Euro 2008 Preview--Group D (Part 2)

Spain:

On paper, this team is stacked. There's no other, more profound way to put it. Player for player, Spain is loaded and may have the most individual talent in this tournament.

The key for coach Luis Aragonés is to mold that talent into a TEAM that can really make a deep run. That will be no easy feat; despite the quality of players Spain has produced over the years, they've won only one senior international tournament -- the 1964 European Championship, which they hosted. It's been one disappointing exit after another since then. In Euro 2004, La Furia Roja didn't even make it out of the group stage and at the World Cup two years later, they lost in the Round of 16 with largely the same core of players that will be on the field this June. Like England, Spain is a perennial underachiever, but unlike the Three Lions, Spain has a chance to at least partially wipe out that stigma in this competition.

Spain qualified with relative ease, as their only stiff competition was fellow Group D contender Sweden. Aragonés' men split their two meetings with Sweden, with both teams winning on their respective home fields, but were able to gain two more points against the rest of the teams in the group.

Depending on who you listen to, Spain has the world's best goalkeeper between the sticks in Real Madrid's Iker Casillas, who has been his country's first choice in net since World Cup 2002. His only Madrid teammate on the Spanish roster, Sergio Ramos, will be at right back and is another guy who is one of the best players in the world at his position. Carles Puyol, though without much technical skill and ability, is an inspirational leader in the center of defense and works as hard as anyone. Joining Puyol in the center will be Valencia's Carlos Marchena. At left back, Joan Capdevila had a terrific season for Villarreal and will likely get the nod over Fernando Navarro. All in all, the back line (aside from Ramos) is the weak link of the Spanish team, and can be exploited in the middle and on Capdevila's side by quick, pacey teams who play through balls for that speed to run on to.

Xabi Alonso is a very good bet to start ahead of Marcos Senna and sit right above the back four, where the former's wonderful long-range passing ability is perfectly suited. Ahead of him will be the more attack-minded Cesc Fàbregas and Xavi, no slouches at passing themselves. A lack of quality wingers (and depth in those positions) in the Spanish game right now has forced Aragonés' hand; he has to play three central midfielders and rely on his full-backs to give the team width, but that limits their ability to help cover ground that Spain's slow-footed center backs can't get to.

Up top, Liverpool's Fernando Torres will lead a deadly, three-pronged front line, flanked on the right by David Silva and on the left by Andrés Iniesta, who is used to playing in that role for Barcelona.

One thing is for certain, Spain has the capability and the players to score goals, but I'm not sure how reliable their back line is. They have a top-notch goalkeeper in Casillas, but even he can't stop everything if his defense puts him in too many tough spots. That offensive ability alone should be enough to get them out of the group stage, but once the big boys come around, Spain's weaknesses in the back can be taken advantage of.

Sweden:

Wrapping up the Group D preview we have Sweden, a nation, like its Scandinavian neighbors, for whom soccer is by far the secondary sport. As a result of that, Sweden has never really earned a place at the "big kids table" with the likes of traditional soccer-crazed countries, despite the fact that they've reached a World Cup final and finished third in 1994, a Euro semifinal, and have made consistent, significant strides forward in recent years.

Sweden's coach, Lars Lagerbäck, has been at the helm since 2000 (as "joint-coach" from 2000 until after Euro 2004) and is the longest-tenured of his peers at this tournament. Under his tenure, Sweden has qualified for five straight major international tournaments, something that had never been done before in the history of Swedish soccer.

He has an experienced team, one that is probably at the very peak of its livelihood. Most of the players on the roster are at the point in their careers where regression, rather than development, will be expected in the future and if Sweden doesn't put a nice run together in this tournament or in World Cup 2010, which is less likely because it's two more years of age on this current crop of players, a period of growing pains could result.

In goal will be Andreas Isaksson, who was out of favor at Manchester City this year under fellow Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson. Fredrik Stoor will be at right back, with Olof Mellberg moving to the center after playing on the right for Aston Villa this season. Alongside Mellberg, Daniel Majstorović should see off the challenge of Andreas Granqvist and get the starting nod, and the versatile Mikael Nilsson will be on the left.

Tobias Linderoth was a major concern due to injury heading into the final roster cut-down date, but Lars Lagerbäck obviously had his worries eased through encouraging reports because Linderoth was included. He'll sit right above the back four in a holding role, with Christian Wilhelmsson ahead of him on the right wing, Freddie Ljungberg, the captain, on the left, and either Anders Svensson (more experienced, better on dead balls) or Kim Källström (younger, more of a playmaker with his passing ability, and can whip balls in from open play) in the middle.

Henrik Larsson, stive alive and kicking (or scoring, in this case) at the age of 36, will provide that ounce of subtlety, creativity, and quality in the area than his more straightforward, powerful strike partner, Zlatan Ibrahimović, who has an attitude nearly as bad as that of Antonio Cassano, but that same ability to score goals at will when his mind is right and has come up with a few peaches in his day. Together, the two are a lethal duo up front and will put a few goals in the back of the net for Sweden.

Sweden will look at their games against Greece and Russia as necessary victories, because while Greece has the discipline and Russia has the coaching and work rate to take points from Spain, Sweden is above-average in all categories and doesn't do one particular thing well enough to overcome superior talent. Taking six points from those two teams would be enough to go through, so that will be their main focus.

Group D Final Prediction (teams in bold advance):

1. Spain -- 7 points
2. Russia -- 5 points
3. Sweden -- 4 points
4. Greece -- 0 points

Euro 2008 Preview--Group D (Part 1)

Apologies for the delay in getting this out, but here we go, it's the final group preview for Euro 2008. Next week, I'll make my predictions for the knockout rounds, with the quarterfinals on Monday, semifinals on Wednesday, and the final on Friday. That will lead us nicely into the weekend, when the second-largest international tournament in the world finally kicks off.

To start, here's the fixture schedule for Group D (all times Eastern):

June 10:
Spain vs. Russia (Noon; Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)
Greece vs. Sweden (2:45; Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)

June 14:
Sweden vs. Spain (Noon; Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)
Greece vs. Russia (2:45; Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)

June 18:
Greece vs. Spain (2:45; Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)
Russia vs. Sweden (2:45; Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)

Greece:

2004 marked the first time that Greece had qualified for the European Championships in 24 years, so expectations were understandably tempered. Under the helm of a German, Otto Rehhagel, however, the Greeks pulled off the shock of all shocks by winning the whole thing, defying odds that had them as 150-1 underdogs to do just that.

Let’s be clear. Greece isn’t a traditional soccer nation and will never have the same prestige and talent that some other European countries do. They have a hard time qualifying for international tournaments, much less doing well in them, and we all know that what Rehhagel’s team was able to accomplish four years ago was a fluke. They didn’t even make it to the World Cup in 2006.

Under Rehhagel, though, Greece will never be blown out in a game and they’ll always have a fighting chance to take a positive result. He is a defensive-minded, disciplined coach whose teams are well-organized and have good camaraderie on and off the field. None of his players stand out that much more so than the others, so there’s never a problem with that “star complex” that we’ve seen with high-profile players like Didier Drogba or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who, as the leader of Sweden’s front line, will be up against the stalwart Greek defense.

Greece breezed through qualifying for this tournament, but there were no other countries that posed any significant threat. The key players on this team are all in their late-20’s or early-30’s, so while they were in their prime in 2004 and in qualifying, I’m not sure how much they have left in the tank for this tournament.

