One could argue that Europe's continental finals have never been so wide open. Indeed, all 16 qualifiers will enter UEFA EURO 2008 with genuine hopes of emerging victorious, with even the underdogs mindful of Greece's remarkable victory in 2004. The question is: which nation will triumph?
Sunday's draw in Paris certainly complicated the task for a quartet of sides. Former champions Netherlands, Italy and France, all positioned in the top ten on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, were grouped together along with in-form Romania, who sit in 13th place.
Holders Greece, meanwhile, must contend with Sweden, Spain and Russia in Group D, while Portugal and Czech Republic, finalists and semi-finalists respectively at UEFA EURO 2004, are joined by co-hosts Switzerland and Turkey in the first section. Finally, Austria will be hoping to convert home advantage into progression to the knockout phase when they meet Croatia, Germany and Poland in Group B.
2 comments:
1. PORTUGAL. Cristiano Ronaldo led Manchester United to the UEFA Champions League title. He has an experienced coach in Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari to keep him focused if he can avoid the distractions surrounding his rumored move to Real Madrid, Portugal can go far with him.
2. SWITZERLAND. The Swiss were eliminated from the 2006 World Cup without giving up a goal. Of the two co-hosts, Switzerland has the better chance of advancing out of its group.
3. TURKEY. After finishing third at the 2002 World Cup, the Turks missed out on the Euro '04 and '06 World Cup finals. Their big question mark is their defense.
4. CZECH REPUBLIC. Without Pavel Nedved and Tomasz Rosicky and with Milan Baros perhaps relegated to the bench, the young Czechs have their work cut out.
I will make a bold prediction:
Holland will make it to the finals.
I like the way the preparation has been going and with stars like Van Nistelrooij and Van Persie in the team again, it looks like they have the scoring power they were looking for. Also Robben seems to be recovered from his injuries and a player like him in good form can make all the difference.
The defense is no question, van der Sar, the Man U. goalie, has the least scored against defense in the qual rounds. Midfield is excellen and not only that, they switched to a 4-4-2 formation with 2 controlling midfielders, which gives a lot more options as before it was just 1 controlling midfielder playing far behind the offensive line. I like their chances given that the survise their group of death (France, Italy, Roemenia).
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