Group D

[AJ]

Spain
Greece
Sweden
Russia

[WHUPUNTER]

1st Spain
2nd Sweden
3rd Russia
4th Greece

[boyd]

I've never been impressed with Russia over the last couple of decades when they have qualified for European Championships or World Cups and i don't expect them to qualify from this group either. From this group i feel it is two from three to qualify. One bet to consider is backing both Greece and Sweden to top the group, if like myself don't feel Spain will necessarily win the group as they have the players but never really perform in major championships. I'm not necessarily thinking Spain wont qualify, just that they may not top the group. Greece have shown they are a very capable and organised side that will be difficult to beat as they don't score or concede many. Sweden have always been a team that is compact, with all there players knowing there jobs in the team and like Greece may be difficult to beat. Could be a few draws within this group leading to teams qualifying on goal difference.

Bet:- Sweden 5/1 at betfred and Greece 5/1 betfair to win group

[stuartyoung1989]

1. Spain
2. Greece
3. Russia
4. Sweden

[anothamug]

agree very much with what boyd has said but I'd play it a different way. I would dismiss russia from the reckoning as even hiddink has expressed such frustration at their level of players and this could even be beyond his magic touch.
I would take greece and sweden to qualify at 2.1 each. Should spain excel like they should on paper then you will get a small return for your stake, should spain falter as spain can then these are the two best placed to take advantage.
2.1 betfred sweden to qualify
2.1 betfred greece to qualify

[chiqo]

1st Sweden
2nd Greece
3rd Spain
4th Russia

Sweden with their defensive kind of play will be a hard opponent for the souh european nations. Thatswhy I predict that Sweden will be the first here with less goals and. Greece seems a bit luckier than spain and Russia will beat themself as same as usual

[greek elvis]

1st Spain
2nd Greece
3rd Sweden
4th Russia

Although I will be praying for my country - Greece!!! Haha.

[SeanMac]

1st - Spain
2nd - Sweden
3rd - Russia
4th - Greece

[uhudazflo]

spain should win group, i wouldnt be surprrised iif they become favourites after possibly thrashing russia but then i think they could lose in the quarters as theyy will be up against a more experienced tournament nation eg france or italy..

would like to see spain go all the way but they always disapoint in the major tournies

[DJ]

Are Russia really so bad? Guess most of the players that play for Zenit are not Russian? Just the fact that they reached Uefa Cup Final and their results along the way suggested that Russian teams can be successful in European competitions and shouldn't be so easily written off?

I know England beat them by few goals at home but England didn't dominate the game in the way the result would suggest.

I think that Russia will qualify with Spain but maybe I'm wrong. I don't think Sweden are the force that they used to be. So I can see them finishing 3rd with the Greek team finishing in bottom spot.

[Marek76]

Originally Posted by Djlion

Guess most of the players that play for Zenit are not Russian? Just the fact that they reached Uefa Cup Final and their results along the way suggested that Russian teams can be successful in European competitions and shouldn't be so easily written off?

That's exactly what I was just about to write

I'm surprised everyone is underestimating Russia. They have a strong team and skilful players at their disposal. In fact I reckon they could be a surprise package of this tournament.

Spain - great team but they always fail to deliver at the big tournies.

Greece - don't fancy them ay all, most likely will sit at the bottom of the group. Can the lightening strike twice? No.

Sweden - easy qualifying group, finished runner ups behind Spain. Don't think they will make an impact.

1.Russia
2. Spain
3. Sweden
3. Greece

[Carl]

Taken from Pinnacles sportsbook

Group D – Defending Champions Handed Favourable Draw
Defending UEFA European Champions, Greece, have been given a reasonably realistic challenge to defend their title past the group stage. They line up alongside Spain, Sweden and Russia in Group D, all of whom will feel capable of progressing from the section. The Greeks are still coached by Otto Rehhagel, who guided them to an unlikely success in Portugal. Though failure to make the World Cup was a blow, Greece, were impressive during qualification, finishing seven points ahead of Turkey. Spain are however, priced 1.935* favourites, ahead of Greece, priced 5.360*, on PinnacleSports.com’s Group D betting market, despite remaining one of the biggest under-achievers in World football. Premiership football will have toughened up the likes Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso, but Spain aren’t a team to be trusted implicitly. The hopes of Sweden, priced 5.220*, may rest on the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovich, who has struggled this year with Inter Milan, while Russia 6.260*, may have benefited from England’s failure, but will provide a stern challenge under the guidance of the vastly experienced Guus Hiddink.

