In Euro 2008 tournament, Turkey was drawn in Group A where they will meet host Switzerland, last tournament’s beaten finalists Portugal and Europe’s emerging team Czech Republic. So, it is clear that reaching the knock out stage would not be easy for Turkey, as Portugal and Czech Republic are expected to form a tough challenge for Turkey, while Switzerland might play inspirational football in front of the home crowd. Here, it is noteworthy to mention that Turkey failed to qualify for 2006 World Cup begin lost to Switzerland on away goals. Considering all these things, it is apparent that Turkey has to show a solid performance in order to make it to the next round of EURO 2008.

Turkey in UEFA Euro Competition

This is going to be the third tournament for Turkey in Euro competition, 1996 and 2000 being the previous two tournaments Turkey took part. In 1996, Turkey failed to impress losing all the group stage games without scoring any goals. However, Turkey made a solid come back making the quarter finals thanks to a win, a draw and a defeat in the group stage. However, their run ended in the quarter final, being defeated by Portugal 2-0. So, ahead of Euro 2008, Turkish fans are hoping that Turkey would replicate their Euro 2000 success, if not go beyond.

Fatih Terim announced the 26-men preliminary squad of Turkey for Euro 2008 tournament. Three players will be dropped from the squad when Terim will declare the 23-men squad by May 28. The biggest and surprising omission of the preliminary squad is Turkey’s star striker and their all time leading goal scorer Hakan Sukur. He is one of the star footballers emerged in last one decade in world football. In the absence of Sukur, goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber might wear the captain’s armband during Euro 2008 competition. Here, I am giving the 26-men preliminary squad of Turkey from turks.us:

Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce), Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor).

Defenders: Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray), Gokhan Zan (Besiktas), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Emre Asik (Ankaraspor), Servet Cetin (Galatasaray), Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray), Ugur Boral (Fenerbahce).
Midfielders: Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray), Tumer Metin (Larissa), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munchen), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Kazim Kazim (Fenerbahce) Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough FC), Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle United FC), Yildiray
Basturk (VfB Stuttgart).

Forwards: Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan), Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal CF), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Halil Altintop (Schalke 04), Mevlut Erdinc (Sochaux).

Striker Nihat Kahveci is perhaps the main strength of Turkish attack. In fact, in absence of Hakan Sukur, Turkish fans will look at Nihat Kahveci to fill up the void left by Sukur. The current Villarreal striker has been regularly scoring in La Liga and finding the goals easy to come by these days. He is in good form which could be a big relief for Turkish fans. There is someone whom you should watch out in Euro 2008: Gokdeniz Karadeniz. This playmaker is currently playing for Russian club Rubin Kazan. Both Gokdeniz and Kahveci are expected to be in the fore front of the Turkish attack. They have a very experienced goalkeeper too. So, the Altintop brothers are also there to serve their best to Turkey in Euro 2008. I think, Turkey has a balanced squad and could be a threat for any side if they can play their natural football. However, the absence of Hakan Sukur could be felt too. Overall, I think, Turkey has a good chance in Euro 2008 tournament.

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Portugal is drawn in Group A, where they have to face host Switzerland, Czech Republic and Turkey. So, it is sure that Portugal will find it very challenging to make it to the quarter final from this group, though it is true that Portugal starts the tournament as the most favorite in Group A. Portugal got the ticket of EURO 2008 finishing second in Group A of Euro 2008 qualifying round, behind Poland. Czech Republic is considered as a strong side of Europe now, while the third place winner of 2002 World Cup, Turkey, is also a strong competitor for a quarter final place from Group A. Switzerland is the host country who will be inspired by the home fans to play their best. So, Portugal has to face a number of strong challenges to reach the next round of EURO 2008 tournament. Here, I am giving the group stage schedule of Portugal in EURO 2008:

Now, let us have a look at the squad by decaled by Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari for the upcoming Euro 2008 competition. You know that Portugal’s Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is always driven for win and holds a positive outlook always in his style of playing. I think, the 23-men squad he announced recently is perfect for his style of football. There is at least a notable omission. Midfielder Maniche has been opted out of the squad. The former Porto and Benfica midfielder is currently playing on loan at Inter Milan from Athletico Madrid. Though his performance at Inter is not that bad, Scolari was not impressed with his form. The Brazilian coach, I think, has formed a relatively young side ahead of the European championship. The coach denied giving any reason behind the omission of Maniche, who scored a number of important goals for Portugal including the winner in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Holland in the semi final of Euro 2004, and another winning goal for Portugal against Holland in the quarter final of 2006 world cup. In fact, Scolari dropped about half of the squad played during Euro 2004 tournament.

