Similarly in soccer – Brazil were favourites to win the last World Cup, nobody picked Greece to win Euro 04, and in the 2002 World Cup, defending champions France were expected to at least score a goal, let alone win any games!

Indeed, all events inevitably spring up surprises, and Euro 08, which starts this weekend, shouldn’t be an exception. A look at out TAB odds shows that Germany are favourites, followed by Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Croatia & the Czech Republic, after which the odds become relatively long. Spain being second favourites is a little surprising given that they are without doubt the underachievers of world football; perhaps now is their time?

The odds for the golden boot winner are quite intriguing also: Spain’s Fernando Torres and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo are joint favourites, followed by German Miroslav Klose (who scored the most goals at the 2006 World Cup), Italian Luca Toni, Spain’s David Villa, France’s Thierry Henry & the Netherlands' Ruud van Nistelrooy. On the surface, nothing too surprising, especially given the club form of Torres and Ronaldo. However, Ronaldo is likely to have a different role with Portugal than he does at Manchester United, and although Torres has been a revelation this season for Liverpool, he has been found out at the international level.

Group A

Portugal: group favourites, and perhaps rightly so given the star quality of such players as Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao, Nuno Gomes and Helder Postiga. Bolton striker Ricardo Vaz Te was a notable absentee from this squad, probably due to his injury-plagued season and hence lack of match fitness, but Portugal may live to regret this decision, given the 21 year old’s tag as arguably the best youth level striker in Europe. Ronaldo is the key player, but look out for defender Jose Bosingwa to prove that he is worth the ₤16.2 million that Chelsea have recently spent to acquire his services.

Czech Republic: you would be a fool to write this mob off. An absolute fool. Sure, they’re missing the services of retired star and Patrick Swayze look-a-like Pavel Nedved, and their captain Tomas Rosicky has been ruled out with injury, but a quick look at their squad shows they will be a force to be reckoned with. They have the world’s best goalkeeper Petr Cech, their leading goal scorer and colossus Jan Koller up front, plus arguably the world’s best defender and stand-in captain Tomas Ujfalusi marshalling their defence. If these 3 players perform, the Czechs will be around at the business end of the tournament.

Switzerland: automatically qualified because they are co-hosts, but would have probably qualified anyway. Surprised many with their performances at the last World Cup (topping their group and not conceding a goal the whole tournament, only bowing out in a penalty shoot out), and buoyed by their home crowd may cause an upset. Captain Alexander Frei and midfielder Hakan Yakin may hold the key, but a player to watch is 19 year old striker Eren Derdiyok, the youngest player at the tournament.

Turkey: not really expected to do much this tournament, given the calibre of their opposition. However, in Rustu, captain Emre, Nihat Kahveci, Tuncay Sanli and Hamit Altintop they have a decent core group of players who will at least push the opposition.

Prediction: Czech Republic to win this group in a canter, with Portugal claiming second spot but having to fight for it. Turkey to pip Switzerland into third, leaving the home fans dejected in last.

Group B

Germany: tournament favourites, so obviously overwhelming favourites to win this group. Their much vaunted defence was exposed against Serbia, and even though they went on to win, this will remain an area of concern. Very strong and experienced in attack, with the likes of Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose, David Odonkor and Torsten Frings (who will ever forget his goal in the opening match of the 2006 World Cup – a 30 yard cannon giving the keeper no chance) leading the charge. If the defence sorts themselves out, Germany will go close.

Croatia: have never quite reached the dizzying heights of 1998 since that 3rd placing in the World Cup, but have recently become quite a consistent force. While they may lack the same depth as the more traditional powerhouses, their first eleven is very strong. Coach Slaven Bilic has called on his “three magicians” Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Mladen Petric to inspire the team, but keep a stray eye on Manchester City defender Vedran Corluka too, if given the chance.

Poland: have qualified for the first time here. Topped their qualifying group (ahead of Portugal) so clearly have some potential. Interesting to note that their 3 goalkeepers play for 3 of Britain’s top club in Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic. Have some decent strikers in Euzebiusz Smolarek and Maciej Zurawski, along with star midfielder Jacek Krzynowek. Perhaps a dark horse? Probably not. Should comfortably make third in the group.

Austria: qualified automatically as co-hosts. Not really too much to say about them except they probably won’t win a game and will probably struggle to even score a goal. The longest odds at the TAB, and quite rightly so. For those of you playing any fantasy football, be sure not to select any Austrian players.

