The Twaddle

This Time?

back Sven's men in their quest to attain the trophy which has so far eluded them

I see the flags hanging from windows and cars, the shirts everywhere I go, the newspapers decorated with the colours of St. George, the TV ads, the radio broadcasts; the three lions are everywhere! In the run up to the European Championships it seems the whole nation has rallied round to back Sven's men in their quest to attain the trophy which has so far eluded them, but the odds are, once again, against England as they travel to Portugal, on the back of a shaky draw with the Japanese and an impressive all-round win over Iceland. The opposition has perhaps never been so fierce.

England's opener in the capital on June 14th with tournament favourites France may be of little importance in terms of qualifying position but will go a long way in terms of boosting morale, essential if England are to go all the way this summer. The two would be clear favourites to qualify from Group B, but whether it's in pole position or runner-up, our men face a potentially tough Quarter-Final leg against either the Spanish or worse, the hosts, Portugal. For Croatia, gone are the days of Davor Suker who emerged as top goal-scorer in France '98. Perhaps their one major threat lies with Champions' League finalist David Prso whose four goals against Deportivo La Coruña last November impressed many, including Scottish giants Rangers, with whom he has been linked with since Gelsenkirchen. England will be looking for a repeat of the 3-0 friendly victory over them earlier this year. Lowly Switzerland pose little threat to our boys in Coimbra on June 17th; familiar names include Hakan and Murat Yakin of FC Basle, as well as Kop defender Stephane Henchoz.

Ouch!

And so Group B effectively comes down to England-France, a repeat of two years ago in the Far East cannot be expected from les Championnais, crashing to a humiliating first-round exit at the hands of Senegal. Coach Jacques Santini has been credited with turning around the French squad since then and has added a few new faces, including Monaco winger and Chelsea conqueror Jerome Rothen, and Manchester Utd striker Louis Saha. Perhaps one hope for England lies in the French defence with the recently unreliable Marcel Desailly; also the ageing veteran Lizarazu could make way for the pace England possess in players such as Owen, Rooney and Dyer; and wearing No. 1 at the back, the wayward keeper Fabien Barthez, whose reckless play cost him his place in the UEFA Cup Final last month. England must hope for solid performances from Campbell and Terry at the back, and take any chances that come their way at the other end in order to get a result against the French, whose A-list squad boast some of the best in the world – Thuram, Trezeguet, Pires, Makelele, Vieira, Gallas ...oh and not to mention the Premiership's Player of the Year, Thierry Henry, and the World Player of the Year, Zinedine Zidane. Ouch!

In terms of Group A, it's a similar story – two teams expected to shine, two to make up the numbers. While Spain boast an impressive squad, minus the injured Michel Salgado, personally the home nation Portugal emerge as favourites to top the group, a country whose football has already tasted success this year with FC Porto's Champions' League victory and which boasts such stars as Luis Figo of Real Madrid, Porto's midfield genius Deco, AC's Rui Costa and Man Utd's whizzkid Cristiano Ronaldo. The match between these two fierce rivals on 20th June will be one for all to see. Spain's inability of late to perform in major championships will leave them as hungry as ever for success.

But watch out for Holland!

And so it's looking like the usual suspects to entertain the Quarter-Finals, the one uncertainty for me lying in Group D, where either Germany or the versatile Czechs should qualify. The two played out the Final in Euro '96 and I felt Germany were flattered somewhat by their Final appearance in the World Cup of two years gone. But watch out for Holland! I've said for a long time now that the Dutch have the ability to beat any nation on their day – the problem is it's not always their day. As we saw in qualifying against the Scots, a dire 1-0 defeat at Hampden Park, followed by a 6-0 drumming victory in Amsterdam – we got to see both sides of the Dutch team and I just have a feeling we'll see more of the better one when their European campaign gets underway against the Germans, in Porto on June 15th. Their all-star line-up includes the well-known faces of van Nistelrooy, Kluivert, Davids, Overmars, Stam and Van der Sar, as well as top Bayern goal-scorer Roy Makaay. All looking to put firmly behind them the embarrassment of failing to even qualify for the World Cup two years ago.

Italy emerge as favourites to top Group C ahead of Denmark; Sweden, despite having Henrik Larsson back from international retirement, may just miss out once more. Look out for Alessandro Del Piero; the Juve striker failed to impress four years ago in Belgium and Holland, wasting vital chances in the Final, which effectively lead to his side losing 2-1 despite taking the lead; a David Trezeguet extra time winner ended Italian hopes for glory. I wouldn't be surprised to see Vieri, Nesta and co. reaching the Final in Lisbon on July 4th, setting up a repeat of four years ago with the French.

hey, who said it was going to be easy?

But take your pick from a shortlist of around five to win it. France have a fantastic squad-list of players and travel to Portugal as holders. Italy have a sound defence which even the world's best teams find hard to penetrate. Portugal possess a very skilful team of players, and hold a distinct advantage over everyone else as they are hosts; you only have to look as far as Euro '96 to see how important playing in your home nation can be, when England narrowly missed out on a Final appearance on penalties, to the eventual winners Germany. Holland could go all the way if they play the way they can; silky skills and prolific goalscorers could see the Dutch lift the trophy in a repeat of Euro '88. And back with England, Sven's boys have the potential to do well, we need three or four performances like the one against Argentina in Sapporo in the World Cup in order to do so. The way the tournament is set out it could be England in the Final against Holland or France, that's if we manage to break down the Italians and the hosts. But hey, who said it was going to be easy?