The second round of group matches starts tonight with teams such as Portugal and England needing to get their campaigns back on track. Pick of the ties would be the Group C encounter between Italy and Sweden, and the Group of Death challenge between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Read on for comment, stats, form and predictions that will invariably be wrong...
Group A: Greece v Spain
Wed 16/6 1700 Bessa, Porto
Nobody expected these two teams to be at the top of Group A at this stage of the competition. But sitting pretty at the top they are, and deservedly so. Greece, with a combination of stifling, absorbing defence and quick counter-attacks, looked a surprisingly good side when beating Portugal. Organization is the key to their game plan and thanks to Rehagel, they have a remarkable team spirit. They also have the upper hand on Spain: in the EC qualifiers, Greece surprised the Spaniards with a 1-0 win. Is this a fair reflection of form? Maybe, though Spain looked neat and tidy in all departments against Russia and were rarely troubled. Vicente and Exteberria will raid down the wings, and with players of the calibre of Morientes, Raul and Valeron to call upon, it appears the Spanish have the upper hand. The difficultly for Inaki Saez is whether to start with goalscorer Valeron or not. A win will see one of these sides more-or-less guaranteed a quarter-final berth. If anyone is likely to play for that, it will be the Spaniards.
Last matches: GREECE 2-1 Portugal
SPAIN 1-0 Russia
Last meeting: 07/06/03 Spain 0-1 Greece
Top scorers: Bassinas, Karagounis (GRE) 1
Valeron (SPA) 1
Assists: Nikopolidis, Seitaridis (GRE) 1
Puyol (SPA) 1
Discipline: Seitaridis, Karagounis (GRE) YC
Marchena, Albelda, Baraja (SPA) YC
Injuries: Dabizas and Nikolaidis both fit for Greece, but might not start. Joaquin fit for Spain.
Form players: Dellas (GRE); Valeron, Vicente (SPA)
Prediction: A not very exciting 1-0 to Spain.
Group A: Russia v Portugal
Wed 16/6 1945 Luz, Lisbon
Portugal manager, Phil Scolari, rates this as a life or death match. Not wrong there. If either team lose they may as well pack their bags. Already left on a jet plane is renegade Russian Mostovoi, who was sent packing after criticising manager Georgi Yartsev. Whether this will affect the rest of the squad remains to be seen, but Russia already a team thin on experience and quality will have their backs to the wall against a Portugal team who are bound to come out wanting to score an impressive victory. The Portuguese will have to make changes: they only looked a threat when Christian Ronaldo came on (expect him to replace Sabrosa). Rui Costas star has fallen and Deco could finally be given a starting berth. Russias options seem limited in comparison, but Loskov should come into the midfield.
Last matches: Greece 2-1 PORTUGAL
Spain 1-0 RUSSIA
Last meeting: 01/11/84 Portugal 1-0 USSR
Top scorers: Ronaldo (POR) 1
Assists: Figo (POR) 1
Discipline: Sharonov RC, Gusev, Smertin, Aldonin, Radimov (RUS) YC Figo, Costinha, Pauleta (POR) YC
Injuries: None.
Form players: Alenichev (RUS), Ronaldo, Deco (POR)
Prediction: Backlash alert: 4-0 to Portugal.
Group B: England v Switzerland
Thu 17/6 1700 Coimbra
Crunch time for both teams. England, after the setback against France, will want to get back into winning ways. If the defence goes into this game with the confidence and steel it used against Les Bleus, then England will have nothing to worry about. King, who had such a good game against the French, is likely to make way for the back-to-fitness John Terry. Scholes is doubtful, with either Hargreaves or possibly Joe Cole filling in on the left. England will have to beware of the pace of Swiss counter attacking. Hakan Yakin can deliver a killer pass the sort of pass likely to throw an English defence into disarray. Celestini, who looked competent enough when on against Croatia, will start in place of the suspended Vogel. Other than that, the Swiss are likely to remain unchanged. The difference between these two sides is likely to be whose defence can hold out. Owen is likely to be more effective against weaker defenders than Gallas and Co, and is likely to be the difference here.
