Group A

[AJ]

Portugal
Czech Republic
Switezerland
Turkey

[WHUPUNTER]

1st Portugal
2nd Czech Republic
3rd Turkey
4th Switzerland

[stuartyoung1989]

1.Czech Republic
2.Portugal
3.Switezerland
4.Turkey

[Tulenos]

Czech Republic will almost certainly be missing Tomas Rosicky which is all but all of the midfield gone. It's such a terrible vision that the management have even been toying with the idea of recalling Pavel Nedved again. Matejovsky was a decent replacement earlier in the season, but I doubt he can last in top form for long.

Cech the goalie is also a big question mark, although playing again for Chelsea, but the face wound can easily get torn under pressure as it's pretty fresh. Second choice goalie, Blazek, not in very spectacular form.

[anothamug]

could do worse than turkey to qualify currently 2.88 with betfred. weide open group and with question marks over czechs and a very mediocre swiss side value could be on the turks.

[chiqo]

1st Portugal
2nd Czech Republic
3rd Switzerland
4th Turkey

Portugal will win this group if Christiano Ronaldo will be on the level he is at the moment. Czech is better than switzerland and turkey in my eyes. But it´s possible Switzerland and Turkey change the positions... maybe

[SeanMac]

1st - Portugal
2nd - Czech Republic
3rd - Switzerland
4th - Turket

[Tulenos]

Czech Rep. - Just been announced that Rosicky will be defo out, undergoing an operation next Tuesday. Nedved hasn't confirmed yet so at the moment there is no creative leader of the midfield in the team.

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Tulenos

Czech Rep. - Just been announced that Rosicky will be defo out, undergoing an operation next Tuesday. Nedved hasn't confirmed yet so at the moment there is no creative leader of the midfield in the team.

could lead to me back the swiss to get second place in the group with home advantage

[SeanMac]

i agree mate

[uhudazflo]

portugal should win group

2nd place is anyones and i thhink the host nation might take itt as the hosts always do better than expected,

[Marek76]

After the pandemonium in the play offs for the World Cup 2006, I'm looking forward to the Switzerland vs Turkey game. Keep an eye on the bookings. But bookies will probably be aware of that and will set the lines high.

The Swiss could make it to the next stage. My personal theory says that one of the hosts will definitely progress and Switzerland look much stronger than Austria.

[budda1312]

Originally Posted by Marek76

... My personal theory says that one of the hosts will definitely progress and Switzerland look much stronger than Austria.

agreed
Austria has no chance whatsoever so it has to be Switzerland. They proved strong over recent years and this group is much tighter than we all seem to think. Turkey are no mugs and always a threat. Portugal has clearly the strongest team, especially up front. Czechs on the other hand are terrible and has been since nedved is gone. If you're looking for upsets this group looks the best. Portugal should get 4 points easily so they're qualified already , but the rest is wide open. No result here will be surprising. The table according to teams' strength should look like this imho:

1. Portugal
2. Switzerland
3. Czechs & Turkey

[Carl]

Taken from Pinnacle,

Group A – Weak Section is Portugal’s For the Taking

Portugal lead the Group A winner’s betting market at PinnacleSports.com priced 2.350 to top the pool phase, ahead of the Czech Republic 3.260*, co-hosts Switzerland 4.810* and Turkey 8.430*. The Portuguese possess an enviable pair of wing wizards in Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Nani, but cannot match that quality in the striker department. Though the Portuguese lost just once during Group A qualification, they finished second, having drawn six of their 14 games. Ronaldo was their top-scorer with eight goals, but an unhealthy amount of expectation rests on his young shoulders, and if the opposition can neutralize his threat, coach, Felipe Scolari may struggle with a plan B.