[cavelloman]

Sweden after a period of poor results now look to be improving with victories over the USA and Brasil at home amd Sebia away. A nation that generally does well in majot soccer events looks overpriced IMO at the following prices.

To win Group @5/1 with Stan James

To qualify from Group @ 11/8 generally

Russia

Again another team that looks underated compared to the likes of Greece

To win Group @5/1 with Paddy Power

[Riku888]

I think this will be Spain and the ever reliable sweden to come out of this group.

[Ljava]

1. Spain
2. Russia
3. Sweden
4. Greece

Spain has a lot of great players and definitely will(should) be on the 1th position. Russia have a problem with scoring and play a boring football, but old fox Hidink can do something from nothing, so, never knows... Greece probably looks like Russia and Sweden wont comment because didnt watch their qualification...

[ReadingJason]

1. Spain
2. Sweden
3. Russia
4. Greece

Spain are much too powerful for this one in my opinion. I don't think Russia will provide the same kind of quality that they showed in the qualifying.

I rate Spain to win the whole tournament. It's a well known fact that they have failed many times in major tournaments. However, with the current crop of players, many of whom are coming off the best club seasons of their careers to date, I don't see Spain losing this.

[boyd]

Can anybody confirm whether Arshavin misses a couple of games for Russia with suspension? On the following link under star man - Arshavin, it says he may only play one game, which i presume is last group game after two games suspended. If it is true, this could have a big affect on Russia's chances.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ia/7363760.stm

[fintron]

Greece gained the most points of any team during qualification, picking up an impressive 31 points (10 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat) from a group containing Turkey, Norway, Bosnia, Moldova, Hungary and Malta). They scored 25 and conceded just 10 as qualification was based around some narrow margin victories. They kept 7 clean sheets during qualification, with Theofanis Gekas (11 goals for Bayer Leverkusen this term) finishing their top scorer with 5 goals. Goals came from all over in their side though, with three other players scoring 3 apiece also. Greece's only defeat came against rivals Turkey but they still qualified comfortably as they look to maintain their crown. The Greeks finished runners up of their group in Euro 2004 (contained Portugal, Spain and Russia) but against the odds they overcame France and then the Czech Republic to earn their place in the final. In what was only their second appearance in the finals they went on to beat Portugal 1-0 in the final to lift the trophy. Greece's defence is based around Traianos Dellas and Sotirios Krygiakos - who played every minute of qualification. Pushing for places are UK based Georgios Samaras and Stelios Giannakopoulos.

Russia qualified for the finals at the expense of England from Group E. Guus Hiddink's side beat England in Moscow and even though they slipped up against Israel in Tel Aviv, qualified for the finals when they won in Andorra and England slipped up at home to Croatia. Russia won 7, drew 3 and lost 2 of their qualifiers (England 0-3) and Israel (1-2), scoring 18 but conceding only 7. They kept 8 clean sheets and played their first 7 qualifiers only shipping one goal before they came to Wembley. Aleksandr Kerzhakov was their top scorer with 5 in qualifying (11 in 31 for Sevilla). Russia (including the USSR and CIS) have appeared in 8 previous championships. They have reached the final 3 times and been crowned champions once, in 1960 (USSR). Although they have qualified for three of the last four championships they have failed to get past the first round on all three occasions. Guus Hiddink has revamped the Russia side since the 2004 finals and relies heavily on youth now. Russian 2007 player of the year Konstantin Zyrianov, at 30, is the oldest member of their squad. There is talk that the uncapped Aleksandr Pavlenko and Renat Yanbaev may even feature at the finals.