Well, almost all the members of Portugal’s golden generation have gone into retirement including Luis Figo. So, Euro 2008 is going to be the first major tournament for Portugal with the players of new generation. So, it would be interesting to see if Portugal can continue their momentum that their golden generation brought over the last one decade.

The Portugal squad for Euro 2008 includes a number of young players from U-21 squad. However, the good thing is that most of the young players are not inexperienced vastly because of their vivid presence for the last few seasons in different European domestic leagues. Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps the main strength of Portugal squad. The winger is now at his prime form becoming the highest goal scorer of English Premier League this season and scored 42 goals overall for Manchester United. Nani is another attacking winger who also had a good season at Manchester United.

Portugal’s main strength lies in their attack. With the likes of Ronaldo and Nani along with experienced players like Nuno Gomes, Simão Sabrosa, Portugal has an excellent front line. Porto striker Ricardo Quaresma, Werder Bremen ‘s Hugo Almeida and Hélder Postiga are young and experienced. Ricardo Quaresma is expected to be a key player for Portugal in the tournament.

In the absence of Figo, it would be very tough to get someone to fill up the gap in the Portugal midfield. However, there are a number of talented players like Deco, Petit, who will retire from international football after the tournament. Ronaldo and Nani will be in the two wings, while Nuno Gomes might play up front or could play as a deep lying midfielder or deep lying centre forward.

Portugal defense consists of some experienced players. Ricardo Carvalho, Fernando Meira could be the main strength in the central defense with the options like Pepe in hand. However, many think that their defense often becomes exposed to the opposition. Miguel, Bruno Alves, Paulo Ferreira and José Bosingwa are the options for right back, while I can see a void in the left back position. I think, this is the main weakness of Portugal squad.

For goalkeeper, I think, Portugal has one of the most formidable keepers in Europe. Ricardo Pereira is specialists for penalty shootouts and he has saved Portugal a number of times in the past at bigger stages. So, I think, with a seemingly problematic defense, Ricardo has to be at his prime during the tournament in order to bring notable success for Portugal in Euro 2008 competition. Here, I am giving the full list of Portugal squad for Euro 2008 from uk.eurosport:

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Ricardo Pereira (Real Betis), Quim Silva (Benfica), Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders: Miguel Monteiro (Valencia), Jose Bosingwa (Porto), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Bruno Alves (Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista)

Midfielders: Raul Meireles (Porto), Joao Moutinho (Sporting), Deco (Barcelona), Armando Petit (Benfica), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Nani (Manchester United)

Forwards: Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Ricardo Quaresma (Porto), Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Helder Postiga (Panathinaikos)

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There will be 16 teams in the competition, and except Austria and Switzerland, who automatically qualified for the tournament, all other 14 teams have gone through the qualifying round to reach the final of EURO 2008. The participating teams will be divided into four groups of four teams in the group stage. Two teams from each group will make it to the quarter final of EURO 2008. From the quarter final stage, the tournament will follow knock out system.

Here, in this blog we will be reviewing the squads of all the 16 participating teams of EURO 2008 before the tournament kicks off. In this post, I am going to review the squad of Czech Republic:

