Israel Saria
Eurosport
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(Previous ranking in brackets)
1. Netherlands (1)
Two games into the tournament and both the world champions and their World Cup final opponents have been vanquished in style by Marco van Basten’s cavalier side. Seven goals scored and just one conceded so far – is there a better team in Austria and Switzerland? Electrifying.
2. Spain (2)
Another false dawn? A stuttering performance in their second game has once again cast doubts over Spain’s ability to perform at major tournaments. At least they have David Villa, whose injury time winner against Sweden was his fourth of Euro 2008 so far.
3. Portugal (3)
It would be unwise to draw too many conclusions from their 2-0 defeat to Switzerland, for which Luis Felipe Scolari made eight changes. But they have lost vital momentum ahead of the quarter-final against Germany.
4. Croatia (4)
Croatia’s performance and victory against Poland showed the depth of coach Slaven Bilic’s squad. With a 100% record, they will be strong favourites for Friday’s quarter-final clash with Turkey in Vienna.
5. Germany (5)
Joachim Loew has essentially the same team as Jürgen Klinsmann but the Germans are nowhere near as dynamic as two years ago. Surely Mario Gomez won’t start when they face Portugal in Basel on Thursday.
6. Turkey (6)
True, they had some luck, and they will have to replace the suspended Volkan against Croatia in the last eight. But for now they can bask in the afterglow of perhaps the most dramatic comeback in European Championship history.
7. Sweden (7)
You have to feel sorry for the Swedes, who acquitted themselves well against Spain, only to lose concentration – and a point – late on. At least Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was absent for the second half, will be fit for the decider against Russia.
8. Romania (8)
Undoubtedly more entertaining in their second game of the tournament, Romania very nearly reaped huge rewards for their endeavour against Italy. Adrian Mutu will have sleepless nights for weeks to come over that penalty miss if they fail to progress. Still all to play for.
9. Russia (9)
A vast improvement on their opening round performance, Guus Hiddink’s side are now very much in with a shout of qualification after Konstantin Zyrianov’s goal downed Greece in a surprisingly entertaining game.
10. France (10)
Things are starting to look bleak for Raymond Domenech after his side’s heavy defeat to the Netherlands. One point from two games is not good enough for the World Cup finalists and it could be a quick aller-retour for Les Blues unless they can beat Italy in their final game.
11. Italy (11)
Another disappointing performance against Romania has done little to ease Italian fears of an early exit. And had Gigi Buffon not pulled off the save of the tournament to deny Adrian Mutu from the spot, it could have been so much worse. Have it all to do against the French.
12. Czech Republic (14)
Took part in the best game of Euro 2004, beating the Netherlands 3-2. Their 3-2 defeat to Turkey will take some beating this time around, but the Czechs are on their way home after a dramatic collapse in Geneva.
13. Switzerland (15)
Performed admirably in their 2-0 win over an admittedly weakened Portugal side, and finally had the luck that deserted them in their first two games. At least co-hosts Austria have followed them out.
14. Austria (12)
Plucky and they gave Germany a run for their money for 45 minutes. Although they weren’t as bad as the pre-tournament petition suggested, no goals from open play is a telling story.
15. Poland (13)
A late penalty awarded by Howard Webb led to two dropped points against Austria and the defeat against Croatia completed a damp squib of a tournament for the Poles. Ebi Smolarek, Jacek Krzynowek and Mariusz Lewandowski didn’t turn up.
16. Greece (16)
The reigning champions are out and few will be sorry to see them head home, even if they did manage to provide far more entertainment in their defeat to Russia than in their dour opener against Sweden.
Come back each day as we revise our Euro 2008 rankings!
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