With that said, this team’s strength has never been their pace and athleticism. They’ll slow the tempo down to a stand-still at times. They tackle hard and furiously, and they really try to lock down the middle of the field and make their opponents beat them from the wings.

Antonios Nikopolidis will be in goal and at 36 years of age, probably will be making his last significant international appearances for Greece, so you know he’ll want to go out in style. Much like David James, he can be impenetrable when on the top of his game, but he also is very susceptible to the odd calamity every now and then. He has two impressive, attack-minded full-backs ahead of him — Giourkas Seitaridis on the right, and right-footed Vasilis Torosidis on the left. In the middle, 6′5″ Traianos Dellas and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, only one inch shorter, should win most every aerial battle in the area.

In the midfield, I think we’ll see a compact, three-man group. Benfica’s Kostas Katsouranis is very versatile and has become a good all-around player from his roots as a true defensive midfielder, the captain, Angelos Basinas, is a field general that is also hard-nosed and can tackle, and little Giorgos Karagounis has the most creativity on the team and is great from the set piece.

Up front, Theofanis Gekas, who led the German Bundesliga in the ‘06-’07 in goal scoring with 20 and scored 11 this season in 26 league games at Bayer Leverkusen, will play in the middle, Ioannis Amanatidis will be on Gekas’ right and drop deep, and Angelos Charisteas, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2004 final against Portugal, will drift to the left.

Greece absolutely must get to their third and final group game against Spain with four points already in the bag, because they have absolutely no chance of coming out of that match with anything and four points will be the minimum to progress.

Russia:

Guus Hiddink is one of the most underrated, under-appreciated coaches in the world and with him at the helm, Russia has a realistic chance to advance out of this group. Hiddink has taken his native Holland to the World Cup semifinals, South Korea to the same stage in 2002, and Australia to the Round of 16 in 2006, where the Socceroos were eliminated by Italy after a terrible refereeing decision, which resulted in a penalty kick, went against them late and allowed Italy to escape in a game in which they were easily the inferior team.

Hiddink is inventive (three different formations with those three nations in the World Cups), charismatic, and popular; he is already in demand as his contract with Russia will expire after this tournament. He led Russia to this tournament from a group that included England, Israel, and Ukraine, so he’s already playing with house money in the sense that Russia was no lock to reach this point, especially having not even gotten to the last World Cup.

Like him, this Russian squad is very underrated and is capable of causing a “surprise”, although calling it that would be a disservice to the Russians and their abilities. Igor Akinfeev is one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe; he plays for CSKA Moscow and had a clean sheet streak of 362 minutes in only his second campaign in the Champions League. At just 22 years of age, he is his nation’s present and future at that position.

Ahead of him is a solid back line, which is laden with competition for three of the four spots. There are the veterans — the Berezutskiy twins and Sergei Ignashevich, each of whom, like Akinfeev, play for CSKA Moscow – who may all start, but a capable, less experienced group made up in part by Denis Kolodin and Roman Shirokov, who plays for current UEFA Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg, are challenging for starting positions as well. Alexander Anyukov, who also plays for Zenit, is the only sure bet in the back four and will be on the right, and if I had to guess, I would go with experience and familiarity and say that Ignashevich and Alexei Beruzutskiy will be in the center, with Vasili Berezutskiy at left back.

In the midfield, Hiddink has been using two holding midfielders — Konstantin Zyrianov, who scored the second goal in Zenit’s 2-0 victory over Rangers in the UEFA Cup final and the reigning Russian Footballer of the Year, and Igor Semshov. Ahead of those two is a group of three, normally led by an absolutely fantastic attacking midfielder, Andrei Arshavin, another Zenit player, but Arshavin is suspended for the first two group games and his absence will be a huge blow. On the right, the blindingly quick Vladimir Bystrov will give opposing defenses fits all game long, and the creative but more defensive-minded Yuri Zhirkov will play wide left.

On his own up front will be Roman Pavlyuchenko, who has carved out a very successful career in the Russian Premier League and has been either the top goal-scorer or the joint top goal-scorer in the division in the last two years for Spartak Moscow.

Arshavin’s presence will definitely be welcomed back in the third game but until then, Russia will need to find a way to make due. Coming up with four points against Spain and Greece would put them in a terrific position with Arshavin coming back, but three points is more likely. Russia’s last game is against Sweden, and it could be a winner-take-all 90 minutes.

The second half of this preview, covering Sweden and Spain and my final prediction for Group D’s standings, will be up by some point this evening, so make sure to check back later.

I Want You..To Join English Soccer Talk's Fantasy League for Euro 2008

As you all know, both from my previews here (Group D's will be out later today, with my knockout round predictions early next week) and from coverage elsewhere, Euro 2008 is right around the corner.

I get comments on my posts and E-mails all the time from readers saying that I know nothing about the beautiful game, I'm too young to know what I'm talking about, blah blah blah, all that good stuff. That's fine, I can deal with that, and you're entitled to your own opinions.

With that in mind, I'm sure you'd all like a chance to prove me wrong and show that you can beat me in something. Here's your opportunity.

Sign up for the official fantasy game of Euro 2008 and prove just how superior you are by getting more points than me. I'll be in two leagues, the EPLTalk.com league, run by our friends over at EPL Talk, and my own league here at English Soccer Talk.

It's free and easy to register, so just follow a few easy steps:

1. Visit http://en.fantasy.euro2008.uefa.com

2. If you’ve registered in the past for the Champions League fantasy game, just login. But if you haven’t registered before, click the “Register” link underneath the McDonald’s logo.

3. After you’ve logged in and/or registered, pick your team (one goalie, 10 field players, one substitute)

4. After selecting all 12 players on your team, click on the “Leagues” link on the top navigation bar underneath the word “Rules”

5. Finally, in the “Join a Private League” section, enter the following code to join the English Soccer Talk private league: 26373-5432

The game rules and point scoring methods are all there for you to keep in mind when selecting your team, and it'll be a fun time. Again, here's your chance to make me look dumb, something I know you all are interested in doing.

Change of Plans

Instead of doing the Group D preview today, I'm going to wait until tomorrow or Saturday as I'll have more time then to devote to an accurate, informative capsule for each of the four countries.

I have some work to do this afternoon, but I'll leave you with something for your viewing pleasure in honor of, I guess you could say, England's upcoming friendly against Trinidad & Tobago:

Capello Announces Squad for Trinidad + Tobago Friendly

After yesterday's thumping of the US, which was very embarrassing for me as an American, Fabio Capello announced his squad for England's friendly against Trinidad & Tobago this Sunday.

The game had been in doubt recently due to a squabble concerning rental terms for T&T's national ground, Hasley Crawford Stadium, but everything has been resolved and the show will go on.

Capello dropped seven players from yesterday's team, all from Chelsea and Manchester United -- Joe Cole, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Owen Hargreaves, and Wes Brown. The only remaining players on the squad from either of those two teams are Wayne Bridge, who barely played yesterday and hasn't gotten much time all season with Ashley Cole ahead of him at Stamford Bridge, and Rio Ferdinand.

Rumor has it that the rotating captain's armband could be worn for the second time by Ferdinand, but Aston Villa's Gareth Barry is in with a shout as well, at least to have it for part of the game. For me, Barry would be ideal; he is Villa's club captain and unlike Ferdinand, hasn't gotten a chance to lead England out yet.

Capello did the smart thing by not including the seven Chelsea and Manchester United players; those two teams had the longest seasons in Europe this year and there's no reason to bring them on another long flight, having just come back from Moscow, to a relatively meaningless friendly. Also by doing this, Capello will get a chance to take a look at some of his other, less experienced options, and that will breed competition heading into World Cup 2010 qualifiers this fall.

