Euro 2008
Hope Still Alive For Most Countries Despite Losses
Of the eight teams that advanced out of the group stage at the 2004 European Championships, only four won their opening matches. This may be changing in 2008, says Emmett Williams.
Of the eight teams that advanced out of the group stage at the 2004 European Championships, only four won their opening matches.
Both Portugal and England lost their first matches 2-1 to Greece and France, respectively. Holland and Denmark opened their Euro accounts with draws to Germany and Italy.
This suggests that in 2008, teams that had disappointing opening matches still have a chance of progressing.
In Group A, Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner’s refusal to play two strikers upfront in addition to Turkey’s major injury problems mean that Switzerland have an outside chance of going through despite their opening match loss.
Poland were humbled by Germany in the Group B opener, but Croatia did not impress against lowly Austria which gives the Poles a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Group of Death saw one incredible performance from Holland and three teams that will almost certainly get better in their next match. If the Dutch continue their form, and Italy continue to be as poor as they were in their first game, Romania could very well surprise everyone by moving on.
Group D saw Spain and Sweden scoring big wins. Greece were poor and defensive and negative and it was a pleasure to see them exposed. But Russia’s loss flattered the Spanish and Guus Hiddink’s team were inches away from making much more of a game of it.
Despite not having won their opening matches, a strong case could be made for Switzerland, Poland, Romania, and Russia going through to the next round.
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