Karel Bruckner, coach of Czech Republic, predicted tough competitions in Group A and his team's hopes of progressing to the top eight remain in balance until the final round at the group stage.
Czech Republic is to play co-hosts Switzerland on Saturday in the tournament's opening game in Basel and then play against Portugal and Turkey in Geneva.
Bruckner said the race to reach the knockout phase would go down to the wire. "There's no favourites, no outsiders, all four teams have a chance of going through," Bruckner was quoted by Euro2008.com as saying.
"They say Portugal have a very good quality squad, but Turkey are very good, as they have many qualities, and I don't want to underestimate Switzerland, because they are playing at home. I think it will remain undecided until the last match," he added.
Bruckner said the first match against Switzerland is as important as the other two encounters. "I'm not worried whether it is the first, second or third match, I believe in a good-quality performance. The main thing is to be prepared."
"I know that we are playing against the home team in the first match, but I can't say that it's an advantage or a disadvantage. We have a good, strong team, and there shouldn't be a negative influence," said the 68-year-old coach, who will retire at the end of the tournament after a six-and-a-half year tenure.
The absence of artful midfielder Tomas Rosicky has caused Bruckner the most concern. A troublesome hamstring injury ruled him out of the tournament and forcing Bruckner to change the tried and tested lineup.
"It's a very big loss, that's for sure," Bruckner said. "His creativity, his quality, his invention, his speed. It's not possible to replace him, and we haven't even tried to do it."
Bruckner has to put faith on Jaroslav Plasil and David Jarolim in midfield though their reputations are no match to Pavel Nedved who decided to remain in international retirement. "It is not possible to compare, there are no criteria," he said.
"These young players are fit and healthy, and while they don't have the reputations of the players who were in Portugal four years ago, I think that we will be hearing more about them soon," Bruckner said.
Source:Xinhua
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