Now in the second part of a 2-part UrbanWire special, we take a look at the group winners and give our take on how these teams performed throughout the course of their grueling campaign.

Group A-Poland

After a dismal 2006 World Cup, Poland turned to Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, a man who led Trinidad & Tobago to their first World Cup, to give the same boost to Poland’s aspirations of qualifying for their first European Championships.

In a relatively tough group that included a number of Europe’s better second-tier sides like Belgium, Bosnia and Finland. The Poles under Beenhakker certainly showed that they were poles apart from the competition.

A double from midfielder Euzebiusz Smolarek saw them secure qualification with a game to spare in a 2-0 win over Belgium. Plus, with Portugal practically below-par throughout the campaign, topping the group was an added bonus for the Poles.

Group B-Italy

Roberto Donadoni had big shoes to fill following his appointment as manager of the World Champions, and a 1-0 loss to arch-rivals France certainly didn’t help matters.

Thankfully, even without the mercurial talents of Francesco Totti, and with Alessandro Del Piero fast becoming a fading force, the Italians still had enough squad depth to top the group.

They might not have played the prettiest football, but then again, it’s the results that matter most. Gritty, cohesive, determined and with Lady Luck smiling on their side, especially when they beat Scotland via that controversial free-kick in their own backyard, Donadoni’s Italy might just go on to win Euro 2008 if this keeps up.

Group C-Greece

Critics might call the Euro 2004 champions the masters of anti-football. But nonetheless, Greece under German veteran coach Otto Rehhagel, is certainly a highly effective unit.

Sure, they might have had a few lacklustre years following their triumph in 2004 where they practically suffocated their way to the Championship with their defensive football. But they’ve undoubtedly woken up from their slumber, especially after that 4-1 humiliation dealt by arch-rivals Turkey in Athens during their qualification campaign.

Marshalled by the ever reliable goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis, the team only conceded a miserly 10 goals over 12 matches (including the 4-goal debacle) and were runaway winners, finishing 7 points ahead of second-placed rivals Turkey.

In short, the Greek football renaissance has just begun.

Group D-Czech Republic

The influential artisan Pavel Nedv?d may have retired from international football, but the Czechs don’t seem to be that badly affected with Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky taking over not only his creative duties but the captain’s armband as well.

Topping Group D ahead of Germany (who ironically were the first team to qualify for Euro 2008), the Czechs let in just 5 goals in 12 games. Their greatest highlight was arguably the 3-0 rout of Germany in Munich which saw them qualify for the trip to Austria-Switzerland next summer.

Coach Karel Brückner will have to be wary of striker Jan Koller though. The 2.02m tall striker may have top scored with 6 goals, but with him being a wise old 35 when Euro 2008 kicks off, he might well be past his sell-by date.

And if that happens, the Czech Republic might have just lost their attacking edge.

Group E-Croatia

Croatian football legend Slaven Bili?, like Jurgen Klinsmann before him, has shown that you don’t need managerial experience to be a successful international manager.

Over 12 games, his charges have shown plenty of flair and attacking verve, plundering 28 goals in the process. The Croatians showed that they were world-beaters, breaking English hearts by doing the double over them. The 3-2 victory at Wembley which knocked England out of Euro 2008 will undoubtedly go down as a day of infamy for the losers.

In Eduardo Da Silva, Croatia has probably one of the most exciting players in Europe at the moment. Blessed with pace, trickery and a good eye for goal, he may be a bit-part player for Arsenal now, but when he’s fully settled, expect all hell to break loose.

Group F-Spain

The Spanish started their qualifying campaign in arguably the worst possible way, losing twice in their opening 3 matches; one a 3-2 loss to Northern Ireland and the other a 2-0 loss to Sweden.

But since then, the Spanish have gone from strength to strength, winning all of their remaining matches except one, a 1-1 draw with Iceland in Reykjavík.

With such great form and arguably the most squad depth among all the qualifiers especially in midfield with the likes of Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fàbregas, Xavi HernándezAndrés Iniesta all battling for a first team slot, come Euro 2008, barring any injuries, Spain might just prove to be the team to beat.

Group G-Romania

The last time Romania was in a major tournament was more than 7 years ago. But boy, were they fantastic dumping England out of Euro 2000 with an emphatic 3-2 win.

But take nothing away from these overachievers. They’ve fought well and consistently to top the group, even beating Holland 1-0 in Oct in the process.

What’s really impressive about Romania is that a majority of their players are domestically based in a supposedly inferior league. With only stalwarts like Captain Christian Chivu and Adrian Mutu among the few playing abroad, it’s certainly been an outstanding effort from the Romanians who are now ranked 13th in the world in the latest FIFA rankings.

