THERE are two teams that stand out for me as potential winners of Euro 2004. One, being the patriot I am, is England as long as they keep everyone fit, and the other is France.

In England, we are fortunate to have several youngsters coming through at the moment and Steven Gerrard is one of those who has the calibre to become even better than the French. I am hoping that he and Frank Lampard both have good tournaments because they have just had excellent seasons, especially during the latter part.

I would now like to see them both come forward on the international stage. After those two, you have got the usual suspects to rely on like David Beckham and Michael Owen.

I think the midfield area could be the key to success and that's the area in which we are strongest.

Our current weaknesses are at centre-half. If Sol Campbell and John Terry are fit we will be all right. We have adequate replacements in Gary Neville, Ledley King and Jamie Carragher but all three would lack either height or experience in that position. Should they be called upon, that would be one area that would concern me.

I fancy France because they have brought so much to the Premiership and it's also always a pleasure watching Zidane on the European stage.

They are physically excellent and I'm thoroughly looking forward to Sunday's game against England - and I'm glad to have got tickets because they will be like gold dust.

As possible dark horses, I think Holland are also possible winners if they can get firing on all cylinders. They might have got in through the back door after beating Scotland in the play-offs but, you look at their squad and, on paper, they have got a great chance. It's a question of whether they can now perform because in recent tournaments they have played like great individuals rather than a great team.

Similarly, Portugal have good individuals who will have a lot to prove. They were a bit disappointing in the World Cup when they expected to do a lot better.

But being the home nation will give them the lift of having local support which helped England in 1996. Speaking to the Portuguese people I know over here, they are as optimistic and expectant as we always are as a nation going into any tournament.

Picking a winner is fraught with difficulties because, looking at the calibre of all the teams here, all of them could win it.

Taking that into consideration, we will probably find that England's games against Switzerland and Croatia become more difficult than taking on the French. The English, being English, will expect the team to just turn up and beat them whereas, against France, the team will need no incentive to raise their game. But it is the matches against Switzerland and Croatia that will make or break England's tournament.

As for players who I think will star in the tournament, somebody like Fernando Morientes who peaked towards the end of the season could shine. There's also always someone who emerges as well and will end up in the Premiership so it will be interesting to see who that turns out to be.

As a fan, I'm looking forward to being on the other side of the fence. Once the first ball is kicked against France, I will be venting my support and frustration in the same manner as any other supporter and I'm looking forward to screaming at the players rather than being screamed at myself.

I certainly think Portugal will provide the perfect setting for the competition. We regularly go on holiday here and I've been learning the language for four years.

It's somewhere I would love to settle down eventually although hopefully I have many years left in football before then.

The whole country has been waiting a long time for this weekend - let's hope the team can do the business.

Updated: 09:47 Thursday, June 10, 2004