Euro 2008 betting punters looking to pull out a few shocks should probably steer clear of Group B as co-hosts Austria and Poland, both looking to make a mark in their first-ever appearance in the tournament, will have their work cut out to prevent the favourites Germany and impressive Croatia from marching into the last-eight.
Without being disrespectful to the Austrians had they not automatically qualified for Euro 2008 as joint hosts then it would be fair to say they would not have got near the finals in a qualification campaign. Coach Josef Hickersberger’s side is made up largely of home-based players, although Premier League fans will recognise Middlesbrough’s combative defender Emanuel Pogatetz.
Pogatetz has barely featured for Austria in recent years after falling out with his coach but their reconciliation and his return could be timely as the side have looked weak defensively since the turn of the year. A 3-0 friendly defeat against Group B opponents and neighbours Germany was followed by an unbelievable 4-3 loss at the hands of the Netherlands in March, having led the match 3-0 at one stage.
Three-times winners of the European Championships Germany will arrive with one eye on adding a fourth title to their collection. Joachim Low’s side is still largely made up of the players which reached the World Cup semi-finals on home turf under the guidance of Jurgen Klinsmann two years ago.
Skippered by Chelsea’s midfield star Michael Ballack and containing prolific strikers such as Bayern Munich duo Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose along with Schalke’s Kevin Kuranyi, there is a glut of goals in the squad as they proved with 35 in qualifying – although 19 did come in one game against San Marino.
Hertha Berlin’s Arne Freidrich, Bayern’s Philippe Lahm and Real Madrid’s Christoph Metzelder are likely to be the crux of the backline which conceded just seven goals on their way to Austria and Switzerland. Croatia will bid to go one better than their previous best record of reaching the quarter-finals in England 12 years ago.
Slaven Bilic’s side are no strangers to English football fans with two victories against then coach Steve McClaren’s side during qualification – the 3-2 win at Wembley in the final game condemning the Three Lions to a summer off. The loss of Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva to a badly broken leg will be a huge blow to their aspirations, but Bilic’s squad has more than enough quality to ensure they follow Germany into the knockout stage.
Manchester City defender Vedran Corluka, new Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar of Portsmouth’s midfield engine room are immediately recognisable, while there is great experience in the form of skipper Niko Kovac and defensively in the shape of AC Milan’s Dario Simic and Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Kovac. The Croats’ qualifying wins in England and Israel, along with a goalless draw in Russia, suggests they also have the mental toughness not to let pressure threaten their chances.
Poland will be participating in their first European Championships after an impressive qualification in which they came out top of their respective group a point ahead of the much-fancied Portugal, who they took four points off.
CROATIA
Team Profile
How did they perform in EURO 2008 qualifying?
The most consistent performers in a competitive Group E, Croatia qualified with a game to spare thanks to Russia's defeat in Israel – news of which filtered through to the team halfway through their 2-0 defeat in F.Y.R. Macedonia.
It was the only defeat suffered by Croatia during an impressive first campaign under former international defender Slaven Bilić.
They began with a useful 0-0 draw in Russia and took off the next month with a 7-0 win against Andorra, Mladen Petrić's four goals helping Croatia equal their previous record win,7-0 against Australia in 1998.
Four days later, on 11 October 2006, Croatia got an even better result, 2-0 at home against England.
Having scored against England, Brazilian-born striker Eduardo da Silva netted a hat-trick as Croatia won 4-3 in Israel in their next game.
With ten goals overall, Eduardo finished as the second top scorer in qualifying behind Northern Ireland’s David Healy.
Croatia saved the best for last, their 3-2 win against England at Wembley on 21 November 2007 confirming first place in the section and ending their hosts' hopes of qualifying. "We are good – very good," said Bilić.
How did they perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Croatia topped their group with seven wins and three draws from their ten 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Although Sweden also finished with the same points total, the Croatians held the stronger record in direct matches involving the two group principals. In total, Croatia scored 21 times with five goals conceded.
Their key victory came in their second match in the qualifying competition. Having dismissed Hungary's challenge with a 3-0 win in Zagreb in their opener after opposing defender Szabolcs Huszti was dismissed after eleven minutes, Croatia won in Sweden thanks to Darijo Srna's 64th-minute free-kick.
Although Croatia would be held to draws at home against Bulgaria (2-2) and away against Malta (1-1), they won the return matches against those opponents as well as defeating Iceland home and away.
This set up their crucial second meeting with Sweden in Zagreb in their penultimate fixture, a match the Croatians won thanks to Srna's 56th-minute penalty. Their final fixture ended in a scoreless draw away against Hungary, enough to confirm their first-place finish.
Croatia lost 1-0 to Brazil before 0-0 and 2-2 draws against Japan and Australia respectively in the group stage of the finals.
Josip Šimunić and Dario Šimić were both sent-off in Croatia's final game against Australia as they went out of the tournament at the first hurdle.
How did they perform in EURO 2004?
Croatia advanced to the EURO 2004 final tournament via the play-offs after finishing second to Bulgaria in the qualification phase. With five victories and a draw from their eight matches, the Croatians trailed the group winners by a point, but finished ahead of Belgium due to their superior goal difference in the direct matches between the two teams.
