Two footballers playing on the French Riviera will compete in the final phase. They are the Monégasques Jerko Leko and Nikola Pokrivac. They will be wearing the Croatian colours. No player from OGC Nice will be in the competition. However, it is worth noting Patrice Evra, who wore the red and black during two seasons (2000 and 2001) and Roland Linz (Austria) in 2004. Their performance will be watched closely.
The competition is tough. The sixteen teams are on the same starting line. There are obvious favorites like Italy, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal, but other nations can be dangerous too. Greece proved this in 2004.
Group B: Germany, Poland, Austria, Croatia
Group B consists of teams with a somewhat similar football culture, although this is debatable for Croatia. Since their third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup, the Croatians have been nicknamed “the Brazilians of Europe,” a label they share with Portugal.
Let’s start with the favorite of the Group: Germany. Joachim Low’s squad has regained its form during the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. As semi-finalists, they were eliminated after extra time by Italy, and the Mannschaft showcased attractive football led by top scorer Miroslav Klose and midfielder Michael Ballack. Germany thus enters with full confidence, with its stars still at the top, enhanced by thriving youth: Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolski, Philip Lahm, Marcel Jansen. Germany is the favorite of Group B and one of the contenders for the final victory.
Croatia has the peculiarity of having two Monégasques among its 23 selected: Leko and Pokrivac. Another particularity is being a team that is always very difficult to maneuver, very technical, knowing how to keep the ball well, and with efficient forwards. All this with experience to handle potential difficulties. Croatia, coached by Slaven Bilic, the “friend” of Laurent Blanc, can rely on reliable values like Dario Simic, Robert and Niko Kovac. The new generation with Luka Modric, Niko Krancjar, Ivan Rakitic is starting to make a small place. Ivan Klasnic and Ivica Olic will be responsible for finalizing the opportunities. Croatia could (once again) be the surprise team of the competition.
Austria, along with Switzerland, is the host country of the European Championship. One would dare to say: it was their only chance to participate in the final phase of such a competition. It has been ten years since Austria has been absent from major events. It has also been ten years since the results have been far from expectations. It will be very difficult for the Austrians to qualify for the quarter-finals. They will rely on the experience of goalkeeper Alexandre Manninger and Ivica Vastic (38 years old). Defender Emanuel Pogatetz, who plays for Middlesborough, is the sure value in defense. The curiosity of the people of Nice will focus on the center forward Roland Linz, whose performances at the Stade du Ray have not remained in memory.
Poland hopes to join the fight for qualification. Poland finished at the top of its qualifying group ahead of Portugal, eliminating Serbia. This alone reveals the quality of this team. The key players are goalkeeper Artur Boruc, defenders Jacek Bak, Michal Zewlakow, and Mariusz Lewandowski, midfielder Jacek Krzynowek, and forward Ebi Smolarek. The attraction will be Roger Guerreiro, who has just been naturalized Polish.
Schedule:
Sunday 08/06/2008:
in Vienna 18:00:
AUSTRIA –
CROATIA
in Klagenfurt 20:45:
GERMANY –
POLAND
Thursday 12/06/2008:
in Klagenfurt 18:00
CROATIA –
GERMANY
in Vienna 20:45
AUSTRIA –
POLAND
Monday 16/06/2008
in Vienna 20:45:
AUSTRIA –
GERMANY
in Klagenfurt 20:45:
POLAND –
CROATIA
The stars:
Klose, Ballack, Krancjar, Vastic
Players to discover:
Modric, Guerreiro, Gomez, Linz
Prediction by the Nice-Premium Editorial Team:
1-Germany 2-Croatia 3-Poland 4-Austria