Here's the 22-man squad, immediately followed by my starting lineup:

GK (3): David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Joe Lewis (Peterborough)

DEF (7): Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

MID (7): Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

FWD (5): Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth).

GK: Joe Hart
LB: Wayne Bridge
CB: Jonathan Woodgate
CB: Rio Ferdinand
RB: Glen Johnson
DMF: Gareth Barry
CMF: Steven Gerrard
LMF: Ashley Young
RMF: David Beckham
ST: Peter Crouch
ST: Gabriel Agbonlahor

Here's hoping my man Ashley Young gets the start!

Steven Gerrard's Goal Against the USA

Steven Gerrard put in a Man of the Match performance tonight at Wembley, thrusting himself even more into the permanent captaincy discussion.

Above is his well-worked goal that made it 2-0, set up by his good friend and perhaps soon-to-be Liverpool teammate Gareth Barry. It is quality of the highest degree, and a microcosm of England's superiority throughout the entire game.

As a bonus, take a look at this goal also scored by Chedwyn Evans, who is currently on loan from Manchester City at Norwich City, where he scored 10 goals in 28 league games this season. Evans made his senior international début for Wales in their 1-0 victory tonight over Iceland after scoring 9 goals in 8 U-21 matches, and in my experience, there aren't too many 19-year olds who can score goals like this.

What a way to remember his first game with the big boys:

Andriy Shevchenko Commercial

No real rhyme or reason for posting this, but it's an old SportsCenter commercial featuring anchor Scott van Pelt and Andriy Shevchenko, when the latter was still playing for AC Milan.

Hey, I think it's pretty funny.

Euro 2008 Preview--Group C (Part 2)

After watching England thoroughly dominate the US in their 2-0 friendly victory at Wembley this afternoon, I'm back for the second half of this Group C preview.

Italy:

As the current world champion, Italy enters this tournament right at the top of the list of favorites. They are also the team everyone wants to beat; Italy will get everyone's best shot and they'll have to be able to take a few punches and overcome that.

To add the title of European champions, something they haven't been since 1968, to their résumé, they'll first have to advance from the toughest group in the competition. In qualifying, Italy won their group by three points over France, their newest rival. The two countries will obviously meet again in this tournament, and it's fitting that that game is the third and final match for both countries in the group stage. Italy would like nothing more than to continue their mastery over France by possibly eliminating them, and France would love an opportunity to do the same and in the process, gain some sweet revenge over the team that beat them in PK's in the 2006 World Cup final.

Roberto Donadoni made only one fairly surprising move in his 23-man roster. Many people didn't expect Sampdoria's (on loan from Real Madrid) Antonio Cassano to be included. Cassano is known throughout the world as a headcase unlike almost any other; he has been a troublemaker basically wherever he has gone and has a bad attitude, and if Donadoni didn't want to deal with the possible headache of Cassano's presence, no one would've blamed him.

However, there's never, ever been a question about Cassano's talent. He can score with both feet, has wonderful technique, has good composure and can finish pretty well, and he can beat defenders one-on-one without much trouble. Giovanni Trapattoni once labeled him as the "future of Italian football" and at only 25 years of age, the future could very well be right now. He lit it up in Serie A for Sampdoria this season, scoring 10 goals in 22 league matches en route to helping his team qualify for next season's UEFA Cup.

As I said, Cassano was really the only surprising inclusion on a team that is absolutely loaded once again. One of the two or three best at his position in the world, Gianluigi Buffon will obviously be in goal. His back line will be made up of the captain, Fabio Cannavaro, who will be in the center and may be on his last legs at the international level at the age of 34. Joining Cannavaro in the middle will be his fellow 34-year old, Marco Materazzi, with Fabio Grosso and Gianluca Zambrotta on the left and right, respectively. In the midfield, Gennaro Gattuso will play in the holding role, with Daniele de Rossi and Andrea Pirlo ahead of "the Bulldog". Luca Toni will occupy a center forward slot, possibly alongside Genoa's Marco Borriello, with Alessandro del Piero, who had a terrific season for Juventus, just behind them to finish off a 4-3-1-2 formation. The Italians count on their full-backs to provide width and service into the middle, so Grosso and Zambrotta will be keys to their success.

Romania:

Finishing off the "Group of Death", Romania surprised a lot of people by topping Holland and winning their qualifying group for this tournament. Outsiders will look at this team and not recognize many players aside from Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu and Inter Milan's Cristian Chivu, but they proved they are no pansy and will make things tough on the three more well-known nations in this group.

In all honesty, I'm one of those outsiders myself, but again, Romania showed over 12 qualifiers that they weren't a joke. They took four out of six points from Holland and have a very experienced manager in Victor Piţurcă, who also won the European Cup as a player with Steaua Bucharest. They've beaten fellow Euro 2008 competitors Russia and Turkey in friendlies in the past year, although they lost to Germany and Israel over that same stretch as well.

Concerning their squad, Bogdan Lobonţ will be in goal; with 62 caps, he has 61 more than the other two goalkeepers on the 23-man roster combined. Cristian Chivu is the nation's captain and will anchor the back line, with Răzvan Raţ on the left, Cosmin Contra on the right, and either Dorin Goian or Gabriel Tamaş joining Chivu in the center. In the midfield, I think you could see a large diamond, with Florentin Petre wide right, Mirel Rădoi in the holding role, Adrian Mutu right behind the strikers, and Răzvan Cociş on the left but drifiting into the middle. Up front, Marius Niculae will partner Ciprian Marica, Stuttgart's young 22-year old who was the club's record transfer signing.

Group C Final Prediction (teams in bold advance):

1. Italy -- 7 points
2. France -- 5 points
3. Romania -- 3 points
4. Holland -- 1 point

Tomorrow, I'll preview the fourth and final group of this tournament by taking a look at Sweden, Spain, defending champions Greece, and Russia.

Euro 2008 Final Rosters--Group C

France:

GK (3): Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Grégory Coupet (Lyon), Sébastien Frey (Fiorentina)

DEF (8): Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Jean-Alain Boumsong, Francois Clerc, and Sebastien Squillaci (Lyon), William Gallas (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich), Lilian Thuram (Barcelona)

MID (7): Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth), Claude Makelele and Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon), Patrick Vieira* (Inter Milan), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Samir Nasri (Marseille)

FWD (5): Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou (Lyon), Bafetimbi Gomis (Saint-Etienne), Thierry Henry (Barcelona)

*Captain

Italy:

GK (3): Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla)

DEF (7): Fabio Cannavaro* (Real Madrid), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Christian Panucci (AS Roma), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Lyon)

MID (7): Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, and Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan), Daniele De Rossi, Simone Perrotta, and Alberto Aquilani (AS Roma), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus)

FWD (6): Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria), Marco Borriello (Genoa)

*Captain

Romania:

GK (3): Bogdan Lobonţ (Dinamo Bucharest), Marius Popa (Politehnica Timişoara), Eduard Stăncioiu (CFR Cluj)

DEF (9): Cosmin Contra (Getafe), Răzvan Raţ (Shakhtar Donetsk), Gabriel Tamaş (Auxerre), Cosmin Moţi and Ştefan Radu (Dinamo Bucharest), Dorin Goian and Sorin Ghionea (Steaua Bucharest), Cristian Săpunaru (Rapid Bucharest), Cristian Chivu* (Inter Milan)

MID (7): Mirel Rădoi, Nicolae Dică, and Bănel Nicoliţă (Steaua Bucharest), Florentin Petre (CSKA Sofia), Paul Codrea (Siena), Răzvan Cociş (Lokomotiv Moscow), Adrian Cristea (Dinamo Bucharest)

FWD (4): Ciprian Marica (Stuttgart), Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina), Marius Niculae (Inverness CT), Daniel Niculae (Auxerre)

*Captain

Note: Holland's final roster was already named.