Czech Republic may not be a football power in the world, but in Europe, they are considered as one of the good sides. Czech Republic’s performance in the recent EURO tournaments is excellent. Czech Republic started emerging as a high profile side in Europe since they reached the final of 1996 EURO competition where they were beaten by. However, they failed to impress four years later in EURO 2000, but again they bounced back in EURO 2004 reaching the semi final of the tournament. However, their performance in FIFA World Cup is not up to the mark as they could not even get into the second round of 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Czech Republic is placed in Group A of EURO 2008 along with host Switzerland, Portugal and Turkey. So, it is, for sure, that this would not be easy for Czech Republic to become one of the two teams to enter into the quarter final from Group A. With Portugal being the most favorite in the group, it seems that Turkey would be the main competitor of Czech Republic for the second place in the group. Well, you should not forget that Czech Republic was the champion of Group D in EURO 2008 qualifying round, leaving European giant Germany in the second place. So, you can not say that last tournament’s beaten finalist Portugal is guaranteed the top place in Group A. Moreover, Switzerland will try their best to get into the next round as they have home advantage in the tournament. So, it seems that Czech Republic will have to play their best to secure a place in the quarter final. Now, let us have a look at the 23-man squad of Czech Republic for the tournament.

If you are a fan of Czech Republic, then it is definitely bad news for you to know that Czech Republic will be without their regular captain Tomas Rosicky, who underwent a surgery to his knee recently. The side will also miss their star player Pavel Nedved, who failed to impress Coach Karel Brueckner to make it to the 23-men primary squad. Last but not the least; Czech Republic midfielder Daniel Pudil has been out of the tournament being fallen in an injury, even though he was able to win a place in the 23-men squad. Karel Brueckner has called Rudolf Skacel to replace Daniel Pudil in the primary squad. The final squad will be announced on May 28. Here, I am giving the list of the 23-men primary squad of Czech Republic for EURO 2008 from socceramerica website:

CZECH ROSTER:
Goalkeepers: Jaromir Blazek (Nuremberg, Germany), Petr Cech (Chelsea, England), Daniel Zitka (Anderlecht, Belgium).
Defenders: Zdenek Grygera (Juventus, Italy), Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan, Italy), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Tomas Sivok (Sparta Prague), Radoslav Kovac (Spartak Moscow), Zdenek Pospech (FC Copenhagen, Denmark), David Rozehnal (Lazio, Italy), Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina, Italy)
Midfielders: Tomas Galasek (Nuremberg, Germany), David Jarolim (Hamburg, Germany), Marek Matejovsky (Reading, England), Jaroslav Plasil (Osasuna, Spain), Jan Polak (Anderlecht, Belgium), Rudolf Skacel (Hertha BSC Berlin on loan from Southampton), Libor Sionko (FC Copenhagen, Denmark), Stanislav Vlcek (Anderlecht, Belgium).
Strikers: Milan Baros (Portsmouth, England), Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Jan Koller (Nuremberg, Germany), Vaclav Sverkos (Banik Ostrava).

The only new face in primary squad is Banik Ostrava striker Vaclav Sverkos. There are some high profile footballers in the squad, despite the absent of Rosicky and Nedved. Goal keeper Petr Cech is experienced and could be impressive in the goal. Newcastle United defender David Rozehnal, midfielder Marek Matejovsky (Reading) are very successful in their club career. If you are an avid fan of football, then you may not need any introduction for striker Milan Baros, who is currently playing for Portsmouth on loan from Olympique Lyonnais. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker is going to lead Czech Republic attack in the tournament. Fellow striker Martin Fenin is very talented and has all the quality to watch out during the tournament. Though he has not got his first goal for Czech Republic, the 21-year old could get it at the big stage of EURO 2008.

Czech Republic is going to play a friendly match against Lithuania at home before coach Brueckner declares the final squad. Now, let us see who will be in the final squad of Czech Republic for EURO 2008. Let’s wait and see who are going to impress Coach Karel Brueckner.

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Ana Ivanovic and Lucie Safarova faced each other once so far that Ivanovic won easily last year. The two encountered in the last 16 at Los Angles where Safarova failed to build any resistance against the Serbian star. However, if Ivanovic takes the Czech lightly remembering that victory, it would be a big mistake. The Czech is playing well and seems to be very confident. Though Lucie Safarova is now ranked 41, I think, she is playing with great intensity which could bring her some more successes in French Open 2008.

Well, if you are a tennis fan, you must know that Ana Ivanovic is the most highlighted emerging star of tennis over the last one year. Following the retirement of Justine Henin, Ivanovic is placed among those who are thought to take the best out of this chance to claim French Open 2008 as well as Henin’s top place in WTA ranking. So, if Ivanovic can play her natural game, then I think, Lucie Safarova will find herself in the losing side soon after the match gets underway. Well, it could not go other way round if Ivanovic loses her momentum during the match and does not appear with her natural game.