Last matches: ENGLAND 1-2 France
SWITZERLAND 0-0 Croatia
Last meeting: 25/03/98 Switzerland 1-1 England
Top scorers: Lampard (ENG) 1
Assists: Beckham (ENG) 1
Discipline: James, Lampard, Scholes (ENG) YC Vogel (SUI) RC Stiel, Huggel (SUI) YC
Injuries: Butt out for the tournament and Scholes doubtful for this game; Borer out for Swiss.
Form players: Lampard, Rooney (ENG); H. Yakin, Haas (SUI)
Prediction: 3-1 to the In-ger-lund.
Group B: Croatia v France
Thu 17/6 1945 Leiria
The story goes that Croatia coach, Otto Baric, likes a gamble. The word from the Croatian camp is that he will make the biggest gamble of his career against France on Thursday by resting key players. His thinking? It will give his team the edge for a potential do-or-die final group game against England. With five bookings against his side from the Switzerland game, including front man Dado Prso, we cannot blame him. Igor Tudor will return from suspension for the Croats, giving them a timely boost. In an instant this makes them a more accomplished side. France meanwhile have one problem, and a pleasant one at that: who does Jacques Santini pick from his confident squad. A full strength team should be selected, and that will no doubt be the team who faced England. Henry and Co. should find more space against the Croats and the Arsenal man will be looking to get on the score sheet. Lilian Thuram and William Gallas will probably remain in defence while Marcel Desailly continues to regain full fitness.
Last matches: CROATIA 0-0 Switzerland
FRANCE 2-1 England
Last meeting: 28/05/00 Croatia 0-2 France
Top scorers: Zidane (FRA) 2
Assists: Makelele, Henry (FRA) 1
Discipline: Silvestre, Pires (FRA) YC; Zivkovic, Bjelica, Prso, Rapajic, Mornar CRO) YC
Injuries: Desailly (FRA) nearing full fitness.
Form players: Zidane, Henry (FRA); Tudor (CRO)
Prediction: France to win 2-0 against a weakened, resting Croatian side.
Group C: Bulgaria v Denmark
Fri 18/6 1700 Braga
Denmark is buoyant after their result against Italy. For periods, they looked the better team and this has led to the belief that they can go far. No one would doubt they will get much trouble from Bulgaria. Gronkjaer returns for the Danes, giving Morten Olsen the option of selecting him or sticking with the impressive Rommedahl. Other than that, the team should remain the same. Their fitness has been praised, and it would not be a surprise if the Bulgarians are over-run, just as they were against Sweden. For the Eastern Europeans, Euro 2004 is now a damage limitation exercise. Sweden was supposed to be their best chance of three points, and look what happened. Plamen Markov can be expected to field some of the younger players from now on, as they seek to build ahead of WC2006. Valeri Bojinov, who is the youngest player ever to score in Serie A, is likely to feature at some point. Another defeat is on the cards for Bulgaria.
Last matches: BULGARIA 0-5 Sweden
DENMARK 0-0 Italy
Last meeting: 05/09/01 Bulgaria 0-2 Denmark
Top scorers: -
Assists: -
Discipline: Ivanov, Petkov, Kirilov, Jankovic (BUL) YC; Helveg, Tomasson (BUL) YC
Injuries: -
Form players: Rommedahl, Sorensen (DEN); Bojinov (BUL)
Prediction: 2-0 to Denmark.
