England lead Euro absentees

Forget the 39th game, what about the 31 that will take place in Austria & Switzerland this summer? The idea of the 39th step suggested the Premier League was in expansionist mood, planning to convert the rest of the world. The greatest club game indicates that, with Chelsea and Manchester United contesting the Champions League final, England sets the standards and commands global attention. One evening in Moscow might have pointed to the supremacy of the Premier League, but three weeks in the Alps might suggest otherwise.

Because when the European Championships begin next week, the quest to be the best in this part of the planet will take place without many of the leading lights of the so-called best league in the world. There are reasons aplenty, but one conclusion Euro 2008 could produce is that the strongest competition on the continent is La Liga, Serie A or the Bundesliga.

Eventual victory for Spain, Italy or Germany respectively would strengthen their respective cases. The Premier League has no such advocate thanks to England's failure to qualify. Not for the first time, Steve McClaren has much to answer for. But, while there will be insular voices arguing the tournament is all the worse for England's absence, that was not the case in the 1994 World Cup. Moreover, while lists of Europe's finest footballers often include Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, there are many others among the Premier League elite who will need to find alternative ways of occupying themselves in June.

In part, that is because England may possess the strongest African contingent in Europe as well as an increasingly influential group of South Americans, plus a select band of Americans, Australians and Asians. But plenty of others, however, fall into the Ryan Giggs category; individual talent means they ply their trade at a high level, but their club team-mates tend to be superior players to their international colleagues.

Such is the perennial fate of the Finns - though Sami Hyypia is in decline anyway - and, in their briefer history, of Belarus. Alexander Hleb is a contender for a place in any domestic team of the season, but the closest his intricate passing game will get to Switzerland or Austria is if he moves to Inter Milan in the summer.

Andriy Shevchenko, another born in what was the Soviet Union and captain of World Cup quarter-finalists Ukraine, will be missing; in previous tournaments, that would be a cause of regret although given his form since joining Chelsea, the same cannot be said now.

With sides from the old Eastern Block heavily outnumbered at Euro 2008, strikers are spared the aggressive methods of two dominant defenders from the North West. Neither the Slovakian Martin Skrtel nor the Serb Nemanja Vidic, the latter arguably the most fearsome centre-half in England, will figure.

Nor will the Bulgarians. The direct running of Martin Petrov and the exquisite touch of Dimitar Berbatov are always to be enjoyed but, at major tournaments, rarely seen. The same applies to the trickery of the latter's accomplice in attack at Tottenham, Robbie Keane; Giovanni Trapattoni presumably believes an Ireland side that can include Shay Given and Richard Dunne is capable of accomplishing more.

Scotland could count themselves unfortunate, but the only British representatives at Euro 2008 will be the officials. Denmark tend to be regular qualifiers, but Arsenal and Aston Villa need not worry about Nicklas Bendtner and Martin Laursen sustaining injury in June. Martin O'Neill need not concern himself about John Carew either, with Norway also absent, which may be a relief to Mark Hughes after Morten Gamst Pedersen's lengthy season.

Indeed, managers could have fewer international call-ups to complain about than usual. Carling Cup winners Tottenham and fifth-placed Everton may not contribute a single player; Newcastle and Villa might have a solitary representative each, in Emre and Wilfred Bouma.

Manchester United are European club champions, but only a quartet of their squad - Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani - could repeat that feat with their country.

Arsenal are often thought of as the epitome of a continental club in England but, with Jens Lehmann and Mathieu Flamini leaving and both Eduardo da Silva and Tomas Rosicky injured, they may only have six representatives (three of whom - Lukasz Fabianski, Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos - do not figure in Arsene Wenger's strongest side).

It is an indication of France's strength in depth that perhaps the finest pair of full-backs in the Premier League - Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna - do not even merit places in Raymond Domenech's squad. So Chelsea, including the summer signing Jose Bosingwa, could boast the biggest representation with eight players, three of them Portuguese.

So there are countries who can afford to ignore English football. World Cup winners Italy, Russia and Romania are devoid of Premier League representatives. So, with Lehmann leaving Arsenal and Robert Huth omitted, are Germany. With Stelios Giannakopoulos released by Bolton and Giorgios Samaras completing the campaign on loan from Manchester City at Celtic, the defending champions from Greece hardly depend upon an English contingent.

But if, say, Austria versus Poland proves underwhelming, here are a couple of questions to ponder: how would the squad below - selected from Premier League Europeans - have fared at Euro 2008? And could you have picked a better one?

David James, Craig Gordon, Jussi Jaaskelainen; Bacary Sagna, Alan Hutton, Gael Clichy, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Martin Skrtel; Mikel Arteta, David Bentley, Owen Hargeaves, Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Alexander Hleb, Martin Petrov; Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Wayne Rooney, John Carew.