Euro 2008 Group B Match Previews

Poland vs Croatia & Austria vs Germany

by BetOnEuro2008.com




Monday 16th June, 2008

Can Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria do the unthinkable and stop the German football machine in its tracks?

It's crunch time for the teams of Group B in Euro 2008. Following the controversial and unexpected results of the last matches, Germany, Poland and Austria can all progress to the next round alongside Croatia, depending on tonight's results. Can co-hosts Austria produce a miraculous performance and pull off the greatest upset of Euro 2008 by defeating tournament favourites Germany and making the quarter finals at their expense?

 

Match Number One: Poland vs Croatia,

Klagenfurt, Kickoff at 20:45 CET

Overview:

Croatia have already made it through to the quarter finals after their impressive 2-1 victory over Germany on Thursday. This means that only the Poles have everything to play for, in spite of the odds against them qualifying being overwhelming. For Poland to make the quarter finals, they will not only have to beat Croatia, but Germany must lose to Austria. Furthermore, Poland must defeat Croatia by at least a two-goal winning margin greater than the Austrians achieve.

Perhaps this is why Polish coach Leo Beenhakker was recently quoted as saying "Maybe I can call my old friend Slaven Bilić [the Croatian coach] and ask him to play his mother-in-law as a striker against Poland. But, apart from that, I can't do much more."

To which Bilić replied, "Well, I'm divorced."

Polish Squad:

Unfortunately for Poland, they will have to try and achieve this mammoth task without midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski, and their captain and star striker Maciej Zurawski, who are both suffering from injuries. It is rumoured that Ebi Smolarek may be dropped after putting in a disappointing performance at the tournament so far.

Croatian Squad:

Being guaranteed top spot in Group B no matter the outcome of tonight's matches, Bilic will most likely rest many of his top players. Luka Modric, Darijo Srna, Robert Kovac, Ivica Olic and Josip Simunic all have one yellow card to their name and would be suspended for their next match were they to receive another tonight, so they will most likely all be rested.

It is expected that Dario Simic and Ivan Klasnic will both start the match for Croatia. If he starts the match, it will be the 99th Croatian cap for Simic and he will also become the only Croatian player to have appeared in all three of their European Championship campaigns.

Players to Watch:

Poland: Roger Guerreiro. Scoring the only goal for Poland in Euro 2008 so far, Guerreiro will most likely be the leading player in Poland's attack so look to him for any Polish inspiration tonight.

Croatia: Dario Simic. As mentioned above, Dario Simic will receive his 99th cap for Croatia if starting the match. His significance on the pitch is recognised by the Croatians and so expect to see him making an impact on the match

"Simic has been a backbone of the squad for a decade and it's only right that he leads the team on to the pitch against the Poles," said Croatian coach Bilic.

Prediction:

In spite of many of their starting players likely to be rested, expect Croatia to put in a great performance yet again and aim for three out of three victories in their group matches. "This will not be a reserve side," Bilić said.

Poland, on the other hand, will be desperate to win by a great margin. Given their recent performance, and the recent performance of Croatia, this seems unlikely for them. If the Poles do manage a win, it will most likely be by only a single goal. This in itself, however, will probably not happen and the Croats should manage a win or a draw at the worst.

Match Number Two: Austria vs Germany,

Wien, Kickoff at 20:45 CET

Overview:

After their controversial draw with Poland in last match, Austria will be out to produce what could be their greatest result so far. If they defeat the Germans tonight, then they will most likely qualify for the quarter final stage and achieve what would be their best result in a European tournament so far.

Austria will have to defeat Germany to progress through to the quarter final stage. If the match ends in a draw, then Germany (on 3 points) will instead qualify to the next stages as expected.

The Austrian supporters will be echoing the chant ''Immer weider Cordoba'' (Cordoba again and again), in reference to the amazing 3-2 upset which Austria pulled off over Germany in the 1978 World Cup. All of Austria will be dreaming for a similar result tonight in what would undoubtedly set the host nation alight with football frenzy were they to progress to the next stages of the tournament.

Austrian Squad:

Austrian coach Josef Hickersberger, however, is much more grounded than his team's supporters. Having played in that famous 1978 match himself, Hickersberger is keen to distance the upcoming match from the memory of that massive achievement.

"Too much has been said about Cordoba,'' Hickersberger said. ''For me, history is repeating itself. In 1989, we played the German Democratic Republic in Vienna in a decisive qualifier for the 1990 World Cup and won. The names are different now, but we're looking forward to the match.''

Ivica Vastic became the oldest goalscorer in the history of this tournament when he converted from the spot in injury time against Poland at the age of 38 years and 257 days. He and defender Martin Hiden will both win their 50th caps if they take the field against Germany. Sebastian Prodl is suspended for this match following yellow cards in Austria's two previous matches.

Veteran midfielder Rene Aufhauser will be set to mark Germany playmaker Michael Ballack.

"Ballack is important for their game as he is the central player," said Aufhauser. "He initiates many attacks, but we won't adapt our game because of him and will rely on our own strengths."

Overall, Hickersberger will most likely field a similar squad of players as he has in Austria's previous two matches.

German Squad:

In spite of everything that has been said about this match, Germany should go into the encounter confident of their chances. This confidence has been boosted greatly by the news that striker Lukas Podolski and defender Philipp Lahm should both be fit to start the match after recovering from injuries suffered in their loss to Croatia. Bastian Schweinsteiger is suspended from this match after receiving a red card in the match against Croatia. Michael Ballack and Jens Lehmann will both be suspended if booked.

Players to Watch:

Austria: Andreas Ivanschitz and Roland Linz.

If the co-hosts are to pull of a miracle result, they will most likely have to rely on two of their star attacking players. Captian Andreas Ivanschitz (known as the Austrian David Beckham) has terrific vision and passing skills, and is perfectly capable of scoring goals himself whilst Roland Linz is Austria's most capable striker, and if given the support of the full team, both players could produce some superb results that could make all the difference in this crucial match.

Germany: Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack.

Podolski is currently the second leading scorer in Euro 2008 and has been responsible for all of Germany's three goals scored so far and is the current odds on favourite to win top goalscorer in online football betting. Furthermore, he was Germany's leading scorer in the qualifiers, netting eight goals in nine appearances. Therefore, if anyone is to put the ball in the back of the Austrian net, it will most likely be the World Cup 2006 ''Young Player of the tournament'', Lukas Podolski.

Captain Michael Ballack is showing exceptional form in the tournament so far and has provided inspiration for the rest of the German team. Ballack will be looking to control the game from the midfield as he often does so well, and will aim to push his team into the next round as they are more than capable of doing.

Prediction:

In spite of the fairytale story potential of this match for Austria, expect Germany to comprehensively defeat their geographic neighbours. Germany is one of the most solid tournament teams in world football and were not labelled as favourites to win Euro 2008 for nothing. Austria will put up a valiant fight, but unfortunately for them, it will most likely be the Germans who triumph in confident fashion. Still, expect an exciting match tonight... and an extremely loud Austrian crowd!

 

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