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 8th: vs. Poland (Wörthersee Stadion-Klagenfurt)
June 12th: vs. Croatia (Wörthersee Stadion-Klagenfurt)
June 16th: vs. Austria (Ernst Happel Stadion-Vienna)

Deutschland - ein Team - ein Ziel
Every time Miroslav Klose gets on the team bus he will see the above team motto which reads, Germany - one team - one purpose. Let me just be frank and candid: The Germans were handed the draw of the tournament. A lackluster group that includes Poland, Croatia, and Austria will pose no problems for the Germans in securing a first place bid out of the group stage. After that, Germany should cruise all the way to the semifinals, where a possible date with Portugal lingers. This all leads to the big questions. Can the Germans actually win a tournament for once? Or will their underachieving late in tournaments continue to haunt them?

Attack
Lukas Podolski is Germany’s best threat to opposing defenses. Scoring a total of eight goals in qualifying, Podolski still reminds me of a 12 year old kid. You have to give credit to him though, as he does seem to score at will for the national squad. Another main figure in the German attack is Miroslav Klose, who is simply world class in the air. Every time I see Klose score, he is using his head. The threat of Podolski and Klose take a lot of pressure off of Michael Ballack. Ballack, who never seems to shine in big tournaments, needs to have a good EURO if Germany want to make it to the finals. It seems as if Germany just need that extra punch to get the trophy in a lot of tournaments, but they’re missing one guy who can do that for them. Alongside Ballack you have to love Bastian Schweinsteiger and Torsten Frings. Those two were revelations for Germany in 2006, and make this German attack one of the tournament’s best.

Defense
A key advantage that the Germans have on their side is their young defense. With an average age of 26, the Germans can surely count on Arne Freidrich, Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm, and Cristoph Metzelder. With Jens Lehman due to patrol the net in his final international tournament, I think this defense can cause havoc for teams in the early stages. However, once Germany reaches the the semis, I believe they will get burned on the backend to faster, more athletic teams. For instance, what is Germany going to do when Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma and Deco arrive to challenge them for a spot in the finals? Also, a note to Lehman. Don’t mess things up with your erratic stupidity.

Outlook
Enough has been said about the Germans draw. It’s now time for them to collect their Group B winner spot and take that into the quarterfinals stage, where they will probably face the Czech Republic or Switzerland. All in all, it really comes down to the semifinal where they’ll take on Portugal. Choosing a winner in this match is extremely tough, but I will go with Germany simply based off of experience.

Prediction
-7 points as Group B winners.
-A trip to finals where they will once again choke.