FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Viva Portugal!

are u out of ur mind...switzerland will not make it out of the group round...czech republic will...and Netherlands in the FINAL...did u see their games in the qualifying stages?? They had two shady wins against Albania (2-1 and 0-1) and they didnt beat romania which won the group. Out of group c it will be italy and romania to make it out not netherlands.

Portugal-Netherlands in the final ? Are you serious ? I am French and I am ready to accept that our team might not make the 1/4. In my opinion it is unlikely but I admit in this group everything is possible. I also agree that Croatia and Russia could be the big surprises even though Croatia is a much better team than Russia traditionnally and might not be labelled as a surprise.
But Portugal over Germany, I really doubt it. And Netherlands over Italy... maybe one of the two if the football gods are in the mood for a good joke but seriously I don't see it happening at all.
I see a France Germany final and Croatia and Russia in the semis. But that is as big a surprise as there will be.
well we'll soon know who was right, a great tournament to all of you !

Really, Portugal-Holland? Both teams are not as complete as people think

This has to be the worst prediction I have ever seen. Portugal is inconsistent as a national team. They have only qualified for 4 WCs reaching 3rd as their highest positioning. In Euro they have never won either--once again finishing 3rd spot. What makes you think they have a chance this year? C. Ronaldo? Doubtful... while the Portuguese great caramel hope may excel with Man U he is weak with the national team. It's all based on him stepping up and that is a BIG "if".

Concerning the Dutch... wow... just wow. This team MIGHT make it out of the group stage but they will be shut down in the quarters.

My prediction: Finals: Germany vs. Spain. Germany wins.

I think your wrong about italy and holland progressing as far as they will...Italy or France is primed for a major collapse this year. Italy, has lost cannavaro and have luca toni is still not in top form and this very website has reported on some of their training camp tensions...not to mention they have the oldest team in the tournament...France is looks good on the back line, except they inexplicably left mexes behind, and their defensive midfield, but henri doesn't have his swagger of old and they are not going to be mentally tough without zidane marshaling the troops...and god help them if the yourngster up fornt doesn't work out cuz if le sulk (anelka) has to make plays they are screwed...and oh yeah, the leading scorer in seria A trez, is nowhere to be seen.
And Holland??? Van persie is not in top form nistelroy was heating up at the end of the season but and kuyt was good at times, but where is the the leader? who is going to step up and provide the big play when they need it? Fashionable choice but misguided I think.

Germany will go far, Croatia will surprize all, spain will beat holland and wait til the semi's to collapse this time. Spain on paper should win this hands down, wonderful strikers and depth up front with torres, villa, guiza, and de la red...but the midfield has no enforcer..they play beautiful soccer its true but they are gonna try to walk it in the goal every time cuz the catalonian midfielders, xavi ect. lack killer instinct. Hell, even their best defender sergio ramos is more famous for his forward runs than his defence. Puyol is clever and a class act but I think he has lost a step, he genuinly looked surprized to see eddie johnson blow past him in the friendly against U.S.A. Plus Aragones is an idiot. RAUL anyone??
Portugal has the opposite problem of spain. Great midfield, absolutely ferocious with deco, ronaldo, and nani queresma ect. but who is gonna strike for them. They have no talent up front, and I don't see anyone stepping up to take the long shot or make the big play when ronaldo goes down. Because lets face it Ronaldo has a target all over him and is gonna get manhandled by every defender that can get a hold of him, meaning he is gonna spend half the time lying on the pitch calling for fouls. They would be smart to do something totally different and run a 4-6-0 with nani and queresma playing wing and deco/ronaldo in the middle with ronaldo cheating foward. and they can put in whoever elso they want to play dual defensive mids cuz the back line is suspect carvalho cant do it alone.

Look for germany to cuise to the finals under the leadership of ballack in the midfield and lahm in the back...Klose will be elusive and lethal as usual. But I agree portugal is finally gonna break though this time. although spain may finally step up, either way the latins win.

GLORY! GLORY! MAN UNITED!

and in reference to the bayern fan...portugal finished 2nd in '04 not third remember.

Portugal ? Why not. I don't like this team but they often go to the semi-finals (and loss to France) so it is possible. But Netherlands, NO WAY ! The defense sucks and the're not that good. As a French I want to see France-Germany like many French. Croatia and Russia could be the surprising team but Eduardo will be missed for Croatia.

FCB82 must not know what he is talking about. Ronaldo played very well in EURO 2004 when he was 19, he was always a threat when on the field and ended up winning a starting spot. WC 2006 he played very well too. He wasnt the dominating player he is in the Premier League but lets see what he does this time..

