Days 13-16: The Quarter-Finals

Thanks to some issues with final exams and celebrating the end thereof, I haven’t been able to keep up to date daily with the goings-on at the Euros as usual, so I decided before last night’s game to roll all four quarter-finals into one big post. And here it is.

Firstly, Germany 3 – 2 Portugal. I never thought I’d be desperate for Germany to win anything but I was happily singing Deutschland, Deutschland, über alles throughout that game, which was less entertaining in truth than the score suggests. Germany’s first goal, scored by Bastian “Look At My Hair” Schweinsteiger, was quite similar to the celebrated Sneijder goal against Italy, however, but overall it only really got exciting in the last five minutes of each half when Portugal remembered they were professional footballers and started playing properly. It was an extremely disappointing performance from Portugal but I wouldn’t be too quick to blame it on Scolari leaving. I really doubt the amount of influence that had – it was common knowledge that he was probably going to leave after the tournament anyway as his contract was up, so none of them should have been surprised. I’d be very surprised if Scolari himself changed in any way after the news, he’s far too strong a personality for that, so all this nonsense of the Portuguese FA reporting Chelsea to UEFA or whatever for the timing of their appointment looks very much like covering for what turned out to be a very ordinary side.

I must confess I didn’t see all of the Croatia-Turkey match – I managed to walk out of the pub we were watching it in pretty much at the point it became interesting, about 75 minutes in. Having received news of the dramatic finale via text message, I’m in no position to comment on the quality of the goals (though I gather Rustu Recber was at fault for the Croatia opener – no great surprise there), but the 75 minutes I did see were quite dull. Turkey seemed to have started believing the hype that they could only play in the last five minutes to sneak a win, and Croatia dominated accordingly, though without creating many clear-cut chances. And of course it went to penalties, where Croatia were apparently surprisingly bad, but they’re a young side and will probably come back stronger as a result of this. I shall be cheering for Turkey in the semi-finals, if only because they may have to field their third-choice goalkeeper as an outfield substitute at some point as they only have 14 players who aren’t injured or suspended. Seriously. Unfortunately, this does suggest that if Turkey had any chance before their best players ruled themselves out of the game, they probably don’t have a hope of beating Germany at all now. But we can hope.

On Saturday night, Russia produced a first-class performance to dispatch the disappointing Dutch 3-1 after extra time, during which Andrei Arshavin bumped his price tag up by about 10 million pounds. It was certainly the best individual performance of the tournament so far, and there’s a compelling argument that despite only having played two games, Arshavin’s already the player of the tournament. He completely ran the show – involved in everything Russia did, driving them forward and bulldozing the Dutch defence, who were always going to be the weak link, and more than deserved his goal. That’s not to say the rest of the Russian team didn’t play very well, though – even Roman Pavlyuchenko managed to score as many as one goal in about ten chances this time. Luca Toni looks on with envy.

Speaking of Luca Toni, he continued to do his best Emile Heskey impression during the frighteningly dull 0-0 draw with Spain last night, which Spain deservedly won on penalties. If it weren’t for Toni’s sudden and hilarious ineptitude in front of goal, I might be complaining a bit less about the Italian mentality, but it was truly atrocious. From the very first minute Italy were playing for penalties, making no attempt to stop Spain controlling the game, just as long as they blocked everything, which they did, and very well (what did you expect?). Spain played the game in the right way, and though they weren’t spellbinding they tried to find a winner and came very close, particularly with the uncharacteristic mistake from Gigi Buffon that spilled onto the post. The Spain-Russia semi-final could well be the pick of the tournament.

Speaking of semi-finals, I anticipate further difficulties in watching all of the games live but I’ll see what I can and probably be reviewing them on Friday, before build-up to Sunday’s final begins. See you there.

