Group A

[fintron]

As co-hosts, [B]Switzerland[/B] qualified automatically for the finals and they will be looking to put behind them some disappointing form in the European Championships to progress beyond the first round for the first time here at the third attempt. They have a tough group with the Czech Republic and Portugal - both of whom have made the final in recent competitions - included in Group A. At Euro 2004 Switzerland drew with Croatia but lost to France and England to finish bottom of their group. The Swiss acquitted themselves respectably at the 2006 World Cup when they won their group (France, Togo and Korea Republic) but were knocked out in the round of 16 by Ukraine on penalties. For what they are worth, friendly results have seen them draw 1-1 with Argentina and beat Holland 2-1 in June and July last year, so they will be no pushovers. At the World Cup Switzerland did not concede a goal in open play in four fixtures with Arsenal centre-half Philippe Senderos a familiar name in their ranks. Former captain Johann Vogel has now been dropped, Hakan Yakin will be hoping to get goals from midfield for them, however, their strengths appear to be in defence.

The [B]Czech Republic[/B] qualified as winners of their group this time around, winning 9 and drawing 2 of their qualifiers, scoring 27 and conceding just 5. Their sole defeat came to group runners up Germany (1-2) in Prague. In a group that also contained Wales, Ireland, Cyprus, Slovakia and San Marino the Czechs kept an impressive 8 clean sheets. Their top scorer during qualification was Jan Koller with 6 goals (6 goals for in 27 games for Monaco/FC Nuremberg this season). At the last European Championships the Czechs won their group, containing Holland, Germany and Latvia, with a 100 % record. Although they overcame Denmark in the quarter-finals they lost to eventual winners Greece in the semi-finals. Czechosolovakia won this competition in 1976. The Czech Republic were beaten finalists in 1996. On the injury front, the Czechs are likely to be without Tomas Rosicky, who undergoes surgery in the next couple of weeks. As a result, fans are calling for Pavel Nedved to end his international retirement after the Juventus man quit following the 2006 World Cup. 35 year old Jan Koller is set to retire following the tournament and their record goalscorer is likely to be partnered by Portsmouth's Milan Baros (won the Golden Boot at Euro 2004 with 5 goals).

[B]Portugal[/B] lost only once during the latest qualifying campaign but drew 6 games to leave Luis Felipe Scolari's men anxiously waiting until late on to see if they had made the finals. They scored 24 and conceded 10, keeping 6 clean sheets along the way, and Christiano Ronaldo (42 goals in 48 games this season) was their top scorer with 8 goals. The Man Utd star was the 2nd top scorer in the group and 4th top scorer in the qualifiers as a whole. In Euro 2004 Portugal won their Group (Greece, Spain and Russia) and eliminated England on penalties in the quarter finals. They made the final after beating Holland in the semis, but lost to Greece 1-0 in the final. Although they have never won the Championship their progress has improved each year. In 1996 they were beaten quarter finalists, in 2000 they were beaten semi-finalists before reaching the final in 2004. Could they go one better and lift the trophy this time around? Pauleta and Luis Figo retired following the World Cup but the likes of Ronaldo, Simao and Nani have proven able replacments. Portugal tend to deploy a lone striker upfront with Nuno Gomes, Hugo Almeida or Helder Postiga the man chosen.

[B]Turkey[/B] qualified as runners up to Greece in Group C (also contained Norway, Bosnia, Moldova, Hungary and Malta), finishing 1 point ahead of Norway in third and 7 points behind winners Greece. They managed 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats, scoring 25 and conceding 11 in the qualifiers. Their defeats came against Bosnia (3-2, away) and Greece (0-1, home). Hakan Sukur, with 6 goals (14 for Galatasaray this season), was the second highest scorer in their group, as they managed to keep 5 clean sheets. Turkey failed to qualify for Euro 2004. Their best performance in two previous appearances at the finals was reaching the quarter-finals in 1996. Turkey coach Fatih Terim has failed to select Hakan Sukur in his final squad which means Nihat Kahveci and Middlesbrough's Tuncay Sanli will be relied upon for goals. Emre should get a game on the wing but it is defensively they may experience problems. Their two centre-backs provide height, but little pace.

