latest news-1st matchday predictions

In the french camp Patrick Vieira is back in training looking a possibility to start their Monday encounter against Romania. Fabio Cannavaro as he had an operation in his knee but he will remain with the italian squad, as he is the captain and player and manager felt it was important for team spirit. But that should be a tough blow for the world champions as Allessandro Nesta is already out.

Minor injuries seem to be on the everyday news on most teams as the likes of Radoi, Villa, Basinas, Barnetta and Pospech among others are battling to be fit for their respective countries'opening games.

In the opening game I can see the hosts enthusiasm winning the days by beating the Czech Republic. The game between Portugal and Turkey is for me the hardest to predict although Portugal should prevail with a win and potentially a clean sheet. Turkey in my eyes are the most unpredictable team of the tournament with plenty of exciting players going forward and one of the managerial greats in Fatih Terim, "The Emperor", leading them.

In Group B it is a mystery what Austria will present on the pitch against the highly fancied Croatia in a game that might end in a draw should Croatia suffer from opening game jitters. Germany face a tricjy game against low key opponents in Poland but I think the Germans will prevail in a low scoring affair.

Group C, the so-called 'group of death' will probably bring two draws with most teams being overly cautious. Especially the french looked uninspiring in recent friendlies and might be in the end of an upset against Romania, should Adrian Mutu be in the right mood. Holland and Italy in the biggest game of the first matchday with cannavaro absent and with wesley Sneijder being a doubt for the dutch will probably end up in a draw, although luca Toni might fancy his chances against a suspect defence

Group D as well I can't see past two draws in the two games. Greece against Sweden are two teams that play with completely different styles and the greeks might struggle with sweden's usual pace in their build-up play. On the other hand Greece has enough firepower to trouble the swedes. A lot will depend on whether or not Ibrahimovic starts the game. Russia have looked in hot form throughout their build up and with hidding leading them they will prove a tough matchup for the underachievers of Spain. I think this game might be one of the classics of the tournament with the teams sharing the spoils.

Enjoy the games, I will be blogging soon with reaction, match reports etc.

My group predictions

Group A winners Switzerland
Group A runners up Portugal
Group B winners Croatia
Group B runners up Germany
Group C winners Italy
Group C runners up Romania
Group D winners Russia
Group D runners up Spain

PS I will be giving match to match predictions soon. Enjoy the football!!!!!

Group D Preview- Spain

Perennial underachievers, losers they always bottle in on the big stage. In a word Spain. They boast one of the best squads they had in years, perhaps even the best ever. Lots of good young players most of them in good form and no real gaps anywhere. Casillas, Puyol, sergio Ramos, Fabregas, Alonso, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa, Torres. Quality throughout and most of them with a lot of good years ahead of them. Eccentric manager Luis Aragones, known for his racist remarks towards Thierry Henry, has a wealth of talent to work with that can only be compared to the french. He left Raul and Joaquin out of the squad but you can probably guess that they will not be missed. He likes to employ a diamond 4-4-2 formation and certainly he is bound to deliver some success. The writer (blogger) certainly believes so. Otherwise Spanish excitement yet again in 2 years time.

PROS:
1)Best striking partnership in the tournament in Torres and Villa
2)Great cover everywhere in the pitch
3)Solid defence and midfield and the relatively young squad should transform to plenty of energy on the pitch

CONS:
1)They always bottle it. Franco is no longer a political leader
2)Youth might mean inexperience
3)In the quarter finals they match up with the 'group of death'

Goalkeepers

1 Iker Casillas
13 Andrés Palop
23 Pepe Reina

Defenders

2 Raúl Albiol »
3 Fernando Navarro
4 Carlos Marchena
5 Carles Puyol
11 Joan Capdevila
15 Sergio Ramos
18 Álvaro Arbeloa
20 Juanito

Midfielders

6 Andrés Iniesta
8 Xavi Hernández
10 Cesc Fàbregas
12 Santi Cazorla
14 Xabi Alonso
19 Marcos Senna
22 Rubén de la Red

Forwards

7 David Villa
9 Fernando Torres
16 Sergio García
17 Daniel Güiza
21 David Silva

Group D Preview- Greece

The current European champions are back but this time the element of surprise will not be there for them. With successful German manager Otto Rehhagel in the team and the same spine of players with addition of good young players like Torosidis, Gekas, Samaras and Salpingidis signs of optimism are there to be seen for the greeks. Goalkeeper Nikopolidis had an excellent season as well as a lot of the defenders but Haristeas's poor form in the Bundesliga is a major concern for the manager. They also employ a 4-3-3 formation that becomes a 4-5-1 when defending but midfiled has been a problem area with choices being very thin for Rehhagel. Should they qualify through their group anything can happen

PROS:
1)Solid team with the same spine as 2004
2)Good defenders with a lot of British like players in Katsouranis, Patsatzoglou and Torosidis doing a lot of running
3)Lots of combinations can take place upfront with a handful of different striker styles-clinical striker in Gekas

CONS:
1) No real cover (depth) in midfield
2)Element of surprise is now gone
3)Central Defenders (apart from Kyrgiakos) are all on the slow side




Goalkeepers

1 Antonis Nikopolidis
12 Kostas Chalkias
13 Alexandros Tzorvas

Defenders

2 Giourkas Seitaridis
3 Christos Patsatzoglou
4 Nikos Spiropoulos
5 Traianos Dellas
11 Loukas Vintra
15 Vassilis Torosidis
16 Sotiris Kyrgiakos
18 Giannis Goumas
19 Paraskevas Antzas

