Henderson blow for England

England midfielder Kevin Henderson has been ruled out of EuroCup 08 after he tore his ankle in Saturday's friendly against Russia at Old Trafford.

Midfield boy Darren Watkinson will come into the England side.

Ireland team guide

How did they get there: Via qualifiers. Started the campaign as the Republic of Ireland before the unification in March 2007. Northern Ireland's place was taken by Montenegro.

Manager: Dougal O'Driscoll.

Captain: Neil Boyle. Northern Ireland native plays his club football for CSA Champions League holders London United.

Euro highlights: This is their first tournament as a unified team. The Republic of Ireland made it to the 1996 quarter-finals but Northern Ireland lost all their three group games in 2000.

Euro legend: For the Republic, Craig Kirk with his bullet free-kick against Romania at England '96. For N.I., Jimmy O'Grady for scoring their only goal in Germany 2000.

Star player: Neil Boyle.

Strengths: ???

Weaknesses: ???

World ranking: 17th.

Our verdict: They are in a really tough group with England in it, but if King Boylo shines well, the Irish have a great chance to getting to the knockout.

Serbia team guide

How did they get there: Qualifying at the expense of Wales.

Manager: Drazen Juric.

Captain: Mirko Broskovic.

Euro highlights: As Yugoslavia, they beat Germany in EuroCup 2000.

Euro legend: Danijel Gordanovic, who scored the winner against Germany in 2000.

Star player: Mladen Petrovic.

Strengths: Height. The Serbian team averages 6'1", so they may have a slight advantage over their rivals.

Weaknesses: ???

World ranking: 20th.

Our verdict: With the Netherlands, Italy and Spain their group, Serbia have virtually no chance of getting to the knockout stage.

Scotland team guide

How did they get there: Qualifying at the expense of Czech Republic.

Manager: Angus McAllister.

Captain: Craig Borchers.

Euro highlights: None. This is their first tournament.

Euro legend: None.

Star players: Craig Wisniewski and John Jeffries. The FC London striker and the Glasgow FC defender have been great for their respective clubs as of late.

Strengths: ???

Weaknesses: ???

World ranking: 16th.

Our verdict: In a very tough group with Switzerland, Ireland and England in it, the Scots don't look like surviving. But if Wisniewski single-handedly did stuff, they might have a good chance.

Hungary team guide

How did they get there: They were champions four years ago, so they qualified automatically.

Manager: Josef Novák. The EuroCup-winning coach four years ago was appointed Hungary CSA boss in 1999.

Captain: György Gorgás, who took the armband from Mihály Miroszevics, who resigned after the disastrous 2006 CSA World Cup campaign in which they lost all their group games despite going in 20-1 to win the tournament. Gorgás is a tip-top centre-back.

Euro highlights: The 2004 EuroCup heroics obviously. They beat Portugal twice and Italy and won it all despite going 77-1 before the tournament. They showed that anyone can win it.

Euro legend: Krisztian Szabics, with his winning header in the '04 final. Szabics is looking to be a hero again this year.

Star player: Mihály Miroszevics, with his wonderful playmaking ability.

Strengths: Novák. Hungary have a manager who knows how to mould and inspire a group of players to perform above their usual standards and tactically you would not bet against him out-thinking coaches with more illustrious players to choose from.

Weaknesses: Having said that, you would think Europe's finest have come up with a plan to deal with the Magyars after the shock of 2004. Hungary are not unknowns and they will not be taken lightly by anyone this time around.

World ranking: 18th.

Our verdict: Lightning does not strike twice and Hungary will not win EuroCup 08. They might just be able to sneak out of their group if they start well against Sweden, but if that does happen, they should deem it a successful tournament.

Netherlands team guide

How did they get there: Qualified automatically as a CSA Europe Elite member.

Manager: Dick van Scheeden. The aging Dutchman is in his second spell as Holland CSA coach having been appointed in 2006. The last time he was boss was 1995-98.

Captain: Martijn Beerendonk.

Euro highlights: The 1996 "Miracle Game" against Sweden, where Netherlands were 3-0 down at half-time but ended up winning 5-3. Also the 2000 "Day of Death" game where Netherlands sent hosts Germany out with a 2-1 win.

Euro legend: Joey Koolkamp. The maestro Dutch winger starred in the '96 and 2K campaigns scoring vital goals in both the Miracle and Day of Death games.

Star player: Tim van den Bergh. The Middlesbrough Monsters striker has scored 21 goals in his 38 appearances in the orange jersey.

Strengths: Total football. When the Dutch go forward, they are dangerous. Van den Bergh, Phillip van der Vuuren and Diego van den Struijk have made a dangerous three-man strike force. Also the Dutch defence look as comfortable as the attack.

Weaknesses: Fatigue. While the Dutch have wonderful attack, midfield and defence, they would usually tire out near the end of the game and they usually concede late goals.

World ranking: 3rd. Only England and Brazil are better.

Our verdict: It is said that with the Dutch being the "hosts" of Group D, they will have the whole Oranje Army behind them in the Alps and they could well go all the way.