Prediction: surprise surprise, Germany to win, followed by Croatia, then Poland, and Austria in a distant 4th position.

Group C

Italy: current World Champions, and have retained many of the same players that took them to world glory 2 years ago. Have already been struck with some misfortune with captain Fabio Cannavaro ruled out through injury. However, Cannavaro is merely a shadow of the player he was during the World Cup, so this is not as big a loss as what certain parts of the media are portraying. The likes of Barzagli, Panucci & Chiellini provide adequate cover. Will also be looking to the likes of Gattuso, Pirlo and Toni to raise the level.

France: beaten finalists at the World Cup, will be looking to somewhat make up for that loss. Within their squad they have some of the most promising young footballers in the world – Nasri, Gomis & Benzema. Add to that the likes of Henry, Makelele, Ribery & Gallas, and France has a strong and well-balanced squad. Their success though will depend on which French team shows up to play. In qualifying, they twice lost to Scotland and were pushed close by Georgia and Lithuania yet didn’t lose to Italy. Will need to find some consistency.

Netherlands: have made the semi finals of the last to European Championships, so will no doubt be looking to improve on those finishes. Certainly have the squad to do so – when someone of the calibre of Collins John doesn’t make the cut, you know you have a strong squad! Unfortunately for John, but a real positive for the Dutch is the attacking prowess: Huntelaar, Vennegoor of Hesselink, van Nistelrooy, van Persie, Sneijder, Robben & van der Vaart. Scoring goals shouldn’t be a problem, but whether their defence can step up may determine how far the Netherlands progress.

Romania: have the unfortunate honour of being grouped with three international heavyweights! If Romania is to progress, there will be some massive upsets along the way; unfortunately for them this won’t happen. They have good experience in Chivu, Rat, Contra, Petre & Mutu, but don’t have the same class as the other three in the group to do any significant damage.

Prediction: a three horse race here, with Romania firmly rooted to the bottom of the table. The Netherlands should take this group out, and will be joined in the next round by France. Italy to be the unlucky team and miss out.

Group D

Spain: have long been the underachievers of world football. Have always had the players, but the players have never been able to click sufficiently as a team to go the distance. All the talk this time surrounds Fernando Torres, but chances are he’ll probably once again be found out at the international level. Spain’s real strength lies in their insanely stacked midfield where they call upon Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Senna, Silva and relative newcomers Cazorla and de la Red. Lead by world class goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the mercurial Carles Puyol and fellow defender Sergio “gypsy” Ramos from the back, Spain once again has the potential to succeed, but probably won’t.

Sweden: similar to Croatia in that they finished 3rd against expectations at a World Cup in the 90s but haven’t really done anything of note since then. However, man for man, Sweden possesses arguably the strongest first eleven (on paper anyway) at this tournament and will be real dark horses. Midfielder Kim Kallstrom would stroll into the starting team for most other countries, but is likely to feature on the bench for Sweden, an indication of their immense talent. Talismanic front man Henrik Larsson has come out of retirement again for this tournament, and his combination with Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front will be crucial to Sweden’s hopes.

Russia: have never made it past the first round of a major international tournament, and on the surface you wouldn’t expect them to do so here. However, Russia has a potent weapon that a lot of other teams would kill to get their hands on – coach Guus Hiddink. With this man running the show, Russia simply cannot be discounted. If Guus can get the best out of the likes of strikers Andrei Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak (who is under an injury cloud), Russia might just surprise.

Greece: the defending champions, and caused a surprise in 2004 by becoming champions. Again, nobody is giving them a shot, but after last time everybody will at least be wary of them. Boast some massive experience from the likes of Nikopolidis, Basinas, Giannakopoulos, Charisteas and Karagounis, and will probably look to that experience to guide them through.

Prediction: The group of death here, so hard to pick. Sweden will raise the level at the right time and win the group, with Spain to just pip Russia for second place. Greece will leave without a victory under their belt.

So there you have it. The Czech Republic, Portugal, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, France, Sweden and Spain to advance to the quarter finals. If this writer’s predictions are accurate (which they probably won’t be!), the Czechs will face Germany in one semi, whilst the Netherlands will face Sweden in the other.

Sweden will beat the Czech Republic in the final, and although it will be scant consolation, Czech striker Jan Koller will win the golden boot.