The A To Z guide to Uefa Euro 2008 Austria-Switzerland

Jun 1 2008 By Ian Gilmour

A is for ARTUR BORUC - The madcap, £10million -rated Celtic keeper is one of only four SPL stars at the finals and if he shines for Poland expect a string of top European clubs to whip out their cheque book.

B is for BLATTER - Despite the Euro Championships being under UEFA's jurisdiction you can bet the FIFA president will stick his oar in about almost anything.

C is for CROATIA - Slaven Bilic's team dumped England twice to qualify ahead of Steve McClaren's flops. Even without injured key striker Eduardo they can go far.

D is for DIVING - Expect to see the full works from Europe's top masters of falling to the ground, rolling around in agony then jumping up fresh as a daisy once the ref has booked the other bloke. Scandalous.

E is for ENGLAND-FREE ZONE -We can sit back and enjoy all the action without wanting to throttle English commentators for banging on about how their team can go all the way. Other benefits include no boozy skinheads running riot, St George's crosses etc.

F is for FRANCE - Raymond Domenech's squad may be ageing but the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram and William Gallas have the big-game experience needed to go one better than they did at the 2006 World Cup.

G is for GERMANY - Love or loathe them you can never write off the Germans. Joachim Low's young side breezed through qualifying and are among the favourites.

H is for HIDDINK - Guus out-thought Mr Magoo, sorry McClaren, to mastermind a crucial victory for Russia over England. Despite the Russians' defeat in Israel you can always rely on England to b***s things up.

I is for ITALY - World champions made hard work of qualifying ahead of the battling Scots. The quality is there to get through the Group of Death that also includes France and Holland but do they have the bottle?

J is for JAN - Vennegoor of Hesselink. Celtic's big Dutchman has possibly the best name in the world ever which brings us nicely to ...

K is for KITS - The must-have fashion accessory of summer. The French and Italians always seem to look stylish, sod them.

L is for LEHMANN - You can always rely on good old Jens for a decent story whether it is a last-gasp penalty save or getting sent off in the final.

M is for MONEY - it's what football is now all about. If you splash out 200 for top-priced tickets at the opening game in Basle you'd better pray your credit card is still £130 shy of its limit because that's what the cheapest seat for the final will set you back.

N is for NETHERLANDS - If they stop arguing among themselves the Dutch could edge out Italy and France. They're rubbish at penalties though.

O is for OFFSIDE - Was he active? Passive? Or simply standing on the touchline having a chat with the physio? Who cares? Expect much confusion then complaining when officials make baffling decisions.

P is for PORTUGAL- You can't help but marvel at Cristiano Ronaldo. The winger is arguably the best player on the planet so expect silky skills and stepovers.

Q is for QUIT - Several bosses are already set to call it a day following the finals and more will follow after first-round exits.

R is for REHHAGEL - King Otto guided outsiders Greece to glory four years ago. Surely even those hardened ouzo drinkers can't expect a repeat?

S is for SPAIN - This lot have to come good one year don't they? With Greece, Sweden and Russia in their group Cesc Fabregas and co will be hoping they don't flatter to deceive again.

T is for TORRES - Fernando has breathed new life into the Liverpool attack and could rival Ronaldo for player of the tourney

U is for UNDER-ACHIEVERS - This time someone else will have to take on England's mantle. Spain and Holland look the prime candidates.

V is for VIENNA - The city's Ernst Happel stadium will host the final. With a group that includes Croatia, Germany and Poland don't expect hosts Austria to be there.

W is for WOMEN - Lovelies from across the continent will converge on the finals, often decorated in fetching facepaint, and half the fun during games is spotting hot totties as the camera pans round the ground.

X is for EXTRA-TIME - And penalties which will no doubt settle more than one match. Probably unjustly.

Y is for WHY AREN'T SCOTLAND THERE - Despite heroics in qualifying we're again left out in the cold with our noses pressed against the window watching a major finals. At least England aren't there either.

Z is for ZURICH - The Swiss have great clocks, clean air and their trains run on time. Yet with Arsenal bomb-scare Philippe Senderos as their skipper and top defender how far can they go. Cloud Cuckoo Land maybe?