[I][B]Verdict:[/B] If this tournament was being played outside of Switzerland then picking the two teams to qualify from this group may be a more straight forward affair. However, host nations have a good record of progressing and the Swiss must feel they have a chance here after qualifying from their group at the World Cup in Germany and after a couple of encouraging friendly results. It would still be a surprise if they were able to deny Portugal or the Czechs a place in the quarter finals, but they will probably make the big two sweat on their qualification as they potentially have a better run in. The Czech Republic have the hardest fixture run in as they have everything to lose in their opener against the Swiss. They then face Portugal and they may only take two points from those fixtures. If Portugal and Switzerland both beat Turkey then the Czechs would probably have to take maximum points against their Aegean opponents and possibly rely on goal difference for qualification. If Portugal beat Turkey in their opener then picking up a point in each of their remaining two games should probably seal their qualification. Portugal's performance in the championship over the past few tournaments has been one of steady progression - they have bettered their performance on each of the last three occasions they have participated, so another bold bid should be likely considering they have arguably the best player in the tournament, Christiano Ronaldo, in their arsenal. Thus, my prediction here is for Portugal to win the group with the Czech Republic as runners up. [/I]

[tougher than the rest]

I reckon this could be a tricky group. Almost everybody trust Portugal and the Czech Rep. to do their business relatively easy but co-host and Turkey could be very stubborn. I'm not sure about the quality of Portuguese team. Their performance in the qualification was anything but convincing (draws against Armenia and twice against Finland, lucky wins against Armenia and Kazakhstan). What is more - C.Ronaldo is NOT Portugal and he had a long and exhausting season in the PL and CL.

[Wanderer89]

Just been on coral and found a very clever treble

portugal to qualify
swizerland to qualify
group A dual forcast portugal and swizerland to qualify any order

10/1

now this can be changed depending on your opinion and stil get really good odds who ever you choose and it looks juiced up with value!

[DJ SOSNA]

[quote=MartyMcG_1967;1094048] Switzerland are a good team and as documented the host team always does well and I don't think Austria have enough quality to the Swiss could nick second here.[/quote]

You have the point, mate!
I am also pretty sure that at least one of the hosts will quaify and considering the poor form of Austria - I bet these will be the Swiss. They have a young but very talented team and as it always used to be with the hosts (remeber Korea?) they can rely on the "walls" helping them! My bet is: [B]Portugal & Switzerland[/B] TO ADVANCE (3.70)

As for the [B]Czech Republic[/B], in my opinion they will be one of the biggest losers in Euroo2008. Except from Petr Cech, Jankulovski and Jan Kollera, they have no world-class players. What's more without Rosicky as a playmaker, they will stuggle in scoring goals. I will probably bet in most of their group games on under 2.5 but all in all I predict a big upset for this team.

[budda1312]

well... the Czechs' result against the Scots wasn't that bad, who would have thought...
I still think Switzerland has a chance to go on to playoffs, if only they could get something from the opening game...
if Turkey lose to Portugal they'll be under pressure playing Switzerland, which again works in the hosts favour
this group will be tight till the last minute I guess, a fair share of draws see I with the opening game the first, hopefully

[AJ]

[quote=Wanderer89;1096938]Just been on coral and found a very clever treble

portugal to qualify
swizerland to qualify
group A dual forcast portugal and swizerland to qualify any order

10/1

now this can be changed depending on your opinion and stil get really good odds who ever you choose and it looks juiced up with value![/quote]

related events, surely that bet woudl be vioded

[Wanderer89]

[quote=AJ;1098522]related events, surely that bet woudl be vioded [/quote]

if anyone knows be it will be much appreciated as im thinking of doing it in the other groups aswel

[stereoman]

Yeah it looks like a a glitch in their software. I'm surprised that got through Coral's software to be honest.

You can place such a bet if you want but even if it comes off you're not going to get paid at around odds of 10/1 as you'll get paid out on "Portugal to qualify 2/5 and Switzerland to qualify at 5/4" or "Both to qualify at 11/4" not both.

You can have one or the other but you can't have both as they're related (in this case, the same) and you basically have the same selections twice.

[Wanderer89]

[quote=stereoman;1098625]Yeah it looks like a a glitch in their software. I'm surprised that got through Coral's software to be honest.

You can place such a bet if you want but even if it comes off you're not going to get paid at around odds of 10/1 as you'll get paid out on "Portugal to qualify 2/5 and Switzerland to qualify at 5/4" or "Both to qualify at 11/4" not both.

You can have one or the other but you can't have both as they're related (in this case, the same) and you basically have the same selections twice.[/quote]

Cheers. had a feeling it was too good to be true

[AK1979]

Euro 2008 Group A - Switzerland to Qualify [URL="http://www.sports-punter.com/link.php?p=coral"][COLOR=#0000ff]Coral [/COLOR][/URL]@ 2.25 (Back)

We have seen in past tournaments that home advantage can see teams overachieve a little and the Swiss have a decent opportunity to qualify from a group where the 2 favourites to qualify have question marks against them. Portugall lack firepower and are somewhat dependent on Ronaldo fireing. This is backed up by the fact they drew 6 of their 14 qualifiers, including games vs Finland x 2, Poland x 2 and lowly Armenia.