Actually, Ana Ivanovic was not at her best in the opening match. Making 30 unforced errors can not be a great start for a tournament favorite. Her services were not up to the mark in the opening match. However, Ana Ivanovic thinks that she was a bit nervous as it was the first match of the tournament, but admits that the Swedish opponent gave her a tough match.

Independent reported:

“She gave me a tough match, especially in the second set, but I really enjoyed it out there,” Ivanovic said later. “Today my goal was basically just to get into a rhythm. I was really happy with my game in the first set. I wasn’t overhitting and overpowering from the first shot onwards. That was my goal for today, so I’m happy about it.”

She added: “Last year I’d only just broken into the top 10 and I was under much less pressure. Now I’m world No 2 and have greater expectations for myself, which I’m still learning how to deal with. I’m only 20, so I really try to enjoy every match. I think I’m doing a good job. The last few weeks have been a little bit hard, but now I feel I have my game back.”

Ana Ivanovic was the beaten finalist of last year. With Justine Henin’s abrupt retirement taking into consideration, Ana Ivanovic is considered as one of the most favorites of the tournament this year. Though she could not impress with her first match performance, it is expected that Ivanovic will get back her best form and appears with her prime form in the upcoming matches. Ana Ivanovic faces Lucie Safarova in the second round.

First of all, Rafael Nadal, the winner of men’s singles for the last three years at Roland Garros, could equal the record of four consecutive titles of Björn Borg in French Open in Open Era. Roger Federer has already become a legend in tennis world with 12 grand slam titles to his credit. However, he could not yet win the title of this clay court grand slam tournament, while 21 year old Maria Sharapova, the current world no. 1 of women’s singles, could also achieve a career slam here winning her first French Open title. So, if you are a tennis fan then French Open 2008 is a must-watch tournament for you.

Today, while going through net, I came to know that Balls TV will broadcast the tournament live for the tennis fans. Balls television is available on SkyCable Channel 34. Created by Creative Programs, Inc., Balls TV will air the matches of French Open 2008 from 25 May to June 8, 2008. So, you can watch the French Open 2008 matches live on Balls television from the begging to the end of the tournament.

Lehmann is determined that he will try his best to impress everyone in EURO 2008. He is too eager to show others that his time has not finished yet. Well, I think that Jens Lehmann should consider retiring and if he really likes football that much, he should consider becoming a coach. In fact, goalkeeping is a very important position and Lehmann was a very successful goal keeper both in club level and in international level. So, if Lehmann decides to become a coach then he can give a lot of useful tips to the goalkeepers of new generation.

What do you think of Jens Lehmann in EURO 2008? Will he be able to impress everyone with his performance?

Croatia fans are happy with this win but, it is perhaps not enough because Croatia will have to do better than this. The only goal of the match came from Croatian captain Niko Kovac.

I am sure that Croatia will miss their star striker Eduardo Da Silva. You know that Eduardo Da Silva is a good striker and he plays for Arsenal club in England. A few months back, he suffered an injury and he is still not sure if he can play or not.

To be honest, ahead of French Open 2008, men’s and women’s singles titles have become much more open than the recent past. So, tennis fans are now eagerly waiting for a successful and exciting tournament at Roland Garros with the hope of experiencing some thrilling matches. Well, you may not be able to travel to Paris to attend the exciting tournament, but you can watch the matches live on television channel. However, I guess, some of you may not be that much fortunate to experience the matches live on television due to your personal or professional works. However, for those passionate fans, my request would be, not to put your head down. Rather, you can still have the chances to get the live score and updates of the matches online. Here, I am giving some website links from where you can get the online live score and updates of the matches:

Rolandgarros

You know that French Open tournament is held at the Stade Roland Garros, the venue which is also known simply as Roland Garros in the tennis world. The phrase ‘Roland Garros’ is sometimes used to refer French Open. Rolandgarros is the official website of French Open where you can find all the information, news, articles, pictures, video and many more things about French Open. In the scoreboard section, you can find live score of the currently ongoing matches. I think, you should give preference to this site if you are really interested to get online live score and updates of the French Open 2008 matches.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/index.html