Euro 2008 Final Rosters--Group B

Austria:

GK (3): Alex Manninger (Siena), Jürgen Macho (AEK Athens), Ramazan Özcan (Salzburg)

DEF (8): Martin Stranzl (Spartak Moscow), Emanuel Pogatetz (Middlesbrough), Ronald Gërçaliu (Salzburg), Markus Katzer, Martin Hiden, and Jürgen Patocka (Rapid Wien), György Garics (Napoli), Sebastian Prödl (Sturm Graz)

MID (8): Joachim Standfest (Austria Wien), Christian Fuchs (Mattersburg), René Aufhauser and Christoph Leitgeb (Salzburg), Ivica Vastić (LASK Linz), Andreas Ivanschitz* (Panathinaikos), Ümit Korkmaz (Rapid Wien), Jürgen Säumel (Sturm Graz)

FWD (4): Roland Linz (Sporting Braga), Roman Kienast (HamKam), Martin Harnik (Werder Bremen), Erwin Hoffer (Rapid Wien)

*Captain

Germany:

GK (3): Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), Robert Enke (Hannover 96), René Adler (Bayer Leverkusen)

DEF (7): Marcell Jansen and Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Arne Friedrich (Hertha BSC), Clemens Fritz and Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid)

MID (8): Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Michael Ballack* (Chelsea), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), David Odonkor (Real Betis)

FWD (5): Mario Gómez (Stuttgart), Oliver Neuville (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich), Kevin Kurányi (Schalke 04)

*Captain

Poland:

GK (3): Artur Boruc (Celtic), Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United), Łukasz Fabiański (Arsenal)

DEF (7): Mariusz Jop (FC Moscow), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw), Paweł Golański (Steaua Bucharest), Jacek Bąk (Austria Wien), Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht), Michał Żewłakow (Olympiacos), Adam Kokoszka (Wisła Kraków)

MID (9): Dariusz Dudka (Wisła Kraków), Jacek Krzynówek (VfL Wolfsburg), Łukasz Garguła (Bełchatów), Michał Pazdan (Górnik Zabrze), Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Wojciech Łobodziński (Wisła Kraków), Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk), Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań), Roger Guerreiro (Legia Warsaw)

FWD (4): Euzebiusz Smolarek (Racing Santander), Maciej Żurawski* (Larissa), Marek Saganowski (Southampton), Tomasz Zahorski (Górnik Zabrze)

*Captain

Note: Croatia's final roster was already named.

Euro 2008 Final Rosters--Group A

No time to waste, I have a summer class to get to so let's get right to this.

Czech Republic:

GK (3): Petr Čech (Chelsea), Jaromír Blažek (Nuremberg), Daniel Zítka (Anderlecht)

DEF (7): Zdeněk Grygera (Juventus), Radoslav Kováč (Spartak Moscow), Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan), Zdeněk Pospěch (FC Copenhagen), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Tomáš Ujfaluši* (Fiorentina), David Rozehnal (Lazio)

MID (8): Jan Polák (Anderlecht), Tomáš Galásek (Nuremberg), Libor Sionko (FC Copenhagen), David Jarolím (Hamburg), Marek Matějovský (Reading), Tomáš Sivok (Sparta Prague), Rudi Skácel (Southampton), Jaroslav Plašil (Osasuna)

FWD (5): Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt), Jan Koller (Nuremberg), Václav Svěrkoš (Baník Ostrava), Stanislav Vlček (Anderlecht), Milan Baroš (Portsmouth)

*Captain

Switzerland:

GK (3): Diego Benaglio (VfL Wolfsburg), Eldin Jakupović (Grasshopper), Pascal Zuberbühler (Neuchâtel Xamax)

DEF (8): Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos (Arsenal), Stephane Grichting (Auxerre, Patrick Müller (Lyon), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart)

MID (8): Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Valon Behrami (Lazio), Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshopper), Gelson Fernandes (Manchester City), Daniel Gygax (Metz), Benjamin Huggel (FC Basel), Gökhan İnler (Udinese), Hakan Yakın (Young Boys)

FWD (4): Eren Derdiyok and Marco Streller (FC Basel), Alexander Frei* (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Vonlanthen (Salzburg)

*Captain

Turkey:

GK (3): Rüştü Reçber (Beşiktaş), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor), Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe)

DEF (7): Uğur Boral (Fenerbahçe), Servet Çetin, Hakan Balta, Emre Güngör, Emre Aşık, and Sabri Sarıoğlu (Galatasaray), Gökhan Zan (Beşiktaş)

MID (8): Emre Belözoğlu* (Newcastle), Mehmet Topal, Arda Turan, and Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Mehmet Aurélio and Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbahçe), Tümer Metin (Larissa), Hamit Altıntop (Bayern Munich)

FWD (5): Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal), Semih Şentürk (Fenerbahçe), Gökdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan), Tuncay Şanlı (Middlesbrough), Mevlüt Erdinç (FC Sochaux)

*Captain

Note: Portugal's final roster was already named.

Euro 2008 Preview--Group C (Part 1)

As I said yesterday, today's plan goes like this: this preview (France and Holland), the final rosters for the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Turkey (Group A) all in one post, the final rosters for Austria, Germany, and Poland (Group B) in another post, the final rosters for France, Italy, and Romania (Group C) in another post, and then lastly, the second part of the Group C preview (Italy and Romania). Remember, Portugal, Croatia, Holland, Greece, Russia, Sweden, and Spain already announced their squads, so you can scroll down the homepage to find those.

Let's get started by taking a look at the match schedule for Group C (all times Eastern):

June 9:
Romania vs. France (Noon; Letzigrund Stadion, Zürich)
Holland vs. Italy (2:45; Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Berne)

June 13:
Italy vs. Romania (Noon; Letzigrund Stadion, Zürich)
Holland vs. France (2:45; Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Berne)

June 17:
Holland vs. Romania (2:45; Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Berne)
France vs. Italy (2:45; Letzigrund Stadion, Zürich)

France:

Defeated by Italy on PK's in the 2006 World Cup final, France will be hungrier than ever to get some payback for that disappointment by beating the Azzurri in the final game of the group stage.

Before they get to that match, though, France has a lot of work to do to put themselves in a position to advance to the quarterfinals and beyond, as both Holland and Romania will provide stiff competition this summer. Raymond Domenech's team finished three points behind Italy in qualifying for this tournament, although France took four of six points in the two games. There are certainly no easy games in this group, but France's best opportunity to win, at least on paper, seemingly comes in their first game against Romania.

Domenech's 23-man roster looks very similar to what we've seen in recent years, and it really wasn't a surprise when striker David Trézéguet wasn't included. While there is no denying his talent, Trézéguet and Domenech have often bumped heads (and egos) and with the emergence of Lyon's Karim Benzema, Trézéguet was viewed as unnecessary. Also not included was Louis Saha, who had an injury-plagued season at Manchester United.