Day 12: Russia close the group stage in style

Group D concluded last night to end the round-robin stage, and there was only one match I was going to watch last night, despite supporting Spain. Sweden – Russia was the one that counted, and boy, am I glad to have seen that Russian performance. 2-0 does not tell an adequate story of just how vastly superior they were to Sweden, who were out of ideas despite huffing and puffing as they always do. The return of suspended skipper Andrei Arshavin catalysed a stunning attacking performance, the Russians gliding past the Swedish defence seemingly at will.

Despite the brilliant performances all around from Russia, there were obvious standouts. Arshavin showed us why Guus Hiddink felt it was worth the possibility of him only playing one game to pick him for the squad, supporting Pavlyuchenko eagerly and dictating everything that Russia did. His goal just after half-time was more than deserved. The other major plus was Yuri Zhirkov, the left-winger now turned left-back who dominated his entire flank with boundless energy and superb creativity. He was unlucky not to score with a couple of great free-kicks.

Unfortunately for Russia, their only barrier to being a great side right now is the fact that everyone should have scored more. Their main striker, Roman Pavlyuchenko, looks first class in his work rate, pace and ability to get past defenders – but his finishing has been apalling throughout the tournament. Sure, he scored one last night, and what a good team goal it was, but he literally should have had 10. I counted. That inability to get the ball in the back of the net may cost Russia, probably against Holland in Saturday’s quarterfinal – and doesn’t that look like being a great game. Pick of the round for me, actually.

I saw very brief highlights of Spain’s comeback win against Greece. By all accounts it wasn’t too convincing but Xabi Alonso was unlucky not to score three magical goals and Ruben de la Red’s equaliser was a volley of such thundering speed it’s probably still moving. Spain are confident all right, and should have enough to see off Italy.

So that’s it for the group stages, which means that from now on it’s a knockout! We kick off the quarter finals with Germany v Portugal tonight, which I’m expecting to be a frustrating 0-0 for Portugal followed by an inevitable German win on penalties. I’m nothing if not unoriginal.

Days 9 & 10: Groups A and B resolved

Firstly, my apologies for not covering Day 9 yesterday – I’ve been busy setting up my new laptop. Hooray for me. Anyway, here’s a double-header to make up for it.

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So on Sunday it was the first of the simultaneous group wraps, with Turkey completing a stunning comeback to beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in one of the strangest fifteen minutes I’ve seen for a long while. The first half was a bore, the Czechs running the game without any real Turkish resistance at all. When Jaroslav Plasil made it 2-0 I was sure that was game over, and considered switching over to the Switzerland-Portugal game. Thankfully my decision to stick with it was worth it – first Arda Turan confirmed his growing reputation with the Turkish opener, then, more sadly, Petr Cech confirmed that he hasn’t been the same keeper since Stephen Hunt kicked his head in a year or so ago. That really was a first-grade howler – the Cech of two years ago would have caught that cross 100% of the time, no question. A real shame, but what made it more painful was the exquisite winner two minutes later, Nihat breaking the offside trap with ease and powering a fantastic shot in off the underside of the crossbar. Brutal.

As if that wasn’t enough, Turkish goalkeeper Arslan Volkan decided that it was a good time to blatantly push Jan Koller over in the penalty box. The most obvious red card you’ll ever see, you have to wonder what the hell he was thinking – and if I was Fatih Terim, I’d seriously consider not bothering to pick him after his ban even if they get past Croatia into the semi-finals. Luckily, I’m not Fatih Terim – I have no desire to be a Turkish Terry Venables any time soon. So, the Czechs were knocked out and Croatia-Turkey looks like being an interesting quarter-final.

As I said, I didn’t see any of the Swiss-Portugal game, aside from one replay of the disallowed goal (not enough for me to make a judgement on whether or not it was offside), and the two Swiss goals. I mean, seriously – what the hell were Portugal doing losing 2-0 to that side? I know they made 8 changes and were already through, but surely those 8 players wanted to earn a place in the quarter-final line-up? Difficult to argue with the heart of the Swiss performance, though, by the sounds of it. They’ve certainly given a better account of themselves than their co-hosts.

