 2008 Peace Queen Cup in South Korea, one of the last major tuneups before the Olympics kick off August 6.
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