ATP Tennis

This is the official website of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which is the governing body of men’s tennis. So, you can understand that this would be a very good place to visit for getting the online live score and updates of the matches. In the home page of the site, you can see that there is a link titled “Live Score”, where you need to out your mouse pointer, then a list of the current tournaments appears. Now, click on the tournament you want to get into for live score and updates. Besides live score and updates, you can also enjoy news about French Open 2008, players’ profile, video, pictures etc. on this site.

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/home/

Sonyericssonwtatour

This is the official website of Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the body which governs women’s tennis. You can find different news, updates and pictures of French Open 2008. Moreover, live score and updates of the matches are also available in this site. So, I think, this website could be the right place for you if you are interested about women’s singles and doubles of French Open 2008. You can term this site as a counterpart of ATP Tennis website that I have talked about above. I strongly recommend this site to the tennis fans to at least check this site if it is the place that they are looking for.

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/

Live Score

This is a site which is popular among the sports fans who are used to getting online live scores of their favorite sports. Live score and updates of French Open 2008 are also available in this site. You do not need to refresh the page yourself because the scores are updated automatically.

http://www.livescore.com/tennis.dll

Tennis.com

I think, this website does not need any introduction to the tennis fans. Tennis.com is perhaps the most

ESPN

Do you really want an introduction for ESPN? In the sports world, ESPN is a well known name. This is perhaps one of the most popular sports television channels across the world. During French Open 2008, you can become a regular visitor of the site in order to get the online live score and updates of the French Open 2008 matches. Schedule, ranking, results and many other things about tennis are also available in ESPN website. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/dailyResults

Livescorehunter

You can find online live score and updates of the French Open 2008 tournament here. Besides live score and updates of the matches, you can also find videos of the tennis tournaments. This is a typical live score site.

http://www.livescorehunter.com/Livescores/Livescore-Tennis.html

Scores Pro

This is another site for getting live score and updates of French Open 200 matches. The scores of the matches are sorted by tournament. So, you can easily find French Open 2008 matches in this page to enjoy online live score and updates of the matches.

http://www.scorespro.com/tennis/

Onlinescore

This is a betting website where you can find a number of things together. If you are a avid fan of tennis and wants to get the online live score of the French Open 2008 matches, this is one of the right places for you. If you are a better and wants to know the latest of the betting, this is the site you may be looking for, or if you are new in betting world and needs some tips on betting, you do not need to leave this page because here are some information for the newcomers too. The page is automatically updates in every minute, so you do not need to refresh it yourself. I think, it is worth a site for the betters as well as the general tennis fans.

http://www.onlinescore.info/livescore-tennis.php

CBS Sports

This is one of the well known sites for sports fans. This website covers almost all the popular sports of the world. So, you can expect quality service from CBS Sports. So, if you really want to get online live score of French Open 2008 matches, then you can strongly think about the website of CB S Sports. Rankings, schedules, players’ information and videos are also available in this site.

http://www.sportsline.com/tennis/scoreboard

Goonersguide

This is a website dedicated to sports bookings. However, besides betting news, you can get online live score too here. If you are also interested to bet on your favorite match or favorite stars, then this could be a very interesting site to visit. Moreover, here you need not to refresh the pages after every few moments because the scores are updated automatically.

http://www.goonersguide.com/live_scores_tennis.htm

Flashscore

You can find live score and updates of the matches of French Open 2008 here in an organized way. In the home page, there is a list on the left side, where you can see links of ATP Singles, WTA Singles, ATP Doubles, WTA Doubles and ATP Mixed Doubles. So, you can easily reach the live scores and updates of the matches by clicking on the right section. So, you may find it a useful site during tennis tournaments.

http://www.flashscore.com/tennis/atp-singles/

At last, I would like to request you to check all the sites at first and then decide yourself which site serves you the best. I hope that you would find your best site among the sites I have given here. So, go and visit the sites first and enjoy online live score and updates of French Open 2008 matches.