FCB82 must not know what he is talking about. Ronaldo played very well in EURO 2004 when he was 19, he was always a threat when on the field and ended up winning a starting spot. WC 2006 he played very well too. He wasnt the dominating player he is in the Premier League but lets see what he does this time..

oui c'est vrai, as a frenchmen you probably would love to see a germany france final but its simply not gonna happen...France has had some quality teams, in fact I in paris in 2000 when they won the euro, but this is team on the decline....you can read my previous posts to see what I mean but for propriety's sake i'll reiterrate.....1) henri is still good, but he has lost his swagger and maybe a bit of his touch, trezeguet is not on the team, neither is mexes which is crazy cuz what he does for roma is awesome. So that leave Makalele, Malouda, Viera as proven players ( and viera is hurt) so that leaves Mathieu Flamini as the only exciting play maker in the midfield....And like I said before le Sulk (Anelka) is a meltdown waiting to happen so if he has to come on late and make play france is in serious trouble.

yeah I agree FCB82 is a bit outta the loop cuz he forgot that portugal got 2nd in '04 not 3rd.....but again I reitterate from ealier if he gets frustrated then he is gonna start taking dives, and throwing hissy fits, and as much as I think he is an amazing player and I like him I think the true test will be on deco...will he be able to hold the ball and set up opportunities for ronaldo to make his runs, if he can't step up then portugal is going to fail.

Vieira will play the Euro and Flamini is not a play maker (and will be in hollyday). Makelele is absolutely awesome in the midfield and Toulalan and Lassana Diarra are always very good. Rib??ry (best player in Germany) is a far better player than Malouda who does nothing on offense. You also have Benzema on offense (best player in France) so that's very fine even if I agree that Henry lost a step. Mexes should have been selected (a shame he is not) but Trezeguet sucks with France, everytime he plays we lost so he won't be missed. You see this team on the decline, well why not, it's not false but look at the roster and you'll see that not many teams have better players and I'm not worried for the future with guys like Ga??l Clichy, Bakary Sagna, Hatem Ben Arfa, Mexes, Flamini, Lloris, Bodmer etc... who are not selected.

Why not Portugal? How 'bout their back line and keeper?

As much as I would enjoy seeing Materazzi play for Italy in the game against France, it will only happen if Italy have already assured qualification to the next round. Italy will start Barzagli and Chiellini as their central defensive pair. They can't afford Materazzi's all too frequent defensive lapses.

Still, though, I love that Italy and France were drawn into the same group both for qualification and in the group stage of the Euros. It has turned into one of the best sports rivalries on the planet. If the two were to meet again in the Semifinals as well, all the better.

From my humble point of view Germany vs, France or Holland would be the most exciting finals rivalry to watch but first I??m looking forward to a nice cup of beer with friends and the Czechs kicking some Swiss butt tomorrow. No offense to any Swiss around here :D

As Wahl remarked, this may be the most balaced Euro tourney in recent memory. Everyone has at least a shot at the title. Even the home teams which appear weaker on paper but have the home crowd to support them.

Wow, you guys take this so-called sport way too seriously.

I know viera will play only a 'gina would miss this tournament. And yes makalele is great in the midfield, defensively, and yes Ribery is in total top form. So I agree with bls_73 when he says that the future is very bright for France and they will have a decent showing but they won't make it past the quaters. Their coach is smart tactically and they have experience but they don't have a man up front who will step up when the going gets tough, like I said henri is great and I don't think his career is totally over but lets face it when it comes down to the 75th or 80th minute and it's tied 0-0 against a team like spain or portugal or germany they aren't going to have the fresh legs or old general, like zidane, who is gonna push them through, precisely because the stupid coach left off some of the best young talent in europe, like mexes. It's no offense against the french, although I will say they aren't the most exciting team to watch, but they simply don't have the mental toughness this year.

rjsam77.......first of all I am an american and I follow baseball and football just as seriously as any other sport if not more so than soccer, but for you to pipe in with a piddly little "so-called sport" shows two things: 1) that you're ignorant and probably american. 2) you some how stumbled into the wrong part of the website cuz serious international soccer is the some of the most entertaining, diffiicult, athletic and rivalry filled events in the world. And your right it's not sport, its war so take your **** little mouth elsewhere

btw j11forbes, If you read above I have been touting certain aspects of the portuguese team but you would be wise not to talk about their back line.....carvalho is great the rest is,....not so great.

I think even predicting that Holland will make it out of the group stage is incredibly ridiculous. There are literally advertisements in Europe for Fiat cars, advertising their speed, saying, "be home quicker than the Dutch team." If the Dutch make it to the quarterfinals, I will legitimately worship SI and never question them again. However, as it stands, I think that not being in Europe has addled SI's understanding of European soccer.