Euro 2008 Predictions

[grodada]

who are you? ok internet ninja nobody was asking for your opinion

like I'd need your permission

[xyzfutboll]

like I'd need your permission
didnt you know? i am your father

[FNU]

turkey is having a little trouble in deffence all over. they have one decent deffender the rest are crap. and their best deffende Gokhan Gunul(considered to be the new cafu) is injured
volkand demirel is starting GK but he makes alot of mistakes, he is a big clown
You're contradicting yourself now.

[Prawn Sandwich]

didnt you know? i am your father
Quit it - post civilly or you'll be asked to leave

[xyzfutboll]

You're contradicting yourself now.
well even the the deffence is not great, turkey has a very strong midfield and attack. the best deffence is a good offence

[FNU]

I don't think Turkey can match Portugal's midfield, so the defense is going to have to step it up. The best offense is created from good defense.

[xyzfutboll]

I don't think Turkey can match Portugal's midfield, so the defense is going to have to step it up. The best offense is created from good defense.


what do you think portugal's lineup is going to be?

this is what i think turkey will play, and the ? are still undecided due to injuries.

-----------volkan-----
?-----servet----?----hakan
hamit----mehmet a.----emre----arda
--------nihat------tuncay--

[FNU]

Whoever Portugal field, Quaresma, Deco, Ronaldo, are going to be tough to contain in the midfield. I think Turkey can win this game if they push their defense up more to cover the mid, because Portugal doesn't really have pure strikers or at least FWs that are deadly so they push everyone forward. Maybe counterattacking will be key, that's how we beat them in our friendly.
OOHEprUhG0U

[xyzfutboll]

Whoever Portugal field, Quaresma, Deco, Ronaldo, are going to be tough to contain in the midfield. I think Turkey can win this game if they push their defense up more to cover the mid, because Portugal doesn't really have pure strikers or at least FWs that are deadly so they push everyone forward. Maybe counterattacking will be key, that's how we beat them in our friendly.



ronaldo-is an overated player, when it comes to playing in big games he chokes. he is a good player dont get me wrong, but he is not as good as everyone makes him to be.
deco-very good player but in a bad form.
queresma-the biggest threat in portugal squad

i really believe that turkey is a stronger team than portugal.

portugal doesnt have god strikers.
i still have no clue wh os going to be in portugals starting 11 except for ronaldo, deco, and queresma

[voros]

I have a mathematical ranking system that I keep track of on a semi-regular basis. One of the things I use it for is simulating the results of tournaments. So, for example, I simmed the 2006 World Cup 10,000 times and tracked how often each team won, advanced, etc.

Here it is for Euro 2008:

To Win:
France = 16.4%
Spain = 11.82%
Holland = 11.64%
Czechs = 10.42%
Germany = 10.39%
Italy = 7.49%
Portugal = 5.7%
Romania = 5.62%
Swiss = 4.64%
Croatia = 4.62%
Sweden = 3.77%
Turkey = 2.48%
Greece = 1.69%
Poland = 1.49%
Russia = 1.3%
Austria = 0.53%

To advance:
Spain = 74.18%
Germany = 73%
France = 62.16%
Czechs = 61.27%
Croatia = 55.36%
Swiss = 54.81%
Holland = 53.14%
Sweden = 51.63%
Portugal = 50.25%
Italy = 45.4%
Greece = 39.45%
Romania = 39.3%
Poland = 36.76%
Austria = 34.88%
Russia = 34.74%
Turkey = 33.67%

You can see what a nightmare the group of death is for France, Holland, Italy and Romania. It's pretty rare for a favorite to win a tournament like this not be the favorite to advance. France's biggest challenges are all in its group as France, Holland and Italy are the three top ranked teams in the tournament. Romania is no slouch either, ranked 7th among the 16 teams.

Home field advantage is always difficult to account for in tournaments like this (where most everyone is fairly close to home) so take the results for the Swiss and Austrians with a grain of salt (they are given full benefits for home field).

[4evermedi]

I agree...with the proximity of all the nations to the sites, there should be less advantage to the home field. heck, the Potugese attracted 10K spectators to a practice! Hence, I don't think the Swiss or the Austrians are going anywhere.
We will see a shift in soccer power towards Eastern Europe. I like Romania a lot even though they are in the toughest group (they will advance); and my favorite to go all the way is Turkey. ;)

[xyzfutboll]

and my favorite to go all the way is Turkey. ;)

turkey all the way;)

[three lions]

Let's continue to keep the tone of this thread courteous, and make it enjoyable for all. Thanks

T.L.

[magalhaes1976]

what do you think portugal's lineup is going to be?

this is what i think turkey will play, and the ? are still undecided due to injuries.

-----------volkan-----
?-----servet----?----hakan
hamit----mehmet a.----emre----arda
--------nihat------tuncay--


------------------------ Ricardo -------------------
Bosingwa ---- R. Carvalho ----- Pepe ---- P. ferreira
------------------------- Petit ---------------------
--------------- J. Moutinho --- Deco ---------------
C. Ronaldo ---------------------------------- Simão
---------------------- N. Gomes -------------------

Have almost 100% sure this is the team that will start the match. Ricardo is in bad shape but it's a "fetish" player for Scolari so he will play. Petit played bad for SL Benfica this season due to some serious injuries, but experience counts ; N. Gomes almost the same as Petit but worse because he's not playing good for 2 years at least... Problem is, Postiga & H. Almeida are even worse so IMHO I would send Ronaldo forward & get Quaresma in with a free role. We don't need strikers when we have 4 amazing flankers (Nani starts in bench) that can score from everywhere.

I'm not even worried when I compare player to player skill between the 2 countries or the experience in top football, I just hope Portugal can play as a team & that's our biggest problem (even bigger than our opponents).

PS: Judging from our last practices, I would say Portugal will play alot more defensive than usual. I think Scolari learned something from Greece.

[scaryice]

To advance:

By Group:

Czechs = 61.27%
Swiss = 54.81%
Portugal = 50.25%
Turkey = 33.67%

Germany = 73%
Croatia = 55.36%
Poland = 36.76%
Austria = 34.88%

France = 62.16%
Netherlands = 53.14%
Italy = 45.4%
Romania = 39.3%

Spain = 74.18%
Sweden = 51.63%
Greece = 39.45%
Russia = 34.74%