So on to last night’s action, where Germany qualified courtesy of Michael Ballack’s free-kick goal (the first decent free-kick of the tournament, I might add) in a 1-0 victory over Austria, who made a mockery of the nostalgia-fest covering their famous victory in Cordoba all those years ago by showing just how useless they are, particularly, again, in the opponent’s half. Despite the ineptitude of their opposite numbers, Germany weren’t great either, and again it was the strikers who were the issue. Miroslav Klose did pretty much nothing all night, though at least he did nothing wrong per se, which is more than can be said for his partner Mario Gomez. Having been hyped by everyone pre-tournament, including yours truly, he topped his anonymous first two performances by being actively bad last night, missing a tap-in nearly on a par with the easiness of Hakan Yakin’s puddle-aided goal last week. His confidence is clearly shot and I doubt we’ll see him start a game again in this tournament.

Meanwhile, what on earth went on between Jogi Low and Josef Hickersberger, the two managers, on the touchline shortly before half-time? I didn’t catch all of what was happening (more laptop fiddling) at the time, so am still quite clueless about the whole thing – but it looked surreal, Hickersberger not once but twice strolling into the German technical area and harassing the staff for no apparent reason, then as the two managers continued bickering, ignoring the referee’s attempts to get them to stop, they were quite rightly sent to the stands. Then, Low had the cheek to go and get his jacket first, before the two managers shook hands on the way out. What on earth was all that about?

In other news, Croatia top the table with 9 points having beaten Poland 1-0 thanks to Ivan Klasnic’s goal. That is all I know about the match, having seen none of it. Sounds like Croatia did pretty well despite playing a second team. I tell you, they’re going to the final.

Day 8: Spain qualify and Greece go home. Ah, justice.

So after two games in each group, we already know all four group winners. While it’s impossible to deny that Portugal, Croatia, Holland and Spain deserve to have gotten through, I can’t help feeling that the new preference for head-to-head results over goal difference makes the groups less exciting than they could be. As a result of this, today’s potentially interesting Switzerland-Portugal game has been made completely irrelevant, and it could have been more had results changed just slightly over the draw as a whole.

But let’s not dwell. Spain secured their first place in the group by beating Sweden 2-1 thanks to a late, late goal from David Villa. Sweden will be disappointed but over the course of the game Spain were definitely the better side, having created much more than the Swedes and being refused what looked like a clear penalty for a foul on Silva just before half-time. Silva in particular was impressive, stepping up while Xavi and Iniesta failed to extend quite as much influence as they had over Russia, and the two strikers continued to work hard but without the top-quality service they’d gotten before. I was glad to see Fernando Torres score as I’d felt he’d deserved a goal against Guus Hiddink’s team, and while it wasn’t particularly pretty, his finish from a free-kick was clever under pressure. Iker Casillas didn’t have much to do in the Spanish goal but should have stopped Ibrahimovic’s goal – he got a hand on it but definitely had time and room to make more confident contact. Villa spared his blushes somewhat.

I’d been worried that Greece v Russia later that evening would be another terminal bore after the Greek showing four days previous, but to their credit they tried to attack…a bit more. Remaining for the most part tedious, unimaginative, and plain ineffective (witness Angelos Charisteas’ woeful attempt to head the ball in from Basinas’ wonderful free-kick), they should have been roundly thrashed by a superior Russia side, who were strong in defence and industrious in midfield, but nearly suffered by way of having all the finishing of this sen

So with Spain winners, Sweden and Russia will play in four days’ time for the right to meet Holland in the quarters. That could be a real cracker, and I’ve got a feeling now after the disappointing Sweden showing so far that, with Arshavin back, Russia could sneak that one. Today, Group A draws to a close, but with the simultaneous kick-offs I won’t be able to cover both games completely. I’ll be focusing on Czech Republic v Turkey, as it’s the only meaningful game being played, but will have to try to balance a bit more later in the week.

