Euro 2008 Guide (Part Two)

Group A

Czech Republic

Not the team they once was when Pavel Nedved, Patrick Berger and Karel Poborsky were all pulling the strings. Along with a much younger Koller and an in form Baros the Czech team had all the ingredients for a fantastic side. However now Nedved, Berger and Poborsky have all gone and with influential midfielder Rosicky missing too you have to wonder how far they can go in this competition. However they will still fancy themselves to beat Switzerland and Turkey from their group and with Petr Cech in goal they have the best keeper in the world. At the back they are solid too; key players Grygera, Jankulovski and Ujfalusi have 176 caps between them.

Portugal

Phil Scolari has a knack of doing well with teams he takes to big finals like this one. Four years ago he took this Portugal side to the final and should’ve won against Greece in the final, this year he and his side will be looking to go one step further. Everyone will be focusing on Ronaldo but the Portugal squad is brimming with flamboyant players like Simao, Nani, Quaresma, Moutinho and Deco. They aren’t short of experience at the back either with Ricardo (goalkeeper, 75 caps), Miguel (47 caps), Paulo Ferreria (47 caps), Ricardo Carvalho (43 caps), Fernando Meira (49 caps). All over the pitch Portugal have talent, which is why this year could just be their year.

Switzerland

The co-hosts will not expect to finish top of this group or even second however as the old cliché goes “football’s a funny old game”. Not that funny though. Alexander Frei is the man up top for the Swiss with 35 goals to his name with Hakan Yakin in midfield the creative star. At the back the Swiss are experienced and hard to break down at times with the likes of Muller, Magnin, Spycher and new Liverpool signing Philipp Degan adding much protection to their goal. Protection is something they are definitely going to need when the likes of Ronaldo, Koller, Nihat, Deco, Tuncay, Baros etc are going at them.

Turkey

I am torn whether the Turkish team will finish above the Czech’s in this group; I think it will depend on how key players perform. Former Newcastle midfielder Emre being one of the players who needs to show why he is highly rated on the International scene. Nihat up front will score the goals in the Turkish side along with Tuncay who plays his trade for Middlesbrough in the Premiership. Captain of the side is experienced infamous goalkeeper Rustu Recber who is an experienced character. The problem with Turkey is that they don’t have enough goal scorers or flair players to really mount an attack on the European Championship trophy. Having said that they are hard to beat and on their day can cause problems for many sides across Europe.