Spain won Group F winning 9 and drawing 1 of their 12 qualifiers. They lost to Northern Ireland (2-3) and Sweden (0-2) during a shaky start but came good in the end, scoring 23 and conceding 8 as they qualified with a game to spare. David Villa (18 league goals for Valencia), with 7 goals, was their top scorer, and they kept 7 clean sheets. The Spanish usually qualify for the Championships and they were winners of the competition in 1964 - the year they hosted the tournament. They reached the final in 1984 and then the quarter finals in both 1996 and 2000. However, they failed to get past the group stage in Portugal in 2004 after only managing a draw with Greece and after losing to Portugal. Iker Casillas is likely to start in goal, appearing in his fourth major tournament. Fernando Torres is likely to lead the line with David Villa waiting on the bench if they are falling short of goals.

During qualification Sweden were in the same group as Spain, finishing two points off the winners. They won 8, drew 2 and lost 2 (to Northern Ireland, 1-2 in Belfast, and Spain, 0-3 in Madrid), scoring 23 and conceding 9. Former Aston Villa man Marcus Allback was their top scorer with 6, and they kept 6 clean sheets. The Swedes qualified under controversial circumstances though after being awarded a 3-0 from their game in Copenhagen against Denmark. With the game level at 3-3, referee Herbert Fandel awarded the Swedes a penalty and sent off Chrsitan Poulsen. A Danish fan ran onto the pitch and assaulted the ref, so the game was abandoned and Sweden were awarded the win. From then onwards Denmark struggled to qualify. At Euro 2004, despite winning only one of their games, Sweden finished group winners. A 5-0 win over Bulgaria at the group stage proved crucial as qualification from the group was settled on goal difference with three teams tied on 5 points each. However, they were eliminated by Holland in the quarters. Their best ever performance in the finals was reaching the semis in 1992 - the year they hosted the tournament. Henrik Larsson has now retired so all hopes will be pinned on Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Tobias Linderoth looks to break up attacks and they sit patiently to play on the break.

Verdict: Spain may have started their qualification campaign slowly but they came good in the end and they open their fixtures against Russia here. Luis Aragones' side should have enough to overcome the Russians, who qualified as group runners up and they should also take maximum points from their next game against Sweden, who they beat 3-0 in Madrid during qualifying once they had hit form, to effectively seal qualification. As current champions and after a strong qualification campaign, Greece should be up to taking second spot ahead of a young Russian side that will benefit from the experience of this Championship, and a Swedish side that only limped through qualification.

[ScottishBhoy87]

Originally Posted by fintron

During qualification Sweden were in the same group as Spain, finishing two points off the winners. They won 8, drew 2 and lost 2 (to Northern Ireland, 1-2 in Belfast, and Spain, 0-3 in Madrid), scoring 23 and conceding 9. Former Aston Villa man Marcus Allback was their top scorer with 6, and they kept 6 clean sheets. The Swedes qualified under controversial circumstances though after being awarded a 3-0 from their game in Copenhagen against Denmark. With the game level at 3-3, referee Herbert Fandel awarded the Swedes a penalty and sent off Chrsitan Poulsen. A Danish fan ran onto the pitch and assaulted the ref, so the game was abandoned and Sweden were awarded the win. From then onwards Denmark struggled to qualify. At Euro 2004, despite winning only one of their games, Sweden finished group winners. A 5-0 win over Bulgaria at the group stage proved crucial as qualification from the group was settled on goal difference with three teams tied on 5 points each. However, they were eliminated by Holland in the quarters. Their best ever performance in the finals was reaching the semis in 1992 - the year they hosted the tournament. Henrik Larsson has now retired so all hopes will be pinned on Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Tobias Linderoth looks to break up attacks and they sit patiently to play on the break.

King Henrik has came out of retirement to play in this tournament mate, watch out for him, scored a cracking goal at the weekend at Celtic park in a memorial match for Phil O'Donnell .

Still looks fit as ever, so expect to see him play a fair percentage of the games

[fintron]

Ah, cheers for that Scottish Bhoy. According to the official Euro 2008 site had had retired, but I read a thing on Yahoo this morning and they said he had made the final squad as well. Got a lot of respect for him but won't be backing him in the Euro's as I don't really fancy Sweden this year.