With the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament from Austria-Switzerland just days away, the Sportable staff will bring you team previews leading up to the opening match. Group by group, we will discuss team rosters, flaws. and chances of being crowned European Champions.

Group A Matches:
June 7th: vs. Czech Republic (St. Jakob Park- Basel)
June 11th: vs. Turkey (St. Jakob Park- Basel)
June 15th: vs. Portugal (St. Jakob Park- Basel)

Co-Hosts Attempting to Thrill Home Faithful
Switzerland’s 2006 World Cup campaign is one that may never be duplicated. That summer, the Swiss became the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated from the tournament without conceding a single goal. After three straight shutouts in group play, the Swiss fell to Ukraine in penalty kicks after a 0-0 stalemate. Now, this summer, as co-hosts of EURO 2008, Switzerland hopes to build on their success in Germany.

Attack
Because Switzerland are co-hosting EURO 2008, they automatically qualified for the summer tournament. That makes it slightly more difficult to assess their chances. However, not much has changed with Switzerland’s philosophy. The defensive-minded team has managed to score just three goals in their last five international friendlies. Switzerland’s attacking prospects have also been weakened by the injury bug, which have left several stars in doubt. With injury leaving Blaise Nkufo out of the tournament squad, the Swiss may opt for a single forward in Alexander Frei, who scored a couple of goals in the World Cup and has 33 in his international career. With few forwards outside of Frei, the importance of midfielder Hakan Yakin will only grow. Yakin scored 24 goals this season for the MJ BSC Young Boys. Midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta, one of the top young players in the World Cup, may not be fit for the finals after suffering an injury in training.

Defense
Defense is the name of the game for Switzerland and with three strong attacking teams in their group, it will have to be. While injuries have also struck the back line of the Swiss, this unit appears to be well in hand after the return of Lyon central defender Patrick Muller, who owns more than 70 international caps. Another injured veteran, new Liverpool player Philipp Degen, also appears to have recovered from injury. Degen suffered a torn muscle and did not play in yesterday’s friendly against Slovakia, but is expected to be fit for EURO. Christoph Spycher was also left out of the friendly squad, but the fullback is also expected to be ready to roll on June 7.

Outlook
Traditionally, you have to think Switzerland has a good shot of success in EURO 2008. Playing in front of their home crowd will provide great motivation. In the past four or five European Championships, only co-host Belgium in 2000 has failed to get out of the group stage. Of the two co-hosts, Switzerland definitely has the better squad and in my opinion, will find a way to survive a difficult group. However, look for the dream to end shortly thereafter with a loss to Germany in the quarterfinals.

Prediction:
-5 points in Group A.
-A loss over Germany in the Quarterfinals.