Euro 2008 betting punters looking to pull out a few shocks should probably steer clear of Group B as co-hosts Austria and Poland, both looking to make a mark in their first-ever appearance in the tournament, will have their work cut out to prevent the favourites Germany and impressive Croatia from marching into the last-eight.
Without being disrespectful to the Austrians had they not automatically qualified for Euro 2008 as joint hosts then it would be fair to say they would not have got near the finals in a qualification campaign.
Coach Josef Hickersberger’s side is made up largely of home-based players, although Premier League fans will recognise Middlesbrough’s combative defender Emanuel Pogatetz.
Pogatetz has barely featured for Austria in recent years after falling out with his coach but their reconciliation and his return could be timely as the side have looked weak defensively since the turn of the year.
A 3-0 friendly defeat against Group B opponents and neighbours Germany was followed by an unbelievable 4-3 loss at the hands of the Netherlands in March, having led the match 3-0 at one stage.
Three-times winners of the European Championships Germany will arrive with one eye on adding a fourth title to their collection.
Joachim Low’s side is still largely made up of the players which reached the World Cup semi-finals on home turf under the guidance of Jurgen Klinsmann two years ago.
Skippered by Chelsea’s midfield star Michael Ballack and containing prolific strikers such as Bayern Munich duo Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose along with Schalke’s Kevin Kuranyi, there is a glut of goals in the squad as they proved with 35 in qualifying – although 19 did come in one game against San Marino.
Hertha Berlin’s Arne Freidrich, Bayern’s Philippe Lahm and Real Madrid’s Christoph Metzelder are likely to be the crux of the backline which conceded just seven goals on their way to Austria and Switzerland.
Croatia will bid to go one better than their previous best record of reaching the quarter-finals in England 12 years ago.
Slaven Bilic’s side are no strangers to English football fans with two victories against then coach Steve McClaren’s side during qualification – the 3-2 win at Wembley in the final game condemning the Three Lions to a summer off.
The loss of Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva to a badly broken leg will be a huge blow to their aspirations, but Bilic’s squad has more than enough quality to ensure they follow Germany into the knockout stage.
Manchester City defender Vedran Corluka, new Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar of Portsmouth’s midfield engine room are immediately recognisable, while there is great experience in the form of skipper Niko Kovac and defensively in the shape of AC Milan’s Dario Simic and Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Kovac.
The Croats’ qualifying wins in England and Israel, along with a goalless draw in Russia, suggests they also have the mental toughness not to let pressure threaten their chances.
Poland will be participating in their first European Championships after an impressive qualification in which they came out top of their respective group a point ahead of the much-fancied Portugal, who they took four points off.
- Euro 2008 Countdown – Group A: Swiss to get rolled on home turf
- Euro 2008 Countdown: Group B – German efficiency to lead the way
- Euro 2008 Countdown: Group C – Dracula’s Boys to struggle in ‘Group of Death’
- Euro 2008 Countdown: Group D – Holders Greece won’t slip up in ‘08
Written by Craig Smithson, a professional sports writer who blogs about Euro 2008 odds at betting.betfair.com.
Actually, Austria and Switzerland, not Poland, are co-hosts. Either way, I think the Poles slip past Croatia for second in this group, though I predict Germany, Poland and Croatia all nab 5 points in the group stage, with Germany and Poland getting through on goal differential.
http://startingeleven.blogspot.com/2008/05/euro-2008-group-b-preview-poland.html
Mike – I saw that too – he means only Austria, although the sentence might be interpreted as calling Poland a co-host.
It’s not big deal, wasn’t trying to be a pain in the ass.
I think I will put a cheeky 10′er on Greece again. You never know.
ahahaha
Germany didn’t score 19 goals against San Marino, they scored 13.
Don’t rule out Poland, they’ll battle Croatia for the 2nd place. They were competitive in the qualifying round enough to finish ahead of Portugal and had good teamwork. Keep an eye on Smolarek.
Also I wouldn’t call Podolski has prolific, he only scored 5 goals this season (Bundesliga) and he was lucky in 2006.
Ahmed thanks for clearing that one up for me! Austria are the co-hosts but Austria and Poland are both taking part in their first European Championships. I admit reading it again it does look like I am saying Poland are co-hosts!
Also good spot GT Germany scored 19 goals in their two games against San Marino not one as you rightly pointed out – 13-0 away and 6-0 in Germany!
Mike interesting backing Poland. Personally I think they struggle away from home and I just cannot see them getting through. However I would tip them to do well in four years when the tournament is on their home soil.
Poland is a good team, we say that euro 2004. But i think croatia have got too much going from them this summer. Barring the loss of eduardo, croatian players have had an excellent season and confidence will be high after thrashing england.
I think miroslav klose is a fantastic striker, but I’ve got to admit I don’t see why everyone was so fussed about podolski.In 2006 all he scored were simple tap-ins it was klose who did all the hard work, podolski never showed an exceptional piece of skill. The two seasons after that hes failed miserably. I’ve seen many bundesliga matches but he seems to be nothing special. There was just this once when a read a review of bayern munich’s uefa cup match against some team where he supposedly preformed very well other than that i havnt heard anything about him and i try to keep track of all bayern munich matches
I’m surpised noone’s mentioned them, i think its going to be a big summer for Mario Gomez and especially Bastien Schweinstiger. Schweinstiger has so far been okay and shown fleeting glimpses of his talent, i think the time is ripe for him to unleash his awesome potential. Mario Gomez has had a fantastic season and he seems a great striker too. Being linked to Chelsea and Milan shows his class. I think he has a big role to play too.
Damn It looks like that I might have lost my cheeky 10′er on greece already just after 1 game.