It was in their first match against Belgium, their third in the qualifying campaign, that the Croatians finally found their feet. Having opened the competition with a scoreless home draw against Estonia, the Croatians were then on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat away against Bulgaria. Belgium then bore the full brunt of Croatian wrath in Zagreb as the home side ran out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Srna (9), Dado Pršo (55), Tomislav Marić (70) and Jerko Leko (76).
They would not concede a goal for 448 consecutive minutes before a brace from Wesley Sonck (35, 43) in Brussels helped Belgium to avenge their earlier defeat with Marco Rapaic (37) scoring Croatia's goal.
The Croatians then held their nerve in their final game, defeating the already-qualified Bulgaria thanks to Ivica Olić's 48th-minute goal at Zagreb's Maksimir stadium.
Their reward was a two-legged play-off against Slovenia, the Croatians winning 2-1 on aggregate, despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home in the opening leg. They took the lead through Pršo after five minutes only for Ermin Siljak to equalise midway through the half. But Croatia would go on to stun Slovenia in Ljubljana, Pršo scoring the only goal of the game shortly after the hour mark.
Croatia failed to advance beyond the group stage in Portugal, recording two draws and a defeat from their three outings. Those draws came in their opening two engagements against Switzerland (0-0) and France (2-2) before they were outgunned by England (4-2) in their last match.
What is their best performance in the European Championship?
Croatia's best performance to date came in their first involvement in the competition. Having topped their qualification round group for EURO '96 with 23 points from ten games, the Croatians were pitched against Denmark, Portugal and Turkey in the final tournament group phase. Opening with two victories against Turkey (1-0) and Denmark (3-0), the Croatians qualification for the knockout phase was guaranteed prior to their 3-0 defeat against Portugal in their last match. Facing eventual winners, Germany, in the quarter-final phase, the Croatians exited following a 2-1 defeat.
Key facts
Croatia have missed only one European Championship final tournament since independence, missing out on a trip to EURO 2000.
All-time record
Up until the end of qualifying for EURO 2008, Croatia had appeared in the European Championship on four occasions, and had played 47 matches. In that time, they had won 28, drawn eleven and lost eight with 86 goals scored and 38 conceded.
Coach Profile - Slaven Bilić
With Croatia finishing top of Group E in qualifying, former international defender Slaven Bilić has already rewarded the Croatian Football Federation for the faith they showed in him when hiring him as national team coach in July 2006 at the age of 37. Bilić is determined their achievements will not end there, saying: "This is one of the best national teams I have seen in the last five years."
High hopes
Bilić, who has a law degree, began as a coach during the 2002/03 season with HNK Hajduk Split, the hometown club where he first made his name. He had gone back to the capital after several years playing abroad and it was soon clear that he had loftier ambitions. He was appointed to lead Croatia's Under-21 side in summer 2004 and the team would go on to top their qualifying group for the 2006 European Under-21 Championship, only to miss out on the finals after defeat in a play-off by Serbia and Montenegro.
Back problems
Unfortunately, Bilić was absent for that two-legged tie as he was in hospital after surgery on a back problem. Bilić began as a defender with Hajduk and spent six years there before moving to the Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC ahead of the 1993/94 campaign. West Ham United FC paid a then club-record fee of €2.3m for his services in January 1996 and his form in England earned him a place in Croatia's team at EURO '96, where he helped them reach the quarter-finals.
World Cup
Everton FC came calling with a €6.6m bid in March 1997 but Bilić would not leave West Ham until ensuring their Premiership survival. Capped 44 times by his country, his greatest achievement came at the 1998 FIFA World Cup when he helped Croatia to a third-place finish in their debut appearance on the world stage. During the 1999/2000 campaign, he returned home to Hajduk and fans in Split could see him indulge his other passion, heavy metal, when playing guitar in a band called Rawbau.
New players and tactics for Bilić
Croatia finished third at the 1998 FIFA World Cup – failing to replicate such form since – although hopes are high for coach Slaven Bilić's new generation.
Upcoming talent
Winning their qualifying group in dramatic style, Bilić made good use of emerging talent, with the likes of Eduardo da Silva, Luka Modrić and Vedran Ćorluka all proving their worth. Along with changes of personnel came a change of tactics, with Bilić abandoning Croatia's traditional 3-5-2 formation and introducing a sturdy 4-4-2 in its place.
Defensive stalwarts
In an ideal world, Croatia's back four comprises the experienced Robert Kovač and Dario Šimic, with Ćorluka at right-back and Josip Šimunić on the left. Captain Niko Kovač usually occupies the more withdrawn central midfield slot with Modrić – at 22, the rising star of the Croatian footballing scene – deployed in front of him.
Srna integral
Niko Kranjčar is likely to start in central midfield, with Danijel Pranjić on the left. Jerko Leko and Ognjen Vukojević will be hopeful of some playing time down the right flank but will struggle to dislodge Darijo Srna, whose attacking and crossing are vital to Croatia.
Eduardo absent
Up front, naturalised Brazilian Eduardo was the spearhead of Bilić's team, with Mladen Petrić having proved his awareness and finishing alongside the Arsenal FC man in qualifying, but a long-term injury will force the coach to plan without his talisman. Ivica Olić is likely to play alongside Petrić at the finals, but Igor Budan, youngster Nikola Kalinić and Ivan Klasnić will be eager for action too, with the latter back on song after recovering from two kidney transplants.