The Czechs will have similar offensive problems as they now enter the tournament without their main midfield playmakers Rosicky and Nedved - they are big losses.

The Swiss have had a few problems defensively, with clean sheets hard to come by but they welcome back Alexander Frei who should be fresh after missing most of the season with injury. With his record of 33 goals in 58 games, they will need him to be on form if they are to qualify. He has scored 3 in his last 2 games which is promising.

[American Locksmith]

Portugal
Swiss
Turkey
Czech

[SaberBlade83]

I'm holding Portugal as favorits in this group and have taken them to win it @ 2,30.

For 2nd spot I think it's pretty open. I did hold Czech Republic as qualifying, but have now decided to take a chance on Switzerland @ 2,10. They are a solid team IMO and are well capable of grinding out the results they need to see them through infront of their home supporters. I think it would be nice to see one of the host nations qualifying, and I can only see Swizerland capable of doing that.

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

[Mikeyred]

[QUOTE=Marek76;1082649]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.
[/QUOTE]

This has to be the best tip I've heard in ages...will definitly investigate this..

I think the Czechs will struggle like they did in Germany 06..very tempted with Portugal 1st and Switzerland 2nd at 11/2..and maybe a cheeky little bet on Turkey to qualify to back the bet

[DeMMa]

Im thinking of Adding Portugal+0.5 @ $1.18 to my multi

Nadal + Gold COast Titans + Hawthorn + Geelong + Portugal+0.5 @$1.99

Surely Portugal will WIN or DRAW their first game..

[shevahas]

1.Portugal
2.Czech Republic&Turkey
4.Switzerland

[Youssef]

[B]Tip Detail[/B]

SportFootball (Internationals) EventGroup A SelectionSwitzerland to qualify Strength10/10 Date15/06/2008 Bookmaker/Price[URL="http://www.sports-punter.com/link.php?p=10bet"][COLOR=#0000ff]10bet [/COLOR][/URL]@ 2.03 (Back) ReasoningEuro 2008 is upon us, and it’s time to place some outright predictions according to the latest news, results and expectations.

The 1st bet I would like to place is for Switzerland to advance to the quarter final (qualify from it’s group). Actually I was considering the Swiss to top their group, but seeing as it may come down to goal difference, I thought it might be better to settle for the qualification bet.

Switzerland rely on a strong defence that does not usually let in many goals. In 2008 they have played 4 friendlies in preparation for this competition, an they barely lost 1-2 to England, in what was a semi-balanced game, then were crushed 0-4 by Germany, before they won the last 2 by 2-0 and 3-0 over Slovakia and Liechtenstein.

This –of course- doesn’t say much as neither Slovakia nor Liechtenstein are considerable powers in football, but still –overall- the Swiss are very much capable of holding their own in this group, and they have a considerable good H2H against their opposition.

In 2007 had 10 friendlies, winning 4 and drawing one, with 5 losses. Their most notable 3 results though were beating Holland by 2-1, drawing to Argentina 1-1 and winning over Chile by 2-1. Again, shows some potential, and it’s a 50-50 chance they can hold the likes of Portugal (whom more or less play a Latin style of football), Czechia and Turkey.

What makes Switzerland a worthy bet here is that they tend to perform better in their official games than their friendlies. For example, in Germany 2006 qualifiers, they managed to go through the 10 games of the qualification group without a single loss, scoring 4 wins (2 each against Cyprus and Faroe Islands) and drawing 6 (2 each against France, Israel and Ireland). They also conceded 7 goals in total, managing to keep 4 clean sheets.

In the play-offs they again managed a clean sheet at home (vs Turkey) while they lost 2-4 in Istanbul in a game that saw much disturbance FIFA ha to ban Turkey from playing at home for sometime afterwards.

In the finals, they retained their unbeaten status, conceding no goals in all 4 games. 0-0 against France, then 2-0 against each of Togo and South Korea ensured they progressed to the final 16, and it took Ukraine a PK shoot-out to eliminate the Swiss after 120 minutes of a goalless dull game.

That means the Swiss have been beaten only once –in a controversial game- in their last 16 competitive international games, and have conceded 11 in them.

Their problem though is they don’t score much either. They have only scored 16 in total, and they are very much reliant on Alexander Frei upfront. This is why if it comes down to goals to decide the group winner they are unlikely to have the edge, as UEFA considers scored goals first before going for the overall goal difference (i.e. Scored minus conceded).

In total, Switzerland has played 10 competitive games against Portugal before. Switzerland won the 1st 2 (1968 & 1969) then 3 games all ended in draws (1969, 1986 & 1987) before Portugal won 3 and drew 1 in the last 4.