The long and arduous qualifying campaign for Euro 2008 is finally over. Starting from Aug 2006 , teams all across Europe were split into 7 qualifying groups in a bid to win 1 of 2 coveted slots in each group to go to Austria-Switzerland next year.

In a 2-part special, UrbanWire gives our take on the teams that qualified for Euro 2008, starting first with the teams that finished second in their respective groups.

Group A: Portugal

With all that talent, it seemed impossible for Portugal not to qualify for Euro 2008. But nobody would have expected them to practically sleepwalk towards the tail-end of the qualifiers, drawing with the likes of Bosnia and Armenia and just scrapping past Kazakhstan with a 2-1 victory.

Perhaps Big Phil Scolari has gone soft on his charges. It certainly didn’t help that he was tipped to take over the England post after the 2006 World Cup. Maybe it has got to do more with the retirement of the talismanic Luis Figo that unsettled the balance in the team.

Nonetheless, the current golden boy of the world of football, Cristiano Ronaldo may have led the goal-scoring charts for Portugal with 8 during the qualifiers. But for Portugal to succeed at Euro 2008, he must wholly take on Figo’s mantle as the heartbeat of the team.

Group B: France

Beaten twice by Scotland, the French have to thank Georgia and Italy for their participation in Euro 2008 after the 2 dealt successive deathblows to destroy Scotland’s European dreams.

Essentially a team in transition with plenty of new players coming in, France have to improve dramatically before they will be considered challengers in Euro 2008

Still while they might have struggled during qualification, especially against Lithuania and Georgia, on paper, they have enough depth to be a world-beater. One player in particular that UrbanWire suggests football fans take a closer look at is Marseille’s 20-year-old midfielder, Samir Nasri who’s set to become the next Zinedine Zidane.

Group C: Turkey

Mediterranean football is on the rise again following the successful qualification of both Greece and Turkey from Group C.

With Fatih Terim as manager and evergreen captain Hakan Sukur, Turkey has a formula for success, given that the duo led Galatasaray SK to the 2000 Uefa Cup.

A highlight of their qualification campaign will most definitely be their 4-1 annihilation of arch-rival, Greece, in Athens.

With their qualification, the Turks have put an end to a barren spell that had seen them away from a major international Championship since the 2002 World Cup where they finished 3rd.

Group D: Germany

Sammy Lee and Chris Hutchings might have flopped badly but Joachim Low has shown that assistant managers can make the step up, leading the German juggernaut hurtling towards Euro 2008.

With 35 goals scored (although 19 were against minnows San Marino), the days of German football being dull and effective are probably a thing of the past.

Although Germany were the first side to qualify for Euro 2008, Low will probably be disappointed with the draw against Cyprus and the heavy 3-0 mauling dished out by Czech Republic.

Interestingly enough, he’s managed to do something that his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann wasn’t unable to rectify; he improved the defence which conceded just 7 goals over 12 games. However with first-choice keeper Jens Lehmann now playing second fiddle at Arsenal, Low might have a goalkeeping problem come Euro 2008.

Group E: Russia

Yet another Guus Hiddink team has managed to Guus-step their way into a major tournament. They might not have been favourites to qualify from Group E but under the Messiah of Managers, they always had a good chance.

Lady Luck was certainly smiling on Hiddink’s men following their startling 2-1 capitulation against Israel, with Croatia beating England at Wembley for Russia to qualify with a 1-0 victory over Andorra.

They may not be as technically gifted as the English, but at least they’ve been consistent and that’s what matters most in a race for qualification.

Group F: Sweden

If any team benefited from the opposition’s change of manager, it had to be Sweden. Imagine if Lawrie Sanchez hadn’t left for Fulham, the Northern Irish might not have lost the crucial momentum.

But credit to the Swedes for their successful campaign where they’ve maintained their cohesion and grit. Marcus Allback, the FC Copenhagen striker, in particular, showed that unlike his poor showing at Aston Villa, he does have the ability to score, with 6 goals to his name.

A 2-0 victory over Spain will probably be the highlight of their campaign. But if Northern Ireland hadn’t lost 1-0 to Latvia, it would have been them heading to Euro 2008 based on their better head-to-head against Sweden.

Group G: Holland

15 goals scored in 12 games. That’s a statistic as un-Dutch-like as they come. Somehow, the Masters of Total Football struggled to hit the net despite manager Marco van Basten’s best intentions.

A major disappointment for the demanding Dutch fans were the 2 lacklustre 1-0 victories over traditional whipping boys Luxemburg.

Granted, van Basten didn’t exactly have his first team throughout the entire campaign, but then again the Dutch team is filled with so much attacking talent in reserves like Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt that it’s still rather incomprehensible that they would struggle for goals as badly as they did.

Click here for the second part of our 2 part special!