David Pleat Watch

To his credit, ol’ Pleaty had one of his better days watching Spain and Sweden, though he was denied a perfect outing by suddenly turning the Spanish right-back into a Russian, Sergei Ramos. His companion in the box, Jon Champion, was a worse offender by virtue of being a smart-arse. Trying to be clever with his Spanish pronunciations, he got David Villa right by interpreting the double L as a Y sound, but then got a bit too cocky and started referring to the left-back as ‘Capdeviya’. Unfortunately, the one-L’ed Capdevila is pronounced as it reads. Nice try, though.

Day 6: Croatia shock Germany and Austria rescue a point

That’ll teach me for losing the faith. I’d thought before the tournament that Croatia would make the semis and now it looks like they probably will. Beating Germany 2-0 makes them group winners courtesy of the Austria 1 – 1 Poland result, so they will face either the Czech Republic or Turkey in the quarters – two teams that on this evidence they should beat well. Croatia were absolutely first-class against Germany yesterday, showing the discipline and organisation that was lacking from their second half against Austria. The switch to 4-5-1 definitely helped, though I was slightly disappointed by Niko Krancjar in the playmaker role – normally reliable in front of goal, he missed two relatively easy chances, which would have put the Germans out of sight. He worked hard though, as did every Croatian on the pitch, who in the end thoroughly deserved the win.

For me, actually, this was the perfect result. My Croatia prediction looks much better, and now the Germans can take a morale-boosting win over Austria in the final game (don’t pretend it won’t happen) and then beat Portugal in the quarters. They’re too good not to come back from this, and happily, the Prancing Prat will be the one to suffer for it. Then Croatia can beat them again in the semis and half of the table will be as I have foreseen.

A quick word on the Austria-Poland game – neither team played particularly well. Artur Boruc, who I’ve always thought of as one of the world’s best goalkeepers, played outstandingly well, but even accounting for his heroics the Austrian finishing was abysmal. They should have been 3-0 up within 15 minutes and Boruc should have been given no chance at all to deny them that. Instead, Christian Leitgeb and Martin Harnik (twice) made tame efforts and were punished for it by Roger Guerreiro’s goal. OK, it was marginally offside, but it was exactly what they deserved for being so impotent at the other end of the pitch. Three cheers for Southampton’s Marek Saganowski for getting the assist, carrying the torch for the mighty Saints at these championships while Rudi Skacel rots on the Czech bench.

I was glad to see Howard Webb give the Austrian penalty at the end of the game – it was a clear foul, but the kind that gets flagged up so rarely that it looks controversial. If more refs gave those decisions the game would be better for it.

Everything is falling into place. See you tomorrow.

Day 5: Swimming with the Swiss and Scolari to Chelsea

Czech Republic 1 – 3 Portugal. A decent enough game that was flattered somewhat by the two early goals – it was exciting without either team ever playing that well. The Czechs deserved more than they got – their midfield, and, shockingly, Milan Baros, were very hard-working and did well to bounce back from Deco’s early goal. Portugal will be praised for their attacking verve, but it’ll be blind praise based on reputation rather than substance – they weren’t that good at all yesterday. Deco did his best to fluff the first goal, and he would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky Marek Jankulovski. Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal was the only noteworthy thing he did all game, Galasek and Grygera having done an excellent job of keeping him quiet for vast periods of time. Quaresma’s third was fair enough, but I’ll be bitter about it anyway. On this evidence, the Czech-Turkey group finale should be a good match, but I think the Czechs will come out on top.

Speaking of the Turks, what a brilliant game their 2-1 European Swimming Championships win over Switzerland was. I was anticipating an utter bore, but thanks to the monstrous downpour the match was given atmosphere, drama, and its fair share of comedy. If they hadn’t been on such a tight logistical schedule the game would have been abandoned, but I’m glad it wasn’t. Hakan Yakin’s goal was hilarious, the pass from Derdiyok slowing to the speed of continental drift over the goalmouth puddle, giving him the easiest tap-in of all time.

