Euro 2008: The Story So Far.....

After the completion of Round 2 matches of the Group Stage, it has become quite clear now who is progressing into the Quarter Finals Stage and who would have to pack up and enjoy the summer earlier than the others....

In Group A, Portugal now tops the table with 6 points, while Czech Republic and Turkey each have 3 points, and Switzerland have got no points yet. The final matches of Group A would be Turkey against Czech Republic and Portugal against co-host Switzerland. It looks like Portugal will progress into the next round as Group A winners. Who will accompany the Portugese? It's going to be a close game; the Czechs were not convincing enough against the Portuguese in their last game and Turkey seems to have gone from strenth to strengh. The outright winner from this game will determine who would go into the Quarter Finals stage. If the game ends up as a draw, extra time and penalty shoot-out will determine the winner. However, I think the Czezhs may pip the Turks for the second spot from Group A.

In Group B, Croatia now sits at the top of the table with 6 points, Germany is second with 3 points and Austria and Poland have one point each. In the final round of matches in Group B, Austria will play Germany and Poland will play Croatia. Croatia and Germany will probably proceed into the Quarter Finals. It is quite difficult to see either Poland or Austria to beat their respective opponents to change the table standing at the end of the Group Stage.

Netherlands now tops Group C table and will definitely proceed into the Quarter Final as the winner of the Group. Romania sits second with 2 points and both last World Cup finalists, France and Italy, have 1 point each. The next round of matches will see the Dutch play the Romanians, while the Italians and the French will stage the 're-enactment' of the 2006 World Cup final match, minus Zinedine Zidane. There are many probability for this group. Netherlands might want to eliminate Italy and France totally from Euro 2008 and may let Romania wins their match. But it will raise questions, such as match fixing. The Dutch can, of course, field a much weaker side as they may want to rest their star players and it is ok to do so. Italy may not want to lose face as it is the World Champions, so they would want to win the game. France, being a former World Champions, may feel the same too. As much as the match is mouth-watering to all football fans alike, it may even turn into a snoozefest. The Italy-France game may well end up as a draw. If that happens and even if Romania loses (but by not more than 3 goals), Romania will join Netherlands from Group C. However, this is still too close to call.

In Group D, Spain sits at the top with 6 points, both Sweden and Russia have 3 points and the defending European Champions, Greece, have no points and now eliminated from Euro 2008. The next matches for this group will see Spain plays Greece and Sweden and Russia will battle for the second spot in Group D's table. Spain almost definitely proceeds into the Quarter Finals stage. The match between Sweden and Russia is another match too close to call; the winner of the match will join the Spainards going into the next stage. If the match is a draw, Russia will have to pack for home. However, I think Sweden will join Spain from Group D.

So my predictions for the Quarter Finals matches:
Portugal vs Germany - one to watch-out for, but Portugal will win.
Croatia vs Czech Republic - another match that can go either way, but Croatia should win this.
Netherlands vs Sweden - unless Netherlands continues its habit of failing in the later stages, Netherlands should win this.
Spain vs Romania (?) - Spain will win this.