On Saturday June the 7th, Euro 2008 kicks off with two matches from Group A Swiss vs. Czech and Portugal vs. Turkey.

Czech Republic:

There is no denying that the heart of the Czechs lie in Petr Cech and Tomas Rosicky from London. Czech will be a slightly different club without Rosicky but they will still be a great passing club. It is a real treat to watch the surprising Czech’s play such a beautiful game. Brueckner has always played the Czechs using a 4-4-2 with a holding so it’s more like a 4-1-3-2. They don’t attack the flanks as well as most other teams but their vision in midfield helps pick apart the back lines of other times with beautifully threaded passes. He loves switching to a 4-5-1 against the stronger clubs because he loves flooding the midfield against them to shut out any of their creativity in the midfield. They don’t have any star studded names but their players are so tactically aware. Names that you should keep in mind when thinking about the Czech are Cech, Grygera, Jankulovski, Sionko, Polak, and Baros the Pompey boy.

Portugal:

Scolari is one of those hard ass managers with a purely tactical mindset. One thing he allows his players to do is express their creativity. Portugal is absolutely frightening in midfield and back. Deco, Ronaldo, Nani, Quaresma, Simao, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Ferreira, and Pepe. The only real question of this club is their strikers. Will Almeida be able to do the finishing that Portugal has always lacked? I’m going to suspect no. You have to respect what this team has done though. They were runner up in Euro 2004 and semi-finalists in the World Cup. Should Ronaldo put up the performance that he has all season, Portugal should have no problem finding the back of the net in this tournament. Portugal is another team that is known to love flooding the midfield with their 4-2-3-1 formation. They play two defensive midfielders with Deco, Ronaldo, and Quaresma attacking. One problem I have with Portugal is that they make too many passes while attacking and probably make one too many. They don’t enjoy just shooting.

Switzerland:

Lets just be entirely honest, they are only here because they are one of the host nations and they took a spot from a country like Ireland or England. I’m not even going to kid anyone, I only know 2 players on their team, Frei and Senderos. They play a 4-4-2 with one holding midfield. They will flood the midfield as well if they face a tough opponent. They won’t last the group stages.

Turkey:

The last couple of years were disappointing for Turkey and they have now entered their transition stage. They got a great midfielder in Hamit Altintop. They play an interesting formation with 4-1-4-1. One holding midfielder, three attacking, one winger, and a striker. Arda is a great winger with amazing dribbling skills and good crossing. They will have a good performance to set this young squad up for years to come. Their fullbacks love to attack, even their centre-backs and this could come back to really hurt them.

Rankings:

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