Euro 2008 will soon be upon us but sadly none of the home nations will be represented at the competition taking place in Austria and Switzerland during June. However, that is definitely not a reason to shun watching the European Championship Finals. Given the abundance of quality foreign international players currently plying their trade in the English Premier League, many of the players taking part in the Euro 2008 finals will be household names in the UK. Indeed, France’s squad list reads like a veritable who’s who of current and former Premier League stars. Just their forwards’ list of eight includes five current and ex-Premier League giants; Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka, Man United’s Louis Saha, two former Arsenal stars in Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, and finally Djibril Cisse, formerly of Liverpool. The French midfield and defence is similarly packed with current and former Premier League talent, and given the strength of their experienced squad, barring any injury worries, â€Les Bleus’ should provide good value for their fifth favourite status, and could even surprise many pundits, who have already dismissed their chances in this tournament. However, the bookies’ overall favourites for the tournament are Germany with Italy, Spain, and Portugal trailing only slightly behind. Given that bookmakers are offering low odds for a total of five teams in this year’s 2008 European Championship finals means that even they believe the competition will be incredibly tight and that fact alone looks set to provide spectacular viewing even for the most impartial armchair fan. Group C promises to throw up a series of nail-biters as it contains not only two of the top five favourites - Italy and France - but also includes Holland and Romania, neither of whom would be rated a pushover in anyone’s book. Group D looks the next toughest group with Spain facing up to reigning European Championship holders Greece, as well as tough competition from previous winners Russia and Sweden. Portugal look set to have an easy ride in Group A, competing against joint host Switzerland, improving nation Turkey and probably their biggest threat in the group, the Czech Republic. The remaining joint host, Austria, will compete in Group B with tournament favourites Germany and the team responsible for dumping England out of the qualifying tournament, Croatia. Lastly, Poland - featuring Celtic's Artur Boruc - may just make it difficult for the other fancied sides in this group. From the opening game in Basel on Saturday, June 7th between Switzerland and the Czech Republic to the final in Vienna on Sunday, June 29th the whole tournament promises a feast of football that anyone calling themselves a fan of the beautiful game cannot afford to miss.
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