Euro 2008 - Winner

There are plenty of contenders, with Germany as the favourites in the sense that they qualified with real style. I was lucky enough to see them live on a couple of occasions and they are mightily impressive. Any side that’s got Lahm, Ballack and Klose in it will certainly be a handful

My question mark over the Germans, and the reason why I wonder if they are value at 7/2, is whether they have any real strength in depth. Particularly upfront; Podolski has been really poor this season, Gomez has yet to prove himself at an international level and the draught squad has got three second division players in it, can you imagine that happening to England? No? Me neither.

Spain are great under achievers but they’re sure to go through their group, which is a real gimme of a group. With the likes of Torres and Fabregas in their side they are certainly going to get close but you can’t help but look back at how they’ve failed in the past with equally as talented squads.

Portugal, if Ronaldo steps up to the plate on the International stage, represent a bit of value. For me the side that will take all the beating, as they always do, are Italy. It has been 40 years since they won the European Championship.

They’re in Group C, the group of death, but they’ve got bags full of experience in their side. Some would say that perhaps they are a little too old but they’ve got a tremendous attitude, they showed that against Scotland at Hampden Park. For me, Italy represent the value in the European Championships and in the absence of any home country they’re the team I will be cheering on.

Jeff Says "ITALY"

Euro 2008 - Group A

Portugal are a bit of a skinny price but I can’t get away from them winning Group A in truth, not only do they have a top coach in Big Phil Scolari, he’s as astute as they come, but they of course have Ronaldo. He has had one heck of a long season but equally one heck of a season, these Championships could provide him with a platform to prove himself as a truly great player.

They’re not a one man band by any means; Nani, as we’ve seen at Old Trafford on occasions this season, is developing fast and is full of flair and Deco seems to be recovering his best form at last for Barcelona against Manchester United, it’s a strong looking squad.

Czech Republic look booked for second, though I have to say I’m not inspired by a side that will have Jan Koller and Milan Baros upfront. Baros looks like he’s completely forgotten the way to the goal and has not impressed in his spell at Portsmouth. Never the less I just don’t think that the hosts, Switzerland, are good enough to qualify. Eyes will now be on Philipp Degen who is on his way to Liverpool.

The Swiss will be cautious; they don’t have many expansive players and they don’t look like scoring many goals. Turkey look like a bigger threat; Tuncay looks decent but their keeper Volkan is a liability in my mind so I’ll body swerve them. Group A for me will be Portugal to win it with Czech Republic to go through.

Jeff Says "PORTUGAL"

Euro 2008 - Group B

Theoretically it should be a stroll in the park for Germany and I do think they will qualify but I don’t think it will be a stroll in the park.

I think the best bet on this group would be for Austria to finish with 0-2 points, they face total humiliation in front of their home fans and their best hope of picking up anything is if Germany ease up on them in the last match but only if they’ve won their opening games and it’s a big "if".

Croatia could be a bit of value in this group for me at 12/5; they were impressive against England, they open up against Austria while Germany will find it much tougher against arch rivals Poland.

If you look at the Croats they’ve got Kranjcar and Modric in their side, they’re clearly going to be a force even without the injured Eduardo. Milan Petric, the Dortmund Striker, will be looking to step into Eduardo’s boots; he looked pretty decent against England and has been scoring goals as well. I think that Croatia could cause a bit of an upset here.

I think that the Germans will qualify ok but the value is Croatia to win the group ahead of Germany.

Jeff Says "CROATIA"

Euro 2008 - Group C

What a group this "Group of Death" is but I will be going with Italy.

It’s a long time since they won the European Championships, 40 years ago, but they’ll surely come close this time. They’ve got bags full of experience and they know how to win games.

I love Pirlo and Gattuso in their midfield. Buffon is as good as any keeper in the tournament. Del Piero has had a wonderful season, his best goal scoring season in Italy for a decade in the Juventus side, he was the top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals this season and he’s absolutely at his peak. They just have a knack for winning the important games.

France and Holland are both big names in football but I just feel they may be fading forces. If you look at the French for example, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry are way below their best. Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda have shown precious little at Chelsea this season. Gallas is at the heart of their defence with question marks over his discipline. Frank Ribery and Karim Benzema could make a big impact for the French but I think they’ll need to play out of their skin to do it.

Likewise, the Dutch look vulnerable defensively, they don’t play with the sort of fluency that was once their hallmark and they lost their last qualifying game against Belarus. If you’re thinking of having a punt on this group then it’s worth bearing in mind that Romania took four points off the Dutch in qualifying and I think that Romania are better value to go through then Holland in this group.

For me it’s Italy to win the group on route to winning the tournament.

Jeff Says "ITALY"

Euro 2008 - Group D

The 5/6 about Spain look’s mighty tempting to me, they are the great under achievers in European and world football but surely even they can’t avoid winning Group D.

Their side is probably going to include the likes of Torres, David Villa, Fabregas and Xavi and they are up against a bunch of no marks to be brutally honest. It looks like one of the bets of the tournaments to me at 5/6.

Who are they up against?

The Russians where defensively clueless in the game against England in Moscow and the two twins at the back made it look like football was new game for them so I don’t see them keeping clean sheets.

Sweden have got too many players well past their sell by date so it could be Greece who can snatch the other qualifying place in Group D. They have a European coach with bags of experience in Rehhagel, they have a bit of European Championship pedigree as well and of course they where pretty impressive in qualifying too but not impressive enough to beat Spain.

Spain the bankers in qualifying, 5/6, yes please, I’ll have some of that.

Jeff Says "SPAIN"