In goal, Grégory Coupet will finally get a chance to prove himself on a big stage as Fabien Barthez stepped aside after the World Cup. Directly ahead of Coupet, William Gallas and Lilian Thuram headline a great back line, with either Éric Abidal or the hard-charging Patrice Evra at left back and Willy Sagnol on the right. The two stalwart defensive midfielders, Claude Makélélé and Patrick Vieira, will take up their longstanding roles and could be playing their last truly meaningful games for France. Franck Ribéry has become an automatic first choice for Domenech on the wing, and opposite him will be Chelsea's Florent Malouda. Up front, Thierry Henry should partner Karim Benzema, though Nicholas Anelka can never be counted out. My guess is we'll see a 4-2-2-2, with Vieira and Makélélé both sitting back to allow Ribéry and Malouda to really push forward.

Holland:

As the traditional big dogs in their qualifying group, Holland made life exceedingly difficult for themselves by finishing second behind Romania, only one point ahead of third-place Bulgaria. Robin van Persie led the Oranje in goal scoring with 4, but that was good enough for only a sixth-place tie. As a team, they only managed 15 goals in 12 games despite playing in a group that featured several lightweights in Albania, Luxembourg, Belarus, and Slovenia.

Suffice it to say that the Dutch underperformed in qualifying. Coach Marco van Basten, who will be joining Ajax in the same capacity after this tournament, has made it a point to usher in a new era for the national team, choosing younger players over their more experienced, more decorated counterparts. This fresh blood is unproven at this level, and although there are several holdovers in this squad, most of whom will feature, it's hardly a time to experiment with a young group of players, especially in what is by far the toughest group of the competition. With that said, van Basten has a much better relationship with the young players, and there is something to be said for that instead of possible hostility between the coach and guys like Clarence Seedorf and Marc von Bommel.

In goal, the captain, Edwin van der Sar, is at the top of his game right now after winning both the Premiership and Champions League at Manchester United. He'll need to come up large because his back line, the traditional weak link of the Dutch national team, is very uninspiring once again.

Only six defenders were included on the final roster, and as far as quality and ability goes, they are almost a wash. Wilfred Bouma had a great season at Aston Villa, playing a league-high 37 out of 38 league games, and he'll feature either at left back, where Tim de Cler plays, or in the center. John Heitinga also looks certain to start, and he can play in the center or on the right, which is Mario Melchiot's traditional position and he had a solid season at Wigan. André Ooijer has been a fixture in the middle, but Joris Mathijsen also is a natural center back. My guess? Melchiot on the right, Heitinga and Bouma in the center, and de Cler on the left, but the back line definitely is up in the air at this point.

In the midfield, van Basten has said recently that he's considering shifting to a 4-2-3-1 for this tournament instead of the 4-3-3 "total football" system typically employed by the Dutch. The breakdown of this squad by position would indicate a 4-3-3because there simply isn't enough quality in the defensive midfield slots to justify using two of them. If a 4-2-3-1 is used, expect to see Nigel de Jong and Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the holding roles, Rafael van der Vaart in the center, Wesley Snejider on one wing, and Robin van Persie on the other. If van Basten opts to go with the 4-3-3, which would be my pick, van der Vaart, Snejider, and van Bronckhorst would make up the midfield.

Up front, it again depends on the formation. Ruud van Nistelrooy is basically guaranteed the center forward position either way as he is still a few notches above Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. In the 4-2-3-1, van Nistelrooy would be by himself, but in the 4-3-3, Robin van Persie would play on one wing, with either Ryan Babel or more likely Arjen Robben on the other.

Holland's first two games are against France and Italy, so it's very likely that they'll need to beat Romania in the final group match to advance. In qualifying, only one goal was scored between both teams in their two games, with Romania taking four out of the six possible points.

Check back later on this afternoon for the second part of this Group C preview, which will feature Italy and Romania.

Greece's Euro 2008 Squad

Wow, as soon as I finished posting the Dutch squad, Greece came out with their final roster. Tomorrow's workload is getting lighter by the minute, as now only nine more nations still need to submit their teams.

Greece is the defending champion, and will compete in Group D with Sweden, Spain, and Russia. They're coached by a German, Otto Rehhagel, who has been in charge since 2001.

Get ready for a lot of "O"'s and "S"'s, everyone...

GK (3): Antonios Nikopolidis (Olympiacos), Konstantinos Chalkias (Aris), Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete)

DEF (9): Giourkas Seitaridis (Atlético Madrid), Christos Patsatzoglou, Paraskevas Antzas, and Vasilis Torosidis (Olympiacos), Loukas Vyntra, Nikos Spiropoulos, and Yannis Goumas (Panathinaikos), Traianos Dellas (AEK Athens), Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Eintracht Frankfurt)

MID (5): Angelos Basinas* (Mallorca), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Unattached), Giorgos Karagounis and Alexandros Tziolis (Panathinaikos), Kostas Katsouranis (Benfica)

FWD (6): Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Angelos Charisteas (Nuremberg), Dimitrios Salpigidis (Panathinaikos), Theofanis Gekas (Bayer Leverkusen), Ioannis Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt), Nikolaos Liberopoulos (AEK Athens)

*Captain

Nine defenders? Hmm..

More on Greece on Thursday.

Holland's Euro 2008 Squad

Dutch coach Marco van Basten just announced his final 23-man roster, leaving ten nations needing to do the same before tomorrow's deadline. His last cut was former Chelsea and now Sevilla defender Khalid Boulahrouz.

As you'll see, it is loaded with attacking players that fit the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 "total football" system, but this emphasis on going forward has come at the price of not producing many quality defenders (aside from Jaap Stam).

GK (3): Edwin van der Sar* (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord)

DEF (6): Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa), André Ooijer (Blackburn), Mario Melchiot (Wigan), Tim de Cler (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Ajax), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg)

MID (7): Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Orlando Engelaar (FC Twente), Nigel de Jong and Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar)

FWD (7): Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben (Real Madrid), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic)

*Captain

Euro 2008 Preview--Group B

I'll get right to it -- here's a look at Group B, comprised of co-hosts Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Poland. If you're a history buff and know anything about war in Europe over the past few centuries, you'll understand why this group could provide some of the tensest, most passionate games in the tournament.

First, the match schedule (all times Eastern):

June 8:
Austria vs. Croatia (Noon; Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna)
Germany vs. Poland (2:45; Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt)

June 12:
Croatia vs. Germany (Noon; Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt)
Austria vs. Poland (2:45; Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna)

June 16:
Austria vs. Germany (2:45; Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna)
Poland vs. Croatia (2:45; Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt)

Austria:

Coached by Josef Hickersberger, Austria will make their first appearance in the European Championships. They gained automatic entry, of course, as a co-host, but this is a country on the rise in soccer as evidenced by their run to the semifinals in last year's FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The captain of that team, Sebastian Prödl, is a tall, commanding center back that has been included in Hickersberger's provisional squad after scoring twice in a senior friendly against Holland on March 26 and is a very good bet to make the final cut. As you can go back and read in my preview and recap of the US-Austria quarterfinal from the U-20 World Cup, won 2-1 by Austria, I came away very impressed with Prödl (who was named to the all-tournament team by Gazzetta dello Sport) and his teammate, striker Erwin "Jimmy" Hoffer, who was deadly off the bench all tournament and scored the game-winning goal against the US. Hoffer is also part of this provisional squad, which is at 31 right now and will be trimmed down to the required 23 after tonight's friendly against Nigeria.

Much of the team remains a mystery to the casual observer; the vast majority of players on the 31-man squad play their domestic soccer in the Austrian Bundesliga, though fans of the Premiership likely will recognize the name of Emanuel Pogatetz, who plies his trade for Middlesbrough and is the starting left-back for country and club. Several other players, Prödl included, have already finalized moves that will take them to clubs outside of Austria after this tournament finishes.

