The knockout stage of the 2008 UEFA European Championships is scheduled to begin with the quarter-finals on 19 June2008, and be completed on 29 June2008 with the final at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.
The knockout stage is different from that of past tournaments. Teams in groups A and B will be separated from teams in groups C and D until the final. This increases the chance of a group fixture being replayed in the knockout stage, and renders impossible a final between two teams drawn in the same half of the tournament. The reason for the format change this year is to equalise the rest periods during the knockout stage.[1] Also, in another major change, for the first time in a European Championship, only two venues (St. Jakob-Park, Basel and Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna) will be used for the seven matches in the knockout stage of the tournament.[1]