For those of you who, like me, are waiting for the turkey to be done, here is some food for thought. Here are the 16 teams who DID make it to next summer’s European Championships:
- Austria (host)
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland (host)
- Turkey
The draw for the Tournament is set for Dec. 2. Here is a breakdown of how the teams will be divided in the pots for the draw:
- Pot 1: Switzerland, Austria, Greece and Holland
- Pot 2: Croatia, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden
- Pot 3: Romania, Germany, Portugal, Spain
- Pot 4: Poland, France, Turkey, Russia
So, in theory, you could have a group as tough as Holland, Italy, Germany France and a group as weak as Austria, Croatia, Romania, Poland. You have to feel for Holland, which garnered the highest rating best in results of recent years and their reward is going into a pot regarded as the weakest in the draw, meaning the Dutch team’s road to a title will be that much tougher.
Here is an article on UEFA.com on the draw and seeding procedures.
Let’s face it, there will be no easy draws here. Austria is the weakest team but is at home so how can you overlook them. Romania is probably the weakest non-host.
Who is the favorite? I’ll let you know AFTER the draw. If Greece showed us anything at Euro 2004, it’s that you can never predict what will happen in this tournament.
What do you think of these pots? What team do you think will be the favorite next summer? Has Euro 2008 lost its importance because England isn’t in it (KIDDING folks, kidding.)
Share your thoughts below.