Euro 2008

So Euro 2008 qualifying is over and the draw was made a few weeks ago. Here are the groups: Group A - Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Turkey Group B - Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland Group C - Holland, Italy, Romania, France Group D - Greece, Sweden, Spain, Russia Here's how I would rank the 16 teams (not taking into account the difficulty of their group): 1. Italy - defending World Cup champions have to be ranked #1, though with Totti's retirement, they'll really have to rely on Toni to be a top striker. Outlook - obviously an incredibly tough draw, and maybe as WC champions won't be as hungry as France (who will want more revenge - France already beat Italy once in qualifying) and Holland. I still expect they'll advance and possibly make a deep run, though once you're in the knockout rounds of a tournament with this many quality teams, it really is a toss-up. Easily could win it all or get knocked out in the quarters (if they do manage to make it out of their group). 2. France - if I give Italy credit as WC champs, I gotta give France credit as the beaten runners up (in PKs no less, in a game they outplayed the Italians I'll remind you). They struggled a bit in qualifying, losing to Scotland 1-0 twice, but they did beat Italy 3-1 at home and draw 0-0 away, both very good results. First major tournament in 10 years without Zidane will be interesting but they'll have several players at the ends of their primes who will no doubt be looking for one last major trophy like Henry, Vieira, Makelele, Thuram, and Gallas. These still very capable players should form the backbone of the team with younger guys providing support (and possibly outshining them) like Ribery, Malouda, and Abidal (all part of the last WC) and Nasri (the new Zidane at Marseille?), Benzema (tearing it up for Lyon), and Toulalan (also a key player for Lyon). I'm also hopeful that Domenech will be smart enough to bring a large Arsenal contingent to Euro 08 - Gallas is a no-brainer and Diarra is currently France's first choice right back. Strangely, Sagna is Arsenal's first choice right back ahead of Diarra but Diarra's backup for France. Either way, Sagna has been in the picture for France and has a decent shot to be part of the team. Flamini and Diaby have both been called-up for France recently as well, though I'd say with his recent form, Flamini has a much much better shot of making the team than Diaby. And if Domenech is smart, he'll consider Clichy, who hasn't received a French cap yet, but imo, is one of the best left backs in the world. Outlook - Also an extremely tough draw, but I still like their chances to provide a performance similar to the last WC - struggle in qualifying, pull it together at the tournament and make a good run, hopefully they'll go one step further than they did that time. 3. Spain - they are notorious underachievers at major tournaments but maybe this will be the time they put all their talent together (I feel like this has probably been said before...). They have a great striking pair in Torres and Villa and plenty of creative midfielders with Cesc, Iniesta, and Xavi, among others. I'm not as sure about their defense, but Casillas, Puyol, and Ramos should provide a solid backbone there. Outlook - a manageable 1st round draw, they should top their group. Unfortunately for them, in the quarters, they'll have to face the runner-up in the group of death, so either France, Italy, or Holland. Then if they get past that, the semis will most likely be whichever team won the group of death. I like their team, but it'll be tough (understatement) to make it through potentially France and Italy (in some order, or Holland if one of those teams slip up) to even make the final. 4. Germany - breezed through qualifying, but on paper, don't look as good as Italy, France, or Spain. Ballack can't get on the field at Chelsea and Schweinsteiger and Podolski aren't automatic starters at Bayern. Frings, Borowski, and Schneider have been struggling with injuries. They just don't seem to have as much firepower as the other top teams but they're still Germany, no matter who they put out there, they'll no doubt somehow end up making a run. It's like the complete opposite of Spain. Outlook - Shockingly, Germany received a very favorable draw. They won't have to face Italy, France, or Spain until the final and have probably the easiest group. Barring upsets, they will have to go through Portugal and Czech Republic to make the final, but that looks much more manageable than Spain's potential route. 5. Portugal - Figo, Rui Costa, et al are gone but Cristiano Ronaldo is currently one of the 2 or 3 best players in the world. He has some support with Deco, Maniche, Nuno Gomes, and Tiago still around and Nani and Quaresma as promising younger players. They should have a very solid defense with Carvalho and probably Pepe at the center of it and one of my favorites, Miguel at right back. Outlook - not as hard as the Italy, France, Holland group but still very tough draw with Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Turkey. I think this is the team most likely to challenge Germany on this side of the bracket for a spot in the finals against the whoever survives between France, Italy, Spain, and Holland. 6. Czech Republic - also qualified easily (including a 3-0 win over Germany). There's a lot of talent here, best keeper in the world in Cech, Rosicky, Galasek, Plasil, Rozehnal, and Ujfalusi. I'm not sure about the aging Koller, Baros combo up top, but if they perform, the Czechs look good. Outlook - tough group with Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey, I could easily see them getting bounced in the group stage if they aren't on top of their game or making a run all the way to the final. 7. Holland - a pretty uninspiring qualifying campaign that included narrow 1 goal wins over Luxembourg, (twice), Albania (twice), and Slovenia, a draw against Bulgaria, and a loss to Belarus. They have a ton of attacking players at top clubs - Ruud, Robben, and Sneijder at Real, van Persie at Arsenal, Babel and Kuyt at Liverpool, and Seedorf at Milan (will be interesting to see if he'll be involved or not). van der Vaart is also having a great season at Hamburg, so on paper, they should have a great attack, but in qualifying they only scored more than 2 goals once, and this was obviously against much weaker competition than they will face in the actual tournament. I also think their defense can be exploited against top teams. It'll also be interesting to see which of the players from their U21 Euro championship squad make a difference in the real thing - Babel looks like a good bet and Rosyton Drenthe has gotten some playing time at Real so maybe he as well. Outlook - extremely tough draw, will do great to make it out of the group. If they do manage that, but finish 2nd, they'll probably be up against Spain. Making it to the quarters will be a good tournament. 