Midfielders

6 Angelos Basinas
8 Stelios Giannakopoulos
10 Giorgos Karagounis
21 Kostas Katsouranis
22 Alexandros Tziolis

Forwards

7 Giorgos Samaras
9 Angelos Charisteas
14 Dimitris Salpingidis
17 Fanis Gekas
20 Giannis Amanatidis
23 Nikos Liberopoulos

Group D Preview- Sweden

Sweden always seem to qualify for big competitions but they never go too far, like neighbours Denmark did when they won EURO 92 in Sweden. Larsson's return out of international retirement and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return to match fitness are two poistives to a side coached by Lars Lagerback who employs a british style 4-4-2 formation. their main problem lies in the lack of creativity in midfield will be counteracted by a pacey and up tempo game against opponents who like to play possession football. If Larsson and/or Ibrahimovic hit form anything can happen..

PROS:
1)Good striking options with the likes of Allback and Rozenberg coming off the bench
2)Solid and compact midfield
3)The group is not the hardest

CONS:
1)A lot of injury and fitness worries (Ljungberg, Ibrahimovic)
2)Larsson has been playing in a low level back home in Sweden
3)No midfield creativity apart from maybe kallstrom
4)Ageing squad, slow defence


Goalkeepers

1 Andreas Isaksson
12 Rami Shaaban
13 Johan Wiland

Defenders

3 Olof Mellberg
4 Petter Hansson
5 Fredrik Stoor
14 Daniel Majstorovic
15 Andreas Granqvist
23 Mikael Dorsin

Midfielders

2 Mikael Nilsson
6 Tobias Linderoth
7 Niclas Alexandersson
8 Anders Svensson
9 Fredrik Ljungberg
16 Kim Källström
18 Sebastian Larsson
19 Daniel Andersson
21 Christian Wilhelmsson

Forwards

10 Zlatan Ibrahimović
11 Johan Elmander
17 Henrik Larsson
20 Marcus Allbäck
22 Markus Rosenberg

Group D Preview- Russia

Russia qualified for EURO 2008 with a lot of luck after losing to israel in qualifying. Their strongest 'card' is manager Guus Hiddink, a great tactician and a highly respected international manager who has succedeed wherever he has been. The spine of the team comes from UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg so spirits in the camp should be high. Captain Andrei arshavin's 2 match ban will be a big loss because he is a player with great vision and unpredictability a player who can win a game by himself. This is a prelatively young team and the only one that plays with 3 at the back and wing-backs covering the entire flank the russians could advance to the quarter finals but much will depend on their poening game with Spain

PROS:
1)Good team spirit, tactically astute manager
2)Anyukov could be the best up an coming right back in Europe
3)Progrebnyak and Pavlyuchenko are typical british style centre-forwards who should give defences a scare

CONS:
1)Arshavin's absence in the first two games
2)Their defence is a bit slow
3)Overall quality not the best

Goalkeepers

1 Igor Akinfeev
12 Vladimir Gabulov
16 Vyacheslav Malafeev

Defenders

2 Vasili Berezutski
4 Sergei Ignashevich
5 Aleksei Berezutski
8 Denis Kolodin
14 Roman Shirokov
22 Aleksandr Anyukov

Midfielders

3 Renat Yanbaev
7 Dmitri Torbinski
11 Sergei Semak
15 Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
17 Konstantin Zyrianov
18 Yuri Zhirkov
20 Igor Semshov
23 Vladimir Bystrov

Forwards

6 Roman Adamov
9 Ivan Saenko
10 Andrei Arshavin
13 Pavel Pogrebnyak
19 Roman Pavlyuchenko
21 Dmitri Sychev

Group C Preview- Romania

Romania are back on the big stage for the first time in 8 years and they will be massive underdogs in the 'group of death'. Their chance in the charismatic Fiorentina forward Adrian Mutu much like George Hagi in the 90s. Vitor piturca's men have the advantage of an excellent qualifying campaign where they beat holland one of their forthcoming opponents. Christian Chivu, Cosmin contra and Ciprian Marica will be the players to look out for in an otherwise excellent romanian team that employs a 4-4-1-1 formation. They might cause a huge surprise to anyone that underestimates them.

PROS:
1)Excellent team unity, great width and pace
2)In Mutu, Chivu and Contra they have an excellent player in each line of the field
3)Hungry to prove that they deserve to be among the best

CONS:
1)Very tough group
2)Not enough depth, Mutu is irreplaceable
3)Plenty of players have not been at this stage
4)Poor goalkeeper(s)


Goalkeepers

1 Bogdan Lobonţ
12 Marius Popa
23 Eduard Stancioiu

Defenders

2 Cosmin Contra
3 Răzvan Raţ
4 Gabriel Tamaş
5 Cristian Chivu
6 Mirel Rădoi
13 Cristian Sapunaru
14 Sorin Ghionea
15 Dorin Goian
17 Cosmin Moţi
22 Ştefan Radu

Midfielders

7 Florentin Petre
8 Paul Codrea
11 Răzvan Cociş
16 Bănel Nicoliţă
19 Adrian Cristea
20 Nicolae Dică

Forwards

9 Ciprian Marica
10 Adrian Mutu
18 Marius Niculae
21 Daniel Niculae