Group C: Italy v Sweden
Fri 18/6 1945 Dragao, Porto
Irresistible force versus immovable object? Before the start of Euro 2004, pundits would have you believe that Italy would be the force and Sweden the rock. After the first round of matches though it seems that Italy are playing as they always do in major tournaments. The defence was solid, while the attack of which so much was expected fired blanks. Sweden, on the other hand, benefited from a Larsson-led frontline and banged in 5 goals and could have had a hatful more. His return to international action seemed to bring out the best in those around him, most notably Ibrahimovic, his partner. These two are a challenge for any defence on their day, and will cause some problems. Teddy Lucic has been ruled out with suspected fractured ribs, but other than that the Swedes will be at full strength. Gio Trtappatoni has already said he will make changes to his Italian side. A more prominent role for Cassano and Totti is likely, but will he sacrifice Vieri, who looked out of sorts against the Danes? This is a tough one to call.
Last matches: ITALY 0-0 Denmark
SWEDEN 5-0 Bulgaria
Last meeting: 19/06/03 Italy 2-1 Sweden
Top scorers: Larsson (SWE) 2
Assists: Various (SWE) 1
Discipline: Cannavaro, Gattuso, Cassano, Totti (ITA) YC; Linderoth, Ibrahimovic (SWE) YC
Injuries: Lucic (SWE) out for this game with rib injury.
Form players: Ibrahimovic, Larsson (SWE); Nesta, Buffon (ITA)
Prediction: 1-1 with a late Italian equaliser.
Group D: Latvia v Germany
Sat 19/6 1700 Bessa, Porto
A possible upset or will the Germans just carry on bumbling through their games with a useful result? The German defence, weakened, slow and creaking, was rarely tested for pace by the Dutch. Yet if any team will test them for pace it will be Latvia: Verpakovskis and Pahars (who will both figure) are pacy forwards, who will look to counter attack at any given opportunity. This will provide the German defence with a good test. Ballack again proved to be the saviour of German football against Holland. Despite not scoring, he was the source of their attacking threat. Their reliance on him will come-a-cropper soon, but not just yet. Despite only just losing to the Czechs, Latvia were under a constant assault from all angles. You have to expect this to be the case again in this match, and they may not be so fortunate to keep them at bay. One-dimensional teams like Latvia rarely go far in international competitions and a result here is only likely to be the stuff of the dreams of mad punters.
Last matches: LATVIA 1-2 Czech Republic
GERMANY 1-1 Netherlands
Last meeting: 25/06/37 Latvia 1-3 Germany
Top scorers: Verpakovskis (LAT) 1; Frings (GER) 1
Assists: Prohorenkovs (LAT) 1; Lahm (GER) 1
Discipline: Ballack, Kuranyi (GER) YC.
Injuries: -
Form players: Verpakovskis (LAT); Ballack (GER)
Prediction: 3-0 to Germany.
Group D: Netherlands v Czech Republic
Sat 19/6 1945 Aveiro
These two teams have been matched together more times than David Beckham and his P.As in recent times, including in the qualifiers. There, the Czechs had the upper hand, beating the Dutch 3-1 when it mattered. And in Portugal, it looks like the Czechs again will be the team to beat. Against Latvia they were in control and created plenty of opportunities. They may not get as many this time around, but they will certainly have to take them if they come their way. Nedved, Rosicky and Poborsky are as dynamic a midfield as there is in Europe, and will rely on Koller and Baros being more ruthless in front of goal. It will be interesting to see how their defence fares against the Dutch, who still cant seem to get the attack sorted out, despite having the likes of Van Nistelrooy, Kluivert and Makaay in their ranks. The former will have cemented his place in the starting XI after the excellent goal against the Germans. I suspect Wesley Sneijder will start too. His creativity was sorely missed against the Germans.
Last matches: NETHERLANDS 1-1 Germany
CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1 Latvia
Last meeting: 10/09/03 Czech Republic 3-1 Netherlands
Top scorers: Van Nistelrooy (NED) 1; Baros, Heinz (CZE
Assists: Van der Meyde (NED) 1; Baros, Poborsky (CZE) 1
Discipline: Stam, Van der Meyde (NED) YC
Injuries: -
Form players: Van Nistelrooy (NED); Baros, Nedved, Rosicky (CZE)
Prediction: 1-1 draw.
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