Coupled with the relative anonymity I just mentioned is the fact that Austria, like Switzerland, didn't have to go through qualifying. Hickersberger hasn't had to give anything away or use his full-strength lineup; his team played a whopping 12 friendlies last year and will end up playing four before they start their Euro campaign against Croatia, but you can't take too much from those.

It would be foolish of me to speculate on a possible lineup because I simply don't know enough about the team, but I would assume that Pogatetz, two midfielders, the captain, Andreas Ivanschitz, who also boasts a very nice left foot, and René Aufhauser, a defensive-minded player, and striker Roland Linz all will be in the starting XI. Other than that, I'd like to see Prödl right in the center of the back line and there seems to be a good possibility of that happening.

Avoiding Germany until the third and final group match could be extremely beneficial, as the Austrians aren't likely to get anything out of that game and would have a better chance to get the points they need to advance in their first two games. The critical match is against Poland, in which one would think both teams would absolutely need a victory. In front of their home crowd, it'll be Austria's best opportunity for three points, and they can't afford to let it slip by.

Croatia:

England fans know all about Croatia, the team that ended the Three Lions' hopes of making it to Euro 2008 with a 3-2 victory at Wembley on the last day of qualifying in their group. Croatia had already booked their trip to this summer's tournament as group winners and had nothing to play for, but their no-nonsense, never-quit attitude was enough to spoil England's dreams.

Croatia is coached by Slaven Bilić, who is a hot commodity in the coaching world and already spurned advances from West Ham and several other clubs. This is a guy who speaks three different languages and has a law degree. For those who don't know, trust me, he means business and with him at the helm, Croatia has to be taken extremely seriously.

It all starts at the top with Bilić, but he also has a lot of talent to pick from on his already-finalized roster. After his team's uninspiring 1-0 victory over Moldova earlier this week, Bilić is considering changing from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 for the Euros. He has the players to do this; the Croatian midfield is absolutely loaded with quality, with Niko Kovač, Ivan Rakitić, Niko Kranjčar, Darijo Srna, and Luka Modrić all in the mix. Up top, Ivica Olić, Mladen Petrić, and Nikola Kalinić will fight it out for what now looks like one spot. In the back, an experienced group led by Dario Šimić and Robert Kovač, as well as Manchester City's impressive young right back, Vedran Ćorluka, are all capable of shutting down the opponent's front line. Stipe Pletikosa will be between the posts, reprising his role from World Cup 2006, which ended in a disappointing early exit for his nation.

This team is loaded, and all of this is without Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva, who led Croatia with 10 goals in qualifying but as we all remember, suffered a freak injury in January and won’t take any part in the action in June. With a knowledgeable, savvy coach in Slaven Bilic, and talent all across the field, Croatia definitely is capable of making a deep run in this tournament.

Germany:

Perennial tournament favorites Germany enter Euro 2008 in their customary position. As hosts of World Cup 2006, they beat Portugal 3-1 in the third-place game and led all nations in goals scored with 14. They finished second, two points behind the Czech Republic in a ridiculously easy qualifying group for this competition and haven't really been tested in a while on the international level.

The 26-man provisional roster named by coach Joachim Löw is stacked, and just screams 4-4-2. Jens Lehmann, of course, will be in goal, this time without the considerably large shadow of Oliver Kahn lurking behind him. If recent friendlies are any indication, Heiko Westermann and Phillip Lahm will occupy the left and right back positions, respectively, but Arne Friedrich can't be counted out and I'd expect to see him reclaim his right back position from World Cup 2006, which would then shift Lahm over to left back. The twin towers, Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder, will anchor the middle. In the midfield, Michael Ballack and the more rough-and-tumble Torsten Frings will be in the center, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and possibly David Odonkor on the wings. Up front, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, the Best Young Player of the 2006 WC, will form one of the most lethal strike duos in the tournament.

This is a group Germany should advance from, and although it won't be easy, there is more than enough talent here to do the job. Their first game is against Poland, a rematch of Germany's charged, exciting 1-0 victory in the last World Cup, followed by Croatia and then Austria to close out the group stage. If they come into that game against Austria needing a victory to progress, look out, as that would be one of the must-watch games of the competition.

Poland:

Closing things out on this preview of Group B, let's get to Poland, who will also be making their first appearance in the Europe's continental championship.

Poland won their qualifying group, which was probably the most competitive of its brethren with Portugal, Serbia, Finland, and Belgium all competing. With that said, take a look at their squad and you'll wonder how they did that; Poland has been known in recent years to produce some very good goalkeepers and some above average strikers, but from an outside perspective, there just doesn't appear to be much in the way of talent in the defense and in midfield.

They have a Dutch coach, Leo Beenhakker, who is as experienced as they come and has led many high-profile club teams as well as the Dutch national team. By all accounts, he's blended a solid team together -- winning a qualifying group can't be a fluke, and even though there isn't a lot of name recognition here, Poland will be very competitive.

I know even less about Poland than I do about Austria, so again, but here's my educated guess as to their starting lineup based on the research I did: Artur Boruc will be in goal, although Tomasz Kuszczak and Łukasz Fabiański are also capable at that position. Michał Żewłakow will be ahead of Boruc at left back, with Jacek Bąk and Mariusz Jop in the center and Marcin Wasilewski on the right. In the midfield, veteran Jacek Krzynówek will be on the left in a more advanced role, with both Mariusz Lewandowski and Dariusz Dudka sitting in holding positions and Wojciech Łobodziński, wide right. Up front, the captain, Maciej Żurawski has a guaranteed place, alongside either Southampton's Marek Saganowski or Euzebiusz Smolarek, who led Poland's qualifying group in goal scoring with 9.

Group B Final Prediction (teams in bold advance):

1. Germany -- 7 points
2. Croatia -- 5 points
3. Austria -- 2 points
4. Poland -- 1 point

Tomorrow will be a busy day on the Euro 2008 front, as final rosters have to be submitted. As of right now, five of the 16 nations participating have already trimmed their squads down to the 23-man limit, so simple math tells us that 11 countries will make their final cuts tomorrow.

Here at English Soccer Talk, I'll be previewing Group C, which is this year's "Group of Death" -- Holland, Italy, France, and Romania. I'm planning on handling it like I did on Monday, that is, I'll break it down into two parts, put one up in the early afternoon and the other up by the evening. During that break, I'll be posting the final squads for the countries that haven't already released theirs. To keep the posts short, I'll start by doing the nations in Group A, then a separate entry for what's left of Group B, then Group C, and then Group D. Basically, tomorrow you'll first see my breakdown of France and Holland, then the final rosters, then my previews of Italy and Romania.

So until then, have a good one, everybody.

Russia's Euro 2008 Squad

Last week, Guus Hiddink denied reports that he was in talks with Roman Abramovich to become Chelsea's newest manager. Today, the Russian boss announced his 23-man squad for Euro 2008, with his team set to fight it out with Sweden, Spain, and defending champion Greece in Group D.

GK (3): Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Amkar Perm), Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St. Petersburg)

DEF (7): Vasili Berezutskiy, Sergei Ignashevich, and Aleksei Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Renat Yanbayev (Lokomotiv Moscow), Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow), Roman Shirokov and Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit St. Petersburg)

MID (7): Dmitri Torbinsky and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Sergei Semak (Rubin Kazan), Konstantin Zyrianov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Vladimir Bystrov (Spartak Moscow)

FWD (6): Roman Adamov (FC Moscow), Ivan Saenko (Nuremberg), Andrei Arshavin* and Pavel Pogrebnyak (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow), Dmitri Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow)

*Captain

Euro 2008 Preview--Group A (Part 2)

After taking a little break to watch some afternoon baseball, I'm back with the second part of my Group A preview.