Italy team guide

How did they get there: CSA Europe Elite League member.

Manager: Giovanni Sonovalli. The youngest coach in the tournament at the age of only 35. The defender played in two EuroCups in 2000 and 2004.

Captain: Emiliano Tournetti. Appointed captain after the retirement of legendary centre-back Gianni Terlizzi after the 2006 CSA World Cup.

Euro highlights: Their 1996 run in England, that ended with a 3-1 defeat to the hosts in the final. Highlights from that campaign include stunning 5-2 scalp of the Netherlands and a 3-0 sweep of Spain.

Euro legend: Gianni Terlizzi. He had brilliant centre-back quality. Appeared in three EuroCups in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Unusually for a centre-back, he also excelled at free-kicks and penalties.

Star player: Niccolò Milanese. The Sheffield Strikers striker is a quality Italian striker.

Strengths: Attack. The Milanese brothers, Niccolò and Marco are a dangerous strike force together.

Weaknesses: Technique. The Italian players lack technique and that's something they'll never improve on.

World ranking: 5th.

Our verdict: With them being in a very tough group with Netherlands and Spain in it, Italy may struggle with both their rivals' quality. But if they can get results against them, they could get to the semi-finals at least.

Switzerland team guide

How did they get there: Along with Austria, they are the joint hosts of EuroCup 08.

Manager: Fat Tony Schmidt. The openly gay 42-year-old from Basle was appointed after the untimely sacking of evil Rutgers.

Captain: Martin Machler.

Euro highlights: None. They were totally crap in their last EuroCup in 1996.

Euro legend: The only bright spot in '96 was the unbelievable pace of their overweight winger Tony Schmidt who stunned the footballing world once again in 2000 after announcing he was homosexual.

Star boy: César Escobar. The controversial winger will bring colour to the competition. Originally known as César Wurns, he changed his name to César Wurns-Herrera after marrying a Spanish singer in 2006, but once again changed his name to Escobar in May 2008. Once shot a football with a .44 Magnum after being dropped for the Swiss squad in the 2006 CSA World Cup.

Strengths: Defence. Machler and Danny Muller provide the brick wall in central defence.

Weaknesses: Temperament. Muller loses his temper often and is prone to red cards. Also César is always whining and is a buffoon for it.

World ranking: 27th. Not bad considering they were 206th at one point in 2001.

Our verdict: If the wonder of César shows brilliantly in this tournament, and especially with the home crowd behind them, Switzerland could get to the quarter-finals.

England team guide

How did they get there: As a member of CSA's Europe Elite League, England qualified automatically.

Manager: Marco Garibaldi. The 52-year-old Italian was made England boss in January 2008 after the shocking resignation of Iain Greenwood-Smith. Has managed MLF Europe sides Madrid Cosmos in 1998-2000 and Rome Rage 2005-2007 as well as managing CSA Italia League side AC Cusini from 1994-1997.

Captain: Mark Strickland. The 24-year-old London United defender from Smethwick was part of the side that won the CSA World Cup two years ago. England just cannot afford to be without him.

Euro highlights: The 1996 win on home soil. England beat Italy in the final 3-1 with two goals from Mike Barry and another from Kevin Kennedy.

Euro legend: Mike Barry. Starred in the campaigns in 1996 and the poor 2000 competition.

Star player: Edward Redwood. Introduced as a fresh-faced 18-year-old four years ago, the London United wunderkind is current CSA World Player of the Year. Defenders sweat everytime they hear his name. He can score from the whole 30 yards, and is completely two-footed. The redheaded striker is only second in England CSA all-time scoring leader with 28 compared to Mike Barry's 34. All that at the age of only 22!

Strengths: Long balls. With Redwood and Brian Nixon up front, Craig Cohen "CraiCo", James Douglas and Kevin Warhurst can make dangerous long passes from the midfield.

Weaknesses: Experience. Defenders John Macdonald and Steven Tweedy, at a combined age of only 40, are only in their first MLF season. Also veteran 'keeper Simon Herding sometimes makes horrendous gaffes.

World ranking: 1st.

Our verdict: They could go all the way with they quality.

Austria team guide

How did they get there: Joint hosts with Switzerland.

Manager: Wolfgang Wienmayer.

Captain: Otto Griechel.

Euro highlights: None. First tournament.

Euro legend: Ditto as above.

Star player: Peter Pfertzl.

Strengths: ???

Weaknesses: ???

World ranking: 33rd.

Our verdict: With Germany, Croatia and Portugal in their group, they have no real chance of progressing, so the best thing for the Austrians is to give their rivals a run for their money.

Home Nations Round-Up

England, Scotland and Ireland all won their friendlies a couple of weeks before their Group A matches in two weeks time.

England beat Greece 4-1, Scotland beat Czech Republic 2-1 and Ireland beat Romania 3-0.

Welcome to the official blog of CSA EuroCup 08!

Welcome to the official blog of the 2008 Continental Soccer Association European Cup of Nations! Or EuroCup 08 if you like.