With two world cup finalists, it would not seem possible that in August Group B could still be genuinely contested by four nations, and one of them being Scotland. Many proud Scots (including the writer of this page) would not have dared to hope at the outset of the campaign that they’d be one result away from the summit of such esteemed company. Even Ukraine, with Andriy Shevchenko and a world cup quarter final under their belt last summer, would not have supposed to be in such close contention as they are.

The key result, pegging France back to the level of mere mortals, was the Scots fine victory over them in Glasgow earlier this year. As far a shock results go, this was one of note as it marked a vat improvement in the performance of he Scottish national side, much derided since the embarrassment of the Bertie Vogts years. Italy, possibly the most average side to win the world cup (except possibly the 1982 Italian side that won the world cup), have not looked like the champions they are, and lack the firepower to be a true threat to France, who are undisputed favorites to win the group. The Ukrainians are strong at home, but are also inconsistent, so any one of the top four could qualify, with France and Italy favourites to do so.

JumpTV will be showing some of the key matches that will determine these teams’ fortunes including France v Scotland on 12th September, Georgia v Ukraine on 8th September and Lithuania v Ukraine on 17th November. For more details visit http://euro2008.jumptv.com/