However, Portugal has a problem scoring of late. They create chances, but fail to convert them, and with the Swiss solid defence, the Portuguese maybe up to a real challenge. Portugal is also way too vulnerable in the back as seen in their 1-3 and 1-2 reverses against Italy and Greece respectively in friendly games played in 2008. Even Kazakhstan managed to score in the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Portugal.

The Czech have never met Switzerland in a competitive game before. However, I cannot see them winning over the Swiss without Rosicky or Nedved. Only Koller scores goals for them, and he could be taken care of somehow. Yet again, the Czech can be dangerous at their day, and Petr Cech is still an excellent goal stopper, so this is a tricky game. I will be counting on the Swiss playing at home though.

As mentioned before, the last home game Switzerland played against Turkey was a 2-0 home win. Turkey won once before and 2 other games ended in draws. As this could be a nervy game, I think the Swiss will be favourites to win it though.

Some of the players that should make a difference in the Swiss squad are experienced goalkeeper; Benaglio (Wolfsburg), Arsenal’s duo Djourou and Senderos, Lazio’s Behrami and –most of all- Dortmund’s Alexander Frei.

As the host nation, statistically the Swiss have a major chance of reaching the semi-final. It has never been the case before that the hosting nation failed to make it to the last 4, with the exception of Belgium whom were eliminated in the group stage in 2000. That one was co-hosted by Holland though, and Holland did reach the semi-final.

[AK1979]

Euro 2008 - Top Scoring Group - Group A [URL="http://www.sports-punter.com/link.php?p=paddypower"][COLOR=#0000ff]Paddy Power [/COLOR][/URL] @ 3/1

Group B is the obvious choice here with attack minded Germany and arguably the weakest side in the competition Austria making up the quartet. I think you can ignore Group D - Russia, Sweden and Greece all struggle for goals and Group C (the group of death!) should be very tight. Therefore ,at the prices, I like the look of Group A at 3/1. The Swiss have struggled for clean sheets in their warm up games but have had a bit of joy at the other end - the return of Alexander Frei will be a welcome boost. Portugal, Turkey and Czech Republic all have goals in them and look the most likely of the other groups to provide some high scoring matches.

[WHUPUNTER]

Portugal to win group at 5/4 is outstanding value. The 2nd place could go to anyone, but think it will go to Czechs to be honest.

[JCtips]

My bets for Saturday games:

Switzerland-Czech Republic
Usually the hosts go far in this sort of tournaments but if things go according to what should be normal neither Austria or Switzerland will advance further than the group stage.
Switzerland has played in both the 1996 and 2004 Euro's drawing two games and losing 4 scoring a total of 2 goals and allowing 10.
Home crowd will not make a difference for them IMO as, in general, Swiss people are quiet and football doesn't have a tradition in the country.
Their current FIFA rank is 44th overall which is a sign of them not being a top team.
The Czech will be missing two world class players: Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky and that is a big blow for them but they're still the better team, are far more experienced at this level (played the last three "Euro" Competitions and reached at least the semi-finals twice during those three competitions) and have the best keeper in the world at the moment and IMO: Petr Chech.
[B]My pick: Czech Republic 0 AH (Asian Handicap);[/B]


Portugal-Turkey
There are huge expectations regarding the Portuguese team but IMO there are a few "weak points" (I'll get into that as the tournament goes on...) when I compare the Portuguese team with, for example, France or Italy...on the other hand, Portugal will be playing at home in the group stage (all group games are in Switzerland where there's a HUGE Portuguese population which is looking forward to throw a party in the Swiss's backyard ...they just had 12K people attending practice this week!!!) and they have the best player in the World: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal is very experienced at this level (took part in all of the last three "Euro" competitions and reached the semi-final in 2000 and the final in 2004) and I know Scolari will have the team concentrating on winning the 1st game (he already said it is the most important game of this stage as a victory gives you "peace of mind" to face the rest of the group stage...and he's correct) without taking many risks.
Turkey is a good team and has some great players in their squad so they cannot surely be underestimated but their record at this competition is far from impressive (were not present in Euro 2004, in Euro 2000 lost in the Quarter-Finals 2-0 to Portugal and in Euro 1996 didn't make it after the group stage).
Their strongest aspect is the group spirit and ability to fight for the result with some experienced players.
Their weakest aspect is IMO the defence as they're are physically strong but slow.
Portugal should win with more or less difficulty.
[B]My pick: Portugal -0.5 AH (Asian Handicap);[/B]

Good luck!

JC

[meatman]

Underestimate the hosts at your peril - something that must be said for virtually all major international tournaments.

I fancy the swiss to qualify from this group