euro 2008

Germany should have no problems qualifying to the next phase of the tournament, even though this is one of there weakest teams in recent memories, they have a technically good midfield with their star man micheal ballack pulling the strings, helping him in midfield will be torsten frings with tricky winger bastian schwiensteiger their man outlet on the wing.

upfront they are better than most give them credit for with players such as klose, podolski and young hotshot mario gomez who will be looking for a big move after the tournament, they have also got kuranyi who has played very well for the national team.

their defence is solid if not spectacular with lanky defender mertesacker and injury plagued yet classy metzelder in the centre of their defence, with arguably the best left back in the last world cup phillip lahm, who scored a wonderful goal to open that tournament.  im not sure who is going to play in goal for them but i assume it will be robert enke as jens lehman has not played much for arsenal this season.

prediction: germany should have enough to top the group which they will need to do because if they don’t, chances are they will be playing portugal who no one will want to play.

croatia will go into the competition full of confidence after knocking out england,

they have got a really solid defence with the experience of centre back robert kovac and right back dario simic will be vital for them, in goal is the talented shot-stopper stipe pletikosa who will be looking to move to a top club in the near future.

their midfield is the strongest part of the team with the ultra gifted luka modric who is a wonderful passer and equally good dribbler of the ball, also they have right sided midfielder darijo srna who can put quality balls in the box all day, again they have another really talented attacking midfielder ivan rakitic who is only 20 but is highly regarded by their manager slaven bilic, croatias ability to keep the ball for long periods of time really frustrates their opponents as england found out at their costs.

their strike-force was taken a blow earlier this year when star striker eduardo broke his leg playing for arsenal, however they are pretty workman-like with igor budan and ilvica olic leading the line, however watch out for 20 year old striker nikola kalinic who ive been told is a very confident and talented young lad.

prediction: expect them to give germany a real run for thier money and if they manage to finish first in the group then they could make the semis.

i expect poland to finish third in the group but they will struggle against the big two in their group due to a serious lack of quality, the only chance they have of advancing is if bouric can keep out either side and for them to nick a goal at the other end.

i see co-hosts austria struggling to get a point with their only chance is against poland, although it will be a good learning curve for the younger players in the team such as erwin hoffer, martin harnik and sebastian prodl

hello this blog is going to be my predictions for the upcoming euros starting in June.

lets start with group a, where Portugal will be red hot favourites to finish 1st in the group, they’re a team full of pace and flair down the flanks, with wingers such as simao, nani, queresma and of course cristiano ronaldo, their full backs will get forward and support them as much as possible especially bosingwa who can fly up and down the wing all night.

 they have got a decent midfield, i personally would start with joao moutinho who is a really bright prospect, instead of deco who hasn’t performed well for a couple of seasons now, I’m not sure who’s going to play with him maybe veloso and petit, although miereles could come in and do a job for them.

there goalie ricardo is a good player and centre back carvalho will marshall their defence so i don’t expect them to give away any cheap goals.

their major downfall is the lack of quality strikers, nuno gomes is surly to old to be starting, which means that either hugo almeida or helder postiga will be vying for the spot, i think scolari will pick postiga but personally i would pick almeida because he is tall and strong although admittedly not the best finisher but he could do a job.

Prediction: Portugal should finish 1st in group quite comfortably.

czech rep, are a team that is in somewhat of a decline, always known as dark horses i doubt many will call them that this year without the injured roscicky and the retired pavel nedved its going to be tough for them.

the key to their team is jan koller the giant striker who, if given the service, will score goals or flick the ball on for baros who has had a few dodgy years since his days at liverpool.

their defence throughout the years has been pretty shaky when dealing with pace, their full backs are quite good especially ujfalusi, its their centre backs that are particularly bad with newcastle flop david rozehnal being chief culprit, although when you have got a dodgy defence a keeper like cech will minimize the damage done

 Prediction: i expect czech rep. to just about scrape through to quarter finals.

switzerland, joint hosts the swiss have got some good young players but i feel they are 2-4 years away from being able to do something in a major championship.

watch out for young players such as midfielder barnetta, striker derdiyok and arsenal defender djourou.

prediction: outside chance of getting 2nd, most likely to finish 3rd

 turkey are a talented going forward but have got a shaky defence to say the least, like the swiss they need to use this as a stepping stone for the world cup in two years time.

the key to their team is sanil tuncay who has been fantastic for middlesbrough this season and the inconsistent emre who on his day is fantastic, the worrying thing about turkey is their lack of young talent, they are so desperate for talent that they have got London born kazim richards who i doubt could make England’s 5Th string squad.

prediction: expect them to battle for wooden spoon with switzerland

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