The Round Football Column 06.02.08: 154th Edition – Euro 2008 Group A Preview
Posted by Tim O'Sullivan on 06.02.2008
The first of four Euro 2008 preview columns this week, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Nihat and all the other Group A combatants. One Click Away.
Oh yes, the year ends in an even number so it's major tournament time.
We have four columns this week and a staff roundtable on Friday.
It's only fair to start with Group A.
SWITZERLAND
They'll do better than Austria, who have three humiliations and no points written all over them, but it still won't be easy for the Swiss to look that much more respectable than their fellow co-hosts.
In the last World Cup, they played four games and didn't concede one goal. Their tactics are as close to ultra-defensive as you'll see and even clumsy Big Phil Senderos looks adequate in this system.
In an attacking sense they've got the European Championship's youngest ever scorer, Johan Vonlanthen and the Swiss version of Pippo Inzaghi, Alexander Frei.
Elsewhere, Valon Behrami and Gelson Fernandes are decent players, but fan power can only take you so far and I see them going out here.
PORTUGAL
I'm surprised Scolari keeps playing Nuno Gomes as the lone striker. It keeps Ronaldo on the right and leaves one of their other wingers on the bench. Ronaldo showed in the latter stages of the season that he can play as a central striker as long as he gets loads of support and runners from all areas, and I'm sure he would excel in that role for Portugal.
More to the point, they have such a strong squad that they should be accommodating for the sake of its full potential. They have a lot of players on the cusp of "world-class" territory (whatever that truly means nowadays) but Portugal's success could depend on whether the likes of Miguel Veloso, Ricardo Quaresma and Simao deliver their A-game.
Also, one thing that no one seems to mention is how good their centre-back partnership is. Putting his two-month injury aside, Pepe has had an incredible first season with Real Madrid and Ricardo Carvalho has consistently been one of the best defenders in the world for the past few seasons.
I think they have a great chance of reaching the final for the second time in a row.
CZECH REPUBLIC
I hate the BBC pundits with all my heart – so unimaginative and incredibly lazy. You would think it was 2004 all over again, with the way Shearer and Hansen have predicted the Czechs and Sweden to be dark horses. Seriously, the time for the Czechs has been and gone. They are no longer a fashionable team and their best player (Rosicky) is injured.
Jan Koller can still be dangerous in the right circumstances, Libor Sionko is a tidy attacker and Petr Cech is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but I see them finishing bottom here.
TURKEY
The term "surprise package" should probably be left for a smaller team who could make the semis. I don't really have an example of that, but Turkey could fall into a milder version - in terms of making the quarter-finals.
The Swiss will get a lot of backing for being co-hosts and the Czechs are still fashionable enough to get people talking, but I think it's Turkey who will be the second qualifiers from Group A.
They qualified from an easy group, but they have a good attacking threat and a striker in Nihat who could be one of the tournament's surprise stars.