Switzerland:

Coming off their unexpected progression to the Round of 16 in World Cup 2006, where they were the only team to not concede a goal during regulation, Switzerland has fairly high hopes in this edition of the European Championship. Boosting those hopes, of course, is the fact they are a co-host of this tournament along with Austria, and we've seen in recent international competitions that the host country is almost a surefire lock to make it out of the first round.

Switzerland's competition in Group A complicates that notion; behind Group C, this year's "Group of Death", Group A is the trickiest to navigate. Köbi Kuhn's team hasn't played a competitive game since losing in PK's to Ukraine in the last World Cup; as a co-host, they had an automatic berth in this tournament and thus didn't participate in qualifying.

Kuhn announced a 26-man provisional squad on May 13, and from its breakdown by position, I would guess that he'll trim it down to the required 23 by dropping two defenders and a midfielder, although there are injury worries in both areas. Going by age alone would indicate that this a young team, but that's not the complete truth. This is a very experienced group of players and will use their success in Germany two years ago to their advantage.

For me, it all starts with the ageless one, Pascal Zuberbühler, in net, although Diego Benaglio has gained considerable momentum in Kuhn's eyes and could very well be first choice on June 7.

The back line is insecure at the moment. Philippe Senderos will anchor the defense, that is for certain, but there are question marks surrounding the health of Ludovic Magnin, the first-choice left back, the soon-to-be Liverpool player Philipp Degen, the starting right back, and Patrick Müller, Senderos' fellow central defender. If all three are fit, all three will start, but if not, Johan Djourou, Senderos' teammate at Arsenal, will take Müller's place, Stephan Lichtsteiner will play on the right, and you could see Stéphane Grichting or Valon Behrami on the left.

The midfield also has some concerns. Tranquillo Barnetta is a fixture on the right, but he took a knock recently in training and missed Switzerland's 2-0 friendly victory over Slovakia two days ago. If he recovers in time, which appears likely, he could be joined in the midfield by Manchester City's Gelson Fernandes, who would occupy a central role behind the creative Hakan Yakin. There are two candidates for the left wing, Valon Behrami and Daniel Gygax, but Behrami is more naturally a right-sided player who is capable of playing either left back or left midfield if necessary.

The captain, Alexander Frei, will lead the front line if he's fully fit after an injury-plagued season at Borussia Dortmund. Frei needs just two more goals to become Switzerland's all-time leading goal-scorer with 35 after scoring in that game against Slovakia, and you know he'll be hungry to do that in front of his countrymen in the crowd. Alongside Frei, you could see Marco Streller (first option, but health issues remain) or Johan Vonlanthen, who has been effective off the bench in his international career.

As you can see, there are a lot of "ifs" and concerns surrounding this team. If everything is resolved, and all signs right now point to that being the case, Switzerland will be very dangerous in front of their home crowd and could repeat their success from World Cup 2006. By avoiding group favorite Portugal until the third match, the Swiss should be able to pick up the points they need in the two previous fixtures and put themselves in a position where their destiny is in their own hands in that final game.

Turkey:

I won't lie -- I know very little about Turkish soccer aside from watching Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, and Fenerbahçe in European club competitions. The national team finished seven points behind group champion Greece and a point ahead of Norway to make it to Euro 2008 out of the weakest qualifying group.

With all of that said and my ignorance aside, it would be foolish to underestimate a nation that made it to the quarterfinals in Euro 2000 and won the third-place game in World Cup 2002. Rüştü Reçber, the goalkeeper on that World Cup team, could be back between the sticks again and has piled up 128 caps in his career. An outstanding goalkeeper or one who just gets hot at the right time can carry a team in any competition, and on that basis alone, Turkey can't immediately be counted out.

Defense appears to be the weak link on this team; the leading cap-winner amongst that group on the 27-man provisional squad announced by coach Fatih Terim is center back Emre Aşık, who is 34 years old but has appeared only 26 times for his country.

There are some recognizable, talented names in the midfield and up front. Belözoğlu Emre is the nation's captain and a stalwart in the center, where his creative abilities have helped land him in Serie A at Inter Milan and now Newcastle. He is one of the most decorated, accomplished Turkish players ever (although granted, Turkish soccer has only recently come to the forefront).

Yıldıray Baştürk, who was born in Germany and has played his entire domestic career in Germany, is another vital contributor to the Turkish midfield. Also born and bred in Germany is Hamit Altıntop, a spectacular ball-striker who can score from long range and rack up assists. He's carved out a very nice career in the Bundesliga and is at Bayern Munich now. A broken metatarsal suffered on March 27 has Altintop's availability for Euro 2008 in question, but as of this preview today, I couldn't find any articles or reports declaring him out of the squad.

Mehmet Aurélio is the other well-known player in Turkey's midfield, and he is more defensively-minded than the previous three, though he does score his share of goals. Aurélio is Fenerbahçe's captain and was the first naturalized player to appear for Turkey when he played in a friendly at the age of 29, as he was born in Brazil and didn't go to Turkey until five years prior.

Middlesbrough's Tuncay Sanli will spearhead the forward line with either Gökdeniz Karadeniz or Nihat Kahveci right there with him.

Turkey has the most difficult schedule in the group, with their first game coming against Portugal and the second (and pivotal) game against Switzerland. They'll finish up against the Czech Republic, likely needing a victory in that game to have a chance at advancing to the quarterfinals.

Group A Final Prediction (teams in bold advance):

1. Portugal --7 points
2. Switzerland -- 5 points
3. Czech Republic -- 4 points
4. Turkey -- 0 points

Check back tomorrow for my full preview (which will be more brief, I promise) of Group B, made up of Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Poland.

Euro 2008 Preview--Group A (Part 1)

First of all, I want to wish all of my fellow countrymen here in the States a wonderful Memorial Day. Almost everyone I know has or had a family member in the armed forces, and today is all about remembering those who died while in military service to their country. We know it as the unofficial first day of summer when swimming pools traditionally open and families have a nice barbecue, but today is really more than that and I hope everyone takes a moment to reflect upon what this day truly means.

Now, onto the meat of this post -- previewing Group A in Euro 2008, which will start in just under two weeks' time. This group is comprised of Switzerland, the tournament co-host, Turkey, Portugal, and the Czech Republic.

Here's the fixture schedule (all times Eastern):

June 7:
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic (Noon; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)
Portugal vs. Turkey (2:45; Stade de Genève, Geneva)

June 11:
Czech Republic vs. Portugal (Noon; Stade de Genève, Geneva)
Switzerland vs. Turkey (2:45; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)

June 15:
Switzerland vs. Portugal (2:45; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)
Turkey vs. Czech Republic (2:45; Stade de Genève, Geneva)

Czech Republic:

In a qualifying group that included Germany and Ireland, the Czech Republic finished first with 29 points from their 12 games. This is their sixth appearance in the European Championships, although three of them came as the former Czechoslovakia, including the 1976 team that won the whole thing.

Their U-21's won the European U-21 Championship in 2002, and you can find a fair amount of players from that team on the senior team that will open up against Switzerland on June 7, including Petr Čech and Milan Baroš. It's always an unpleasant assignment to play your first game and the first game of the tournament against a host country, and you can bet the Swiss crowd will be in full roar in Basel.

