Euro 2008

[spoonman]

It's his first ever post

[|--LdC--|]

Euro 96 last 8
Euro 00 last 4
Euro 04 final...
Euro 08 Winners!

Its about time ;) (If we qualify... our opponents in the group are strong and there is alot of tough games to play especcially against Poland and Serbia at home and the games in Kasakistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan always hard!)

Anyway about the favourites for 2008 i would say there are 7 or 8 teams with equal chances, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, England, Croatia and others but first we have to see who will qualify there is a strong possibility of not seeing some of the major powers in Austria and Switzerland.

[squidward123]

Why not Holland?

they did not impress me at the world cup, and although I can't say if they've improved or not since then as I haven't been following them, I think I can say that those four teams all ended the world cup better than holland and in the case of germany, they have definitely improved; italy will be the same; france will be about the same and portugal probably a bit better.

So I can't put holland in the same category. Unless you can prove to me that they've improved a lot.

[squidward123]

anyone know the seedings for euro 2008? I have the feeling that germany will be in a group of death

[astronomer]

anyone know the seedings for euro 2008? I have the feeling that germany will be in a group of death

The qualifications aren't yet over, so how can we know about the seedings?

[astronomer]

England need to sort their team and style of play out..they have the players to do well obviously, but time and time again the media overrate and overhype their players...to much pressure..like many national teams they seem to play their best when the odds are against them

They need a midfield most importantly.



I totally agree with your point about the England midfield. You can't have Lampard, Beckham, and Gerrard all playing at the same time -- they end up operating at cross-purposes vis-a-vis one another (my personal preference is to keep Lampard on the bench and use him only as a substitute).

They also are rather thin at the defensive midfielder position -- Hargreaves is the only international-quality holding midfielder they have (maybe Carrick will be good enough in a couple of years).

[johan neeskens]

they did not impress me at the world cup, and although I can't say if they've improved or not since then as I haven't been following them, I think I can say that those four teams all ended the world cup better than holland and in the case of germany, they have definitely improved; italy will be the same; france will be about the same and portugal probably a bit better.

So I can't put holland in the same category. Unless you can prove to me that they've improved a lot.

Dutch people are quite upbeat about a) the young talent coming through and b) Ruud van Nistelrooy coming back. We just won the under 21 European championships, with our players outperforming many of the highly priced young talents of Portugal (Nani notably was invisible v our right back Zuiverloon) and England. So we think that with a mix of the old (Van der Sar, Seedorf, Ruud van Nistelrooy) the still young but already established (Robben, Van Persie, Van der Vaart, Sneijder) and the very young and highly talented (Zuiverloon, Drenthe) we look pretty good for the long term. Also, take into account that we always do much better in the European championships than in the world cup. We reached at least the semifinals four times in the past five European tournaments.

That said, while we still have Van basten as manager most Dutch people would not rank Holland as a top favourite. We're no walkover for anyone though.

[squidward123]

Dutch people are quite upbeat about a) the young talent coming through and b) Ruud van Nistelrooy coming back. We just won the under 21 European championships, with our players outperforming many of the highly priced young talents of Portugal (Nani notably was invisible v our right back Zuiverloon) and England. So we think that with a mix of the old (Van der Sar, Seedorf, Ruud van Nistelrooy) the still young but already established (Robben, Van Persie, Van der Vaart, Sneijder) and the very young and highly talented (Zuiverloon, Drenthe) we look pretty good for the long term. Also, take into account that we always do much better in the European championships than in the world cup. We reached at least the semifinals four times in the past five European tournaments.

That said, while we still have Van basten as manager most Dutch people would not rank Holland as a top favourite. We're no walkover for anyone though.

that's true holland did win the euro u21 championships, but I don't put much weight on that as the only objective of that team is to provide about 2-3 good players for the senior side.

and you aren't relying on the u21 as you've got seedorf, van nistelrooy etc back.

So yes, it does look better than the team at the world cup already, but i'd like to see them play over a few game first though. I'll try and watch if i can.

I wouldn't put them in my favourties list easily as the other four teams have a solid base already that was formed at a world cup.

Definitely won't be a walkover - never said that.

Whether they'll be right up there competing for the title with germany, italy and france (I exclude portugal as those three teams have the past track record of being able to win the games that count, while portugal and holland for me still have somewhat of a mental block), depends on how well the team can gel before the euros and then in the group stages.

[johan neeskens]

that's true holland did win the euro u21 championships, but I don't put much weight on that as the only objective of that team is to provide about 2-3 good players for the senior side.

and you aren't relying on the u21 as you've got seedorf, van nistelrooy etc back.

So yes, it does look better than the team at the world cup already, but i'd like to see them play over a few game first though. I'll try and watch if i can.

I wouldn't put them in my favourties list easily as the other four teams have a solid base already that was formed at a world cup.

Definitely won't be a walkover - never said that.

Whether they'll be right up there competing for the title with germany, italy and france (I exclude portugal as those three teams have the past track record of being able to win the games that count, while portugal and holland for me still have somewhat of a mental block), depends on how well the team can gel before the euros and then in the group stages.

