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

Co-Hosts Trying to Avoid Worst Embarrassment Since 1938
Usually, tournaments like the World Cup and European Championship are greeted with great excitement and fanfare in host nations. However, the same cannot be said of Austrian soccer fans, who enter EURO 2008 with a sense of dread. There’s little hope for a trip to the quarterfinals. Instead, Austrian fans are simply hoping their footballers don’t humiliate themselves. It’s even gotten to the point where over 4,000 Austrians have signed a petition for an “Austria-free EURO 2008.” Things can’t be that bad, can they?

Attacking
When Austria takes the pitch a week from Sunday, they will be making their first ever appearance in the European Championships. However, this is a nation that wouldn’t have sniffed qualification if it wasn’t for the honor of co-hosting the tournament. So, how’s the squad look? The 101th ranked team in the world, Austria have just two wins in their last 15 matches. But maybe there’s some hope! Yesterday’s 5-1 win over lowly Malta should give the squad a little bit of confidence. A pair of goals from Sporting Braga’s Roland Linz indicates that he’ll be a key player for the squad alongside young Erwin “Jimmy” Hoffer, who also scored in the win over Malta. Just 21 years old, Hoffer has scored 14 career goals with his club squad, Rapid Vienna. The captain of the squad is 24-year-old Andreas Ivanschitz, who has already made over 30 appearances on the national team.

Defense
A pair of solid, experienced players anchor the Austrian defense. Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz is back on the national squad after solving some differences with coach Josef Hickersberger. Spartak Moscow’s Martin Stranzl has more than 40 international caps. These two players have plenty of legitimate European experience and should be a somewhat calming influence in the back. Gyorgy Garics, a wingback for Serie A club Napoli, has only made 10 appearances for Austria, but played well in helping newly-promoted Napoli to an 8th place finish. Keeper Alex Manninger has jumped around Serie A over the last few years and is now the starting keeper for Siena. With their experience in superior leagues, I’m not incredibly worried about Austria’s defense.

Outlook
It’s not going to be pretty. There’s simply not enough creativity or skill in the midfield to battle squads like Germany or Croatia. But is this team as bad as everyone says it is? We know they’ll be boosted by their home crowd, regardless of how pessimistic the Austrian fans appear to be. And recent friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands, two matches where the Austrians played well, should give them some confidence. Last year’s run to the semifinals in the U-20 World Cup may be able to spark a movement of young players for future tournaments. But for now, I’ll go with the conservative route. Austria will finish last in the group.

Prediction
1 point in Group B