Yakin also got the second easiest tap-in of all time later in the game – but he missed that one, which is probably why Switzerland are now out of the tournament. It’s a shame for the co-hosts, but an inevitable one. Nul points, here we come. Glad to see my pick for Turkish Man to Watch, Arda Turan, get the winner – albeit fortuitously. When he got on the ball he played excellently, a real achievement considering the conditions. They’ll need him at his best if they want to get past the Czech Republic.

But the biggest story of the day was from the Portugal camp – but not for much longer. Big Phil Scolari’s the new Chelsea manager! WOOHOO!

I can’t tell you how excited I am. My dad, a Chelsea fan, isn’t so keen, but I can’t wait – this man is the best possible alternative to the Special One for comedy value. His English isn’t great but his journalist-punching is, and to be able to watch his touchline antics every week is great news. Bring it on!

Day 4: Spain set the standard and Greece get what they deserve

As impressive as Holland’s performance against Italy was, it was mostly their superb defending and opportunistic counterattacking two or three times a half that made them the team to beat in this competition. They’ve now been overtaken by Spain, whose 4-1 win over Russia yesterday afternoon came from entire halves of scintillating attacking play that for sheer quality outshone the Dutch resourcefulness. Yes, Russia were poor, but they were made to look worse than they were by the partnership of David Villa and Fernando Torres, which lived up to all our lofty expectations. It does make you wonder why Torres was withdrawn ten minutes into the second half, though. (I told you Aragones was mad.)

We’ll probably have to wait until the quarter-finals to be sure if Spain are the real deal, as I don’t see Sweden or Greece giving their centre-backs the test they still need, particularly after having seen their stale game last night, which Sweden won 2-0. It was a very dull game, lit up briefly by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s great goal from the edge of the penalty area (still second to Sneijder, but a worthy runner-up), but no amount of fireworks could make the Greek ‘football’ interesting. It was defensive to the point of incomprehensibility – spending 3 full minutes passing it between the three centre-backs at 0-0 thirty minutes in? Do they really intend to draw all three games to make it through? Mind you, they did look very limited in attack, but Charisteas, Gekas and Samaras were given so little opportunity to attack the defence that you have to wonder whether Otto Rehhagel is orchestrating this for a bet.

Greece got exactly what they deserved, and it will be a very tall order for them to get out of this group now. They may well beat Russia in their next game, who looked out of ideas without Arshavin and Pogrebnyak, but Spain in the final game? Not a chance. Good riddance.

Today we’re back to Group A, with Portugal-Czech Republic and Turkey-Switzerland. I’ll have a guess at 2-0 and 1-1 respectively, but I don’t expect any classics. Here’s hoping.

Euro 2008 Preview: Group A

So, welcome to the CDB Pod, the sister blog to the CDB Desk, that will be focusing entirely on the world of sport from now until (maybe) the end of time. Over the next four days I’ll be previewing all the teams taking part in Euro 2008, which kicks off in exactly one week’s time. Without further ado, let’s have a look at Group A.

Team: Czech Republic

Manager: Karel Bruckner, who’s been in charge of the Czechs forever, and looks like it too. Has done well to keep the team playing well following the retirements of members of the older generation like Poborsky and Nedved.

Strip: Red shirt, white shorts, blue socks. Second strip is all white with red trim.

Captain: Tomas Rosicky, yet to achieve his full potential at Arsenal but the real crux of Czech tactics before and since Nedved’s retirement.

Form: Topping their qualifying group, the Czechs look menacing, having at one stage beaten Germany 3-0 in Munich. A 2-0 friendly victory over Lithuania tells us little, other than that two-goal man-mountain Jan Koller is just as good as he ever was – which is quite good.