8. Croatia - looked good in qualifying, especially in beating England at Wembley in a game they didn't need to win (after losing a few days earlier to Macedonia, go figure). They don't have any huge stars but instead solid players at basically every position. My guess is Eduardo and Kranjcar will be the key players, if they play well, they can compete with just about anyone. Outlook - pretty good draw, should advance out of their group and then face a tough, but not impossible, matchup with Portugal, Czech Republic, or Switzerland. Good bet to make it to, and lose in, the quarters. 9. Switzerland - they had a very good World Cup, could've easily been in the quarterfinals. Should have most of that team back in Euro 08, and will have a big advantage as hosts. Barnetta looks like the key to their attack but it will be more interesting to see how their defense holds up. It isn't hard to imagine the always shaky Senderos being taken advantage of by a speedy attacker. Outlook - unfortunately for the Swiss, they will be facing some of the quickest-paced attacks in the world in the first round in Portugal and Czech Republic. They have the talent to make it to the quarters, but it will be tough given their draw. 10. Sweden - Sweden is always there, not too threatening, never looks likely to make a run at winning it, but normally advances out of their group. They have one of the best strikers in the world in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, currently on top of his game at Inter. They also have a solid anchor for their defense in Villa's Olof Mellberg and solid guys like Kim Kallstrom in the midfield. It looks like a normal Swedish team, solid but not spectacular (outside of Ibra that is). Outlook - should fight for the 2nd spot in group D with Greece and then get knocked out by whoever comes out on top in Group C. 11. Greece - the defending champs looked like flukes when they didn't qualify for the World Cup but they were much more impressive in qualifying this time around, qualifying with room to spare. I still believe that their Euro 04 title was a fluke and hate them for ruining so many potentially amazing matchups by upsetting a 'better' team 1-0. In my eyes, they still have a lot to prove. Outlook - my guess is they finish 3rd in their group, behind Spain and Sweden 12. Romania - won Holland's group in qualifying - Mutu gives them a star in attack and Chivu an anchor for the defense. Outlook - would be a threat to make the quarters but not in this group. What a horrendous draw for them. 13. Turkey - qualified on the last day with a superb 2-1 away win over Norway. I thought their passing and movement looked great that day and think they could provide some problems for their opponents on the big stage. Outlook - tough draw, will do great if they could pick up a few points. I am looking forward to their games against Portugal and Czech Republic though, as they should be extremely open, entertaining matches. 14. Poland - qualified ahead of Portugal in their group, I might underrate them due to their lack of players playing for clubs in the better leagues in Europe. Outlook - doable draw, if they can get 3 points off Austria, and don't manage anything against Germany, it will come down to their game against Croatia. I think they'll lose but they're an underdog who actually has a chance to sneak into the quarters unlike a better team like Romania. 15. Russia - can thank England's choke job for even being here. They had a good start to qualifying and a great 2-1 home win over England, but losing to Israel, then struggling at Andorra in their last two games aren't the most inspiring results. They do have Guus Hiddink though, so that'll give them a fighting chance at least. Outlook - could conceivably take points in the games against Sweden and Greece. My guess is they end up with a draw and two losses. 16. Austria - didn't even come close to qualifying for the last World Cup, though they did have a nice 2-2 draw with England and no absolutely terrible results. Even with homefield advantage, they look like a much weaker side than the Switzerland and the other 14 teams who had to go through the very difficult qualifying process. Outlook - should have a chance for points against Croatia and especially Russia, hopefully they can pick up something from one of those games. There's obviously one notable absence from these 16 teams - England. I watched more of England's qualifying matches than any other team, including their 2-1 loss to Russia and 3-2 loss to Croatia (though the 0-0 home draw to Macedonia proved to be just as important). For most of the qualifying process, injuries to Owen and Rooney left them with not enough quality attackers. It's sad that England doesn't have any good strikers after these two (and Owen isn't that great to begin with) but what ended up letting them down in the end was their defense. Without Terry (huge loss), Ferdinand, or Ashely Cole against Croatia, they gave up early goals and then couldn't hold on for the draw after making a nice comeback. Not having a quality goalkeeper also came back to haunt them in this game, with Croatia's first goal being a huge Scott Carson error. England should be fine, for the next World Cup, the back 4 of Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, and Richards (an absolute beast) looks great. Gerrard and Rooney should provide the heart of the attack (please Capello, do not try to play Lampard and Gerrard together - Gerrard is 10x the all around player, just go with him and a holding midfielder like Carrick or Hargreaves) and hopefully for them some of the young wingers like Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Ashley Young will be ready to start opposite Joe Cole (or instead of him who knows?), while another striker will emerge - Agbonhalor looks great or maybe Theo, who looks great until he has to make the final pass or shot. England was pretty unlucky not to qualify but have nobody to blame but themselves. If a striker or two and a keeper will emerge, they should be a threat in South Africa. And finally, here's my predictions for Euro 08: Group A - winners - Portugal, runner up - Czech Rep. Group B - winners - Germany, runner up - Croatia Group C - winners - France, runner up - Italy Group D - winners - Spain, runner up - Sweden Quarters - Portugal over Croatia, Germany over Czech Rep., France over Sweden, Spain over Italy Semis - Portugal over Germany, Spain over France Finals - Spain over Portugal So there you have it, Spain (finally) puts it all together, and on the back of one Cesc Fabregas, win a major tournament (Cesc takes down the Premiership, Champions League, and Euro in the same year ... what a player...)