U21 Euro 2007: Hosts into last four

Groub A - Matchday 2
Netherlands 2-1 Portugal (Euroborg Stadion, Groningen)
With senior Netherlands coach Marco van Basten looking on from the stands the hosts turned on the style to defeat Portugal 2-1 and become the first side to progress to the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championships.

Van Basten would have liked what he saw as Foppe de Haan's Jong Oranje played with a drive and vigour missing from their victory against Israel four days earlier. Goals in each half from Ryan Babel, a penalty, and Maceo Rigters and another commanding performance from Royston Drenthe made sure of the points, though a near capacity crowd in the Euroborg were made to sweat for victory after Miguel Veloso pulled a goal back late on.

While the Dutch can now dream of the Olympics, Portugal must beat Israel on Saturday to have a chance of avoiding an early exit for the second year running.

Israel 0-1 Belgium (Abe Lenstra Stadion, Heerenveen)
Ten-man Belgium took a major step towards the European Under-21 Championship semi-finals by beating Group A rivals Israel 1-0 through Kevin Mirallas's 82nd-minute goal.

Mirallas’s winning strike in Heerenveen capped an inspirational display of front-running from the Lille striker in a Belgium team who played for 72 minutes with ten men following Marouane Fellaini's early sending-off. For Israel, this second successive 1-0 defeat brings elimination and how they will rue their failure to capitalise on the extra-man advantage.

[U21 Euro 2007 Championship Finals Schedule]