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

Can Solid Qualification Record Finally Pay Dividends?
With all of the traditional footballing powers in Europe, it’s easy to see why a country like Croatia gets overlooked. However, few teams have been more solid during World Cup and European Championship than the Croats, who have gone unbeaten in qualification for both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. They also cruised through qualification for this year’s EURO, ending their campaign by crushing the Euro 2008 hopes of England, who only needed a draw to qualify.. However, the Croats have yet to reach a knockout stage of a tournament since their surprising 3rd place finish in the 1998 World Cup.

Attacking
Croatia cruised through Group E of qualifying through their powerful attack, which compiled 28 goals in their 12 qualifying matches. Behind 10 goals from Brazilian born Eduardo and seven goals from Dortmund’s Mladen Petric, Croatia was expected to boast one of the best strike forces in the competition. That all changed in early February, when Eduardo suffered a gruesome injury at the hands of Birmingham City. A broken fibula and dislocated ankle will keep the young striker from participating in EURO 2008, which means the pressure will fall on Petric to pick up the slack. With Eduardo out of the picture, expect veteran Ivica Olic to start in his place. The man responsible for England’s demise, Niko Kranjcar, is capable of scoring from anywhere on the pitch. Also, look out for young Luka Modric, a dangerous playmaker in the midfield.

Defense
Three old standbys, AC Milan’s Dario Simic, Hertha Berlin’s Josip Simunic and Dortmund’s Robert Kovac, will be giving it one more go in EURO 2008. With more than 230 caps between the three defenders, they will bring plenty of experience to Croatia’s backline. The youngster in Croatia’s defense is Manchester City’s Vedran Corluka, who has already accumulated 19 caps at the age of 22. Standing at 6′4, the gumpy Corluka could be a dangerous player during Croatian set pieces. Corluka was one of City’s best players this season and appears to be one of the Premiership’s rising stars. While Croatia conceded only eight goals in qualifying, their depth on defense is not their strong suit. You have to be concerned with the gray line that separates “experience” and “washed up.” How will this squad fare against the youth and pace of Germany? Probably not very well.

Outlook
Because of Eduardo’s injury, Croatia has become one of the more mysterious teams of EURO 2008. Having completed a double over England in qualifying, we know the Croats won’t be intimidated. They battled Brazil in Berlin a couple of summers ago, and knocked off the Italians (albeit controversially) in 2002. That shows they will not be intimidated against Germany or Austria’s home faithful. I love Croatia’s chances of finishing 2nd in this group, although they’ll have a stern test in the quarterfinals.

Prediction
6 points in Group B
A loss to Portugal in the quarterfinals