Here We Go Again…

So every team has played once. Eight matches done already - time flies when you’re watching two games of footy a day - and we’re about to go round again. Except this time the picture’s a little bit (but only a little bit) clearer.

If we get a winner from the Portugal vs Czech Republic game then we’ll have our first quarterfinalist. Even a draw would mean both teams go into their final Group A games with a four point cushion.

GROUP A - Teams		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
	Portugal	1	1	0	0	2	0	3
	Czech Republic	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
	Switzerland	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Turkey	1	0	0	1	0	2	0

According to Deco, Portugal’s “idea is to play to win and go through.” Seems like a good plan.

And though Czech Republic looked a bit tame against Switzerland, sounds like Karel Bruckner’s planning to switch things about a bit: “We didn’t manage to get the ball to (Jan) Koller and because of that we pretty much kept him out of the game,” says Brueckner. “A winning line-up can change.” Which sounds like Koller’s going to get a bit more support.

Portugal vs Czech Rep. preview here.

If you’re Switzerland or Turkey today’s arguably even bigger. And not for the reason you might be thinking.

Yes, there’s the whole riot business looming over this encounter. But that’s old news. Much as I’d love to build this up as a grudge match; the past is the past and today is all about Group A points. Probably.

A draw would leave both teams stuck on one point going into the final game, so a win has to be the target for both teams. So I’m expecting today’s less glamorous tie to be the more entertaining one.

Switzerland vs Turkey preview here.