Man to Watch: How can one man be so incompetent at club level yet an eternal marvel for his country? Yes, it has to be Milan Baros, top scorer at Euro 2004, whose 31 goals in 59 caps mark him out as a dangerman.

Prediction: They’re always a good tip to do quite well, but barring any miracles in Group B they’ll be playing Germany or Croatia in the quarters, and I’d fancy both of those teams to beat Bruckner’s men, win in Munich or no.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Petr Cech (Chelsea)

16. Jaromir Blazek (Nurnberg)

23. Daniel Zitka (Anderlecht)

Defenders

2. Zdenek Grygera (Juventus)

6. Marek Jankulovski (Milan)

12. Zdenek Pospech (FC Copenhagen)

13. Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague)

21. Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina)

22. David Rozehnal (Newcastle)

Midfielders

3. Jan Polak (Anderlecht)

4. Tomas Galasek (Nurnberg)

5. Radoslav Kovac (Spartak Moscow)

14. David Jarolim (Hamburg)

17. Marek Matejovsky (Reading)

18. Tomas Sivok (Sparta Prague)

19. Rudi Skacel (Southampton)

20. Jaroslav Plasil (Osasuna)

Forwards

7. Libor Sionko (FC Copenhagen)

8. Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt)

9. Jan Koller (Nurnberg)

10. Vaclav Sverkos (Banik Ostrava)

11. Stanislav Vlcek (Anderlecht)

15. Milan Baros (Lyon)

 

Country: Portugal

Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari, a manager who punches journalists – I love him already. His always-entertaining touchline antics and occasionally mad press conferences belie his brilliant international record. Lost in the final four years ago, World Cup semi finals two years ago, after he won the 2002 competition with Brazil. Felipăo knows his stuff.

Strip: Maroon with green and gold trim. Second strip is white with red and green trim.

Captain: Striker Nuno Gomes, who apparently is only 31. That can’t be true. Past his peak, he’s been getting slower and slower by the week. Probably his last tournament leading the line.

Form: Only lost one game in qualifying – but they came second to Poland overall, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement of their potential. Their campaign included a 1-1 draw with…wait for it…Armenia. Yet to play a pre-tournament friendly, they face tricky (by their standards) Georgia today.

Man to Watch: Of course it won’t be Ronaldo, he’ll be overshadowed by the hype again – there are far more interesting faces in the Portugal squad. I’ll be watching the two Sporting midfielders Miguel Veloso and Joao Moutinho (who captains the Lisbon team aged just 21), who are both being linked with big moves abroad. The former is a talented holding midfielder while the latter is more box-to-box. They’re pushing for starting places against the more experienced Deco and (imminently retiring) Petit.

Prediction: It’ll be close between them and the Czechs in Group A, but again, I see both Germany and Croatia overcoming Portugal in the quarters.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Ricardo (Real Betis)

12. Quim (Benfica)

22. Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders

2. Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea)

3. Bruno Alves (Porto)

4. Bosingwa (Chelsea)

5. Fernando Meira (Stuttgart)

13. Miguel (Valencia)

14. Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista)

15. Pepe (Real Madrid)

16. Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea)

Midfielders

6. Raul Meireles (Porto)

8. Petit (Benfica)

10. Joao Moutinho (Sporting)

18. Miguel Veloso (Sporting)

20. Deco (Barcelona)

Forwards

7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United)

9. Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

11. Simao (Atletico Madrid)

17. Ricardo Quaresma (Porto)

19. Nani (Man United)

21. Nuno Gomes (Benfica)

23. Helder Postiga (Panathinaikos)

 

Team: Switzerland

Manager: Jakob “Kobi” Kuhn, the only teddy bear currently in international management. Stepping down after the tournament, cuddly Kobi knows his side are huge underdogs but will be trying to pull the same magic trick that got his side past the World Cup group stages in 2006.

Strip: Red shirt, white shorts, red socks. Their second strip is the inverse.