I'd say Portugal, Germany and Italy are probably the top favourites. Holland doesn't have to fear the others.

I don't get why you think that Holland has a mental block for the games that count. We may not have as many star players as some of the other nations, but what wins games for use these days is commitment and team spirit combined with clever tactics. Dutch footballers and the media laugh at how we've become the 'new Germany', i.e. we seem to win a lot of games in the last minute these days. Where you think our weakness lies is exactly where currently our strength lies. You're not alone in this by the way. Many people who don't regularly see us play would probably agree with you.

[squidward123]

I'd say Portugal, Germany and Italy are probably the top favourites. Holland doesn't have to fear the others.

I don't get why you think that Holland has a mental block for the games that count. We may not have as many star players as some of the other nations, but what wins games for use these days is commitment and team spirit combined with clever tactics. Dutch footballers and the media laugh at how we've become the 'new Germany', i.e. we seem to win a lot of games in the last minute these days. Where you think our weakness lies is exactly where currently our strength lies. You're not alone in this by the way. Many people who don't regularly see us play would probably agree with you.

Why don't you have france there?

Mental block - well holland in past years haven't shown me that they win the tight games. euro 2000 semi for example.

sometimes it's not necessarily a tight game, but one where they have plenty of chances like that game and don't win.

there just seems to be a mental block that affects your players that stops them from getting into finals or semis sometimes.

Ok I haven't seen them play, but I'm not sure if being able to do it in quals means that once the tournament comes around that they can do it.

[johan neeskens]

Why don't you have france there?

Mental block - well holland in past years haven't shown me that they win the tight games. euro 2000 semi for example.

sometimes it's not necessarily a tight game, but one where they have plenty of chances like that game and don't win.

there just seems to be a mental block that affects your players that stops them from getting into finals or semis sometimes.

Ok I haven't seen them play, but I'm not sure if being able to do it in quals means that once the tournament comes around that they can do it.

Euro 2000 was SEVEN years ago! We've moved on since then!

Your conflicting views on the Dutch NT represent public opinion unfortunately. You don't think much of us yet simultaneously label us chokers when we don't reach the final.

[Edgar]

anyone know the seedings for euro 2008? I have the feeling that germany will be in a group of death

This is how it looks at the moment -> link (http://lucrurineinteresante.blogspot.com/2007/06/euro-2008-situatia-la-zi_08.html) (in Romanian, but you can figure out the team names).

[Edgar]

If the teams with the best coefficient qualify from each group, this how the pots will look like:

Pot 1: Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Germany
Pot 2: Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Portugal
Pot 3: Italy, England, Poland, France
Pot 4: Romania, Czechia, Spain, Turkey

Group A: Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Czechia
Group B: Austria, Croatia, Poland, Spain
Group C: Germany, Sweden, Italy, Romania
Group D: Greece, Portugal, England, Turkey

[spoonman]

Does Greece receive a seed????

Funny btw, the link has Romania and Bulgaria qualifying instead of us, you fixed it.

[Edgar]

Does Greece receive a seed????

Funny btw, the link has Romania and Bulgaria qualifying instead of us, you fixed it.

Yes, as EURO 2004 winner.

That post is based on the current EURO 2008 standings. In group G, Romania and Bulgaria are above you -> uefa.com (http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/standings/round=2241/group=2636.html)

I also have Norway and Israel qualifying instead of Turkey and England. Against, based on the current standings.

[squidward123]

Your conflicting views on the Dutch NT represent public opinion unfortunately. You don't think much of us yet simultaneously label us chokers when we don't reach the final.

No I normally think holland are very good and up there with the best teams, however they are not a part of the "elite" group of germany, france and italy who you sort of have the feeling that they won't screw it up and will go all the way to the final or win it.

France only recently by the way.

They had it until 1998.

[squidward123]

If the teams with the best coefficient qualify from each group, this how the pots will look like:

Pot 1: Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Germany
Pot 2: Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Portugal
Pot 3: Italy, England, Poland, France
Pot 4: Romania, Czechia, Spain, Turkey

Group A: Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Czechia
Group B: Austria, Croatia, Poland, Spain
Group C: Germany, Sweden, Italy, Romania
Group D: Greece, Portugal, England, Turkey


How the hell are germany a seed???

[dannytoone]

If the teams with the best coefficient qualify from each group, this how the pots will look like:

Pot 1: Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Germany
Pot 2: Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Portugal
Pot 3: Italy, England, Poland, France
Pot 4: Romania, Czechia, Spain, Turkey

Group A: Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Czechia
Group B: Austria, Croatia, Poland, Spain
Group C: Germany, Sweden, Italy, Romania
Group D: Greece, Portugal, England, Turkey

Sweet...the opportunity for revenge against greece, as well as another easy win v Portugal.

[The Jitty Slitter]

if only marco would recall davids

[Sagy]

How the hell are germany a seed???

Right now Germany has the highest point/game (2.71) over the last two qualifying campings (19 in 7 game this time and 0 in 0 for 2006 WCQ). Netherlands (2.56), Sweden (2.47), Croatia (2.41) and Portugal (2.32) are following them.