France Euro 2008 Sports Betting Preview

France’s odds to win Euro 2008 were dealt a blow when they were grouped with Italy and the Netherlands in what is surely the toughest group of death in the competitions history

If France were considered too old at the World Cup, they have hardly got any younger in the two years since. Will Euro 2008 be the moment when time finally lays her fell hand on France’s finest football generation?

No-one will be unhappier than France and Italy to find themselves in the same group again. After the dramatic events of the World Cup Final, Italy and France then found themselves in the same qualifying group for Euro 2008. That was bad enough, but strong challenges from Ukraine and the revitalised Scots put considerable pressure on the super-powers to qualify. France made it in the end – they have never missed a European Championships tournament – but the mileage on clocks of vital players in vital positions has to be a source of concern.

Goalkeeper Grégory Coupet is 35 years old. Central defender Lillian Thuram is thirty-six. Claude Makelele is thirty-four. The heart of France is old and tired. Makelele and Patrick Vieira are flanked by the youth of Ribery and Malouda, and Thierry Henry remains a constant source of vital goals. But the great age of the players in the middle of the team has to be a source of worry to coach Raymond Domenech as he plots a repeat of France’s Euro 2000 success, when a David Trezeguet golden goal beat Italy in the final.

The challenge facing the French would be bad enough in a random qualifying group; the fact that they are in the same group as the Italians, the Dutch and the resurgent Romanians means that somebody is going to go home early if even they are a great team. Experience is on the French side, but time is their deadly enemy, and the clock is ticking.