Captain: Tall striker Alexander Frei, surprisingly successful at international level with 33 goals in 56 appearances. Switzerland need him firing.

Form: Not having to qualify, the Swiss played a number of friendlies, with very mixed results – a 2-1 win over Holland and even a 1-1 draw with Argentina counterbalanced by losing 2-1 to their inferior co-hosts Austria and in general losing more than they won.

Man to Watch: Right-back Phillipp Degen has just signed for Liverpool, and it’ll be interesting to see why. The former Dortmund man has talent on the offensive as well as in his own half.

Prediction: Rock bottom of Group A. There’s no way they’re getting out of this group. Nul points is likely.

Full Team List:

Goalkeepers

1. Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg)

18. Pascal Zuberbuhler (Free agent)

21. Eldin Jakupovic (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Defenders

2. Johan Djourou (Arsenal)

3. Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart)

4. Philippe Senderos (Arsenal)

5. Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille)

13. Stephane Grichting (Auxerre)

17. Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt)

20. Patrick Muller (Lyon)

23. Phillipp Degen (Liverpool)

Midfielders

6. Benjamin Huggel (Basel)

7. Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshopper Zurich)

8. Gokhan Inler (Udinese)

10. Hakan Yakin (Young Boys)

14. Daniel Gygax (Free agent)

15. Gelson Fernandes (Man City)

16. Tranquillo Barnetta (Leverkusen)

19. Valon Behrami (Lazio)

22. Johan Vonlanthen (Salzburg)

Forwards

9. Alexander Frei (Dortmund)

11. Marco Streller (Basel)

12. Eren Derdiyok (Basel)

Team: Turkey

Manager: Fatih Terim is in his second spell as national team manager, and he’s had success before, masterminding Turkey’s first-ever qualification to the Euros in 1996. Known as ‘The Emperor’ in Turkey.

Strip: All red with a white stripe across the chest. Second strip is white with blue socks and shorts.

Captain: Newcastle midfielder Emre Belozoglu, one of that brilliant group of midfielders classified so diplomatically by FIFA as “combative”. Has been pushed into the limelight on Tyneside by Joey Barton’s antics, so presumably will be looking to reclaim his “Most Annoying Little Man” title this summer. He’s better going forward than Barton, though, and keeps his team together well.

Form: Started the qualifiers well with three wins followed by a 4-1 victory over Greece, but then stuttered, losing 3-2 to Bosnia & Herzegovina and drawing 2-2 with lowly Malta – then sinking even lower and drawing away with Moldova. Managed, barely, to scrape through one point ahead of Norway. Their two pre-tournament friendlies yielded a loss to Uruguay and a win over Finland – so nothing special here, then.

Man to Watch: 21-year-old winger Arda Turan had a magnificent season with Galatasaray and is being chaed by numerous top European clubs. One of Turkey’s most exciting players.

Prediction: Last time they played Switzerland they lost in the World Cup qualifying play-off, but I can see them getting one over the co-hosts. That should be it, though, as the Turks look too fragile in defence to get past the Czechs and Portuguese. 3rd in the group.

Full Team List:

Goalkeepers

1. Rustu Recber (Besiktas)

12. Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor)

23. Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce)

Defenders

2. Servet Cetin (Galatasaray)

4. Gokhan Zan (Besiktas)

13. Emre Gungor (Galatasaray)

15. Emre Asik (Galatasaray)

20. Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray)

22. Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders

3. Hakan Balta (Galatasaray)

5. Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle)

6. Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray)

7. Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce)

10. Karadeniz Gokdeniz (Rubin)

11. Tumer Metin (Fenerbahce)

14. Arda Turan (Galatasaray)

16. Ugur Boral (Fenerbahce)

17. Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough)

19. Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray)

Forwards

8. Nihat (Villarreal)

9. Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce)

18. Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbahce)

21. Mevlut Erdinc (Sochaux)