Tomáš Rosický, known as the "Little Mozart" for his creative skill, fantastic passing ability, and the way he orchestrates play out of the center of midfield, will miss the tournament due to injury and that's a major blow for his country. He is their captain and field general and there just isn't anyone who will be able to replace him.

Coach Karel Brückner has named a 23-man provisional squad already, which of course is the number his final roster will have to have as well. If he chooses not to replace anyone, he'll have a team that seems to be pretty solid through the starting XI but without much on the bench.

Čech, one of the world's best at his position, will of course be in goal, in front of him could very well be an experienced back line of Grygera, Rozenhal, Ujfaluši, and Jankulovski (R to L), a midfield comprised of Galásek in the holding role, Jarolím on the right, possibly Skácel or Matějovský on the left, and Plašil right in the center. Up top will be the two stalwarts -- the big target man, Jan Koller, and his quicker sidekick, Baroš.

Portugal:

Big Phil's team finished second in an ultra-competitive qualifying group, as Poland nipped them by just one point. Under Scolari, Portugal lost in the final of Euro 2004 to Greece and lost to France in the semifinals of World Cup 2006. They will be looking to shake off those disappointments and win this competition, one in which they are favored to make a deep run.

Portugal's final squad has already been released and squad numbers have been announced, so barring injury, there will be no changes and what you see is what you'll get. This is a country not known in recent years to produce true center forwards; instead, an emphasis has been placed on pace, creativity, and wing play. In this group, those attributes should be enough to overcome the three either older or slower teams (who also simply have less talent), but that may not be the case come the knockout rounds.

Scolari is known as a unique character, one who tends to take the pressure off his team through his own personal antics and behavior, and I think that will really benefit his side in this tournament. It's a team that has 4-5-1/4-3-3 written all over it, with Ricardo in goal, either Bosingwa or Miguel at right back, Ferreira on the left, where he has played before, and Meira and Carvalho in the center. In the midfield, Deco will roam freely in the center, Cristiano Ronaldo and Simão will be on the wings, Petit seems likely to play in the holding role, and either João Moutinho or Raul Meireles, both terrific passers, will also be in the middle. As the lone center forward, Nuno Gomes will feature with Hélder Postiga spelling him.

Portugal’s schedule also sets up as arguably the most comfortable of any team in the group. While it is no slouch, Turkey has to be considered the weakest team out of the four and Portugal plays them first, followed by the Czech Republic. After those two games, they’ll know exactly what they need (if anything at all) in their third and final match, against Switzerland. That game seems to me like Portugal’s toughest, as not only do the Swiss have the home-field advantage, they are very difficult to break down and that is Portugal’s strength, quick passing and dribbling.

Check back later this afternoon for Part 2 of my Group A preview, in which I'll take a look at Turkey and Switzerland and give you my prediction for how the group will finish up.

Euro 2008 Preview

Tomorrow marks the start of Euro 2008 coverage here, and I'll begin by previewing all things concerning Group A -- Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal, and Turkey.

I'll have a breakdown of each nation's roster (preliminary and final, if it's been released) with key players to watch. I'll also predict the final standings for the group, right down to exact point totals.

Euro 2008 is right around the corner, and I can't wait for it to begin!

Goodbye, Avram Grant

This was a long time coming, and definitely the right move by chief executive Peter Kenyon. Grant was sacked today as manager, not even a year into his four-year contract. Kenyon and Bruce Buck, the club's chairman, said that Chelsea's performance this season was "simply not good enough", and they're right. As a big club in England, you basically have a one-in-four chance to win a trophy, and Chelsea won none of the four competitions they entered (FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League, and Premiership).

The Israeli manager did a decent job after replacing The Special One at Stamford Bridge. His managerial record (26-8-3) was statistically fantastic, there's no doubt.

But let's get something straight. He didn't get it done in the big games, when it matters the most. I could pick a starting XI from Chelsea's roster to beat the Sunderlands, the West Hams, and the Middlesbroughs of the world. That's not difficult. He inherited the squad that Mourinho had built — one that won back-to-back league titles — and had the added benefit of a healthy Michael Ballack.

His team didn't even show up to play in the Carling Cup final against Tottenham. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Barnsley -- BARNSLEY. Grant was outcoached in the Champions League final earlier this week, which I firmly believe now upon further reflection although I didn't think that was the case immediately after the game. He always allowed the opposing manager to make the first move in a game and then tried to counter it, even though the best managers have proven that they are the ones who dictate how the game will be played. He repeatedly took off his best player/s in games, whether it was Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou, or whoever. His one major purchase in the January transfer window, Nicholas Anelka, barely had a role in Chelsea's first team despite scoring goals left and right at Bolton with very little talent around him.

Grant has no qualifications on his résumé that would indicate he had the experience and ability to lead one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Sorry, managing Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa isn't even close. Managing Israel's national team isn't even close. Israel didn't qualify for either of the two major tournaments (Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006) they wanted to enter during Grant's tenure. Being the technical director or director of football, whatever you want to call it, at Portsmouth for one season isn't even close.

Let's be clear. The only reason Grant got this job in the first place was because of his close friendship with Roman Abramovich, the club's owner.

As soon as Chelsea lost the final on Wednesday to Manchester United, who has, without exaggeration, the best manager in the world in Sir Alex Ferguson, you always knew Grant was going to get his walking papers. It was just a question of when, and we got the answer today.

Ekpe Udoh Is Transferring

With news slowing down in the soccer world in this lull period between the Champions League final and the start of Euro 2008, I wanted to bring a piece of news that I saw a little while ago to the forefront. This story, of course, concerns me a little bit as a Michigan Wolverines basketball fan and should concern those of you who are expecting John Beilein's team to have a better season next year as well.

In a statement released on May 6, sophomore center Ekpe Udoh announced that he would leave Michigan and seek a transfer to, presumably, another Division I school. Udoh was Michigan's best defensive player by far last season and led the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots, and his offensive game was also picking up. While it's true that his jumpshot was nowhere near what Beilein wants to see from his big man, it was definitely improving and I think he would've had a breakout year on that end of the floor, similar to that of DeShawn Sims in '07-'08.

Another offseason in the gym bulking up a little bit and a summer at Michigan and Udoh would've been a star for the Maize and Blue this year. I definitely could've seen him as a first team all-conference performer this year with the development that one would expect between sophomore and junior year. He already ranked fifth on Michigan's all-time blocks list with 159 in his two years, which is a huge accomplishment given the abundance of talent the Wolverines have had in their big men positions over the years.

"This was a very difficult decision for me," Udoh said in a released statement. "I just feel I need to explore other options right now. I had a wonderful experience at Michigan and I want to thank everyone for helping me the last two years. I wish them nothing but success in the future."

The same sentiment is echoed from me towards Udoh, who gave Michigan everything he had in last year's disappointing campaign. He is a guy with the natural ability and tools to play professionally, and because John Beilein's system is not known for producing NBA-level players, I understand why Udoh wanted to leave. I think he may very well regret this decision in the short term, though, because Michigan will be a much-improved basketball team this year led again by Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims.

The Wolverines lost only one scholarship senior from last year's team, Ron Coleman, who had been relegated to a sixth man-type role anyway, and have brought in what looks like a solid recruiting class. This is a team with postseason aspirations and Udoh would've been a big part of that. He's gone, and even though he would've been hugely important this season, I believe Michigan will be able to overcome his transfer.