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

You Forgot Poland? Don’t Worry, Everybody Did.
In the great continent of Europe, Poland functions as merely a punchline. They’re the butt of many jokes, whether they’re deserving of them or not. The same can be said for their national team, one that has qualified for the last two World Cups, only to get pummeled when they arrive at the big stage. This is their first appearance in their European Championships, so no wonder we forgot about them.

Attacking
Poland punched their ticket to EURO 2008 by finishing atop Group A, one of the tougher qualifying groups in this year’s campaign. Not only did they finish ahead of talented Portugal, but the Poles were also able to outlast nations like Serbia, Finland and Belgium. Of their 24 goals in qualification, nine of them were scored by Racing Santander’s Ebi Smolarek, who scored a hat trick against glorious Kazakhstan in October. However, Smolarek’s finest hour came against the Portuguese, where he scored two goals to spring an upset in Chorzow. Some questionable selections by Poland skipper Leo Beenhakker offer no hints as to who will be playing alongside Smolarek. Radoslaw Matusiak scored three goals for Poland in qualifying, but was left off the squad altogether. Veteran Jacek Krzynowek scored found the net four times during qualifying and will need to find more magic if Poland are to advance out of Group B. One intriguing player is Brazilian-born Roger Guerreiro, who was awarded Poland citizenship just last month. If he is lucky enough flops, expect Roger to be on the first plane back to Brazil.

Defense
There’s certainly some reason to be concerned with Poland’s defense. Of the 12 qualifiers, no team gave up more goals than Poland, who allowed 12 in 14 matches. Leadership responsibilities will fall on the feeble shoulders of Jacek Bak, who will probably be fossilized by the time Poland is getting smashed by the Germans…again. Bak is 35 years old and one of the oldest players in the entire tournament. Other first team regulars include Mariusz Jop of FC Moscow and Olympiacos’ Michal Zewlakow. The young blood in the defense is Dortmund’s Jakub Blaszczykowski, who is capable of playing wingback and scoring 247 points in Scrabble with his last name. Celtic’s Artur Boruc is one of the better keepers of the tournament, one of the few bright spots in Poland’s defense.

Outlook
You have to credit coach Leo Beenhakker for getting Poland into this tournament for the first time. However, Group B offers the least parity of any group in this tournament. We know the strengths of Germany and Croatia, and we know the horrific squad that promises to be Austria. Poland falls somewhere in between those two categories. Translation? Don’t expect them to play beyond the group stage.

Prediction
3 points in Group B