Alexander Frei shakes hands with Swiss fans during a recent training session. Swizterland will rely on Frei to help propel them into the quarter-finals at Euro. (Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press)

When it comes to the European Championship, there's no advantage like home advantage.

Since the first competition in 1960, three countries have won the tournament on home soil (Spain in 1964, Italy in 1968 and France in 1984), and all but one host nation (Belgium in 2000) has made it to the final four.

But this year's co-hosts, Switzerland and Austria, could find it difficult just to advance beyond the first round.

Of the 16 teams set to compete at Euro 2008, Switzerland and Austria are the lowest ranked in the current FIFA world rankings, coming in at No. 44 and No. 92, respectively. Sweden, the third-lowest-ranked team, is No. 30, which gives you a pretty clear picture of the disparity between the two host nations and the rest of the field.

Swiss in good hands with Kuhn

Although the Swiss did not have the benefit of playing in the qualifiers — as co-hosts they automatically qualified — they have racked up a number of impressive performances in the past year, coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Argentina and posting a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.

Coach Kobi Kuhn has been in charge of the Swiss team for seven years and has the unquestioned respect of his players after guiding them to qualification for Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.

But UEFA didn't do Switzerland any favours when it drew the hosts into a first-round group that includes tournament favourite Portugal, a talented Czech Republic team and a resurgent Turkey. For a Swiss team that has never won a game in its two previous Euro appearances, overcoming countries of this calibre may be asking too much of the hosts.

Goals have historically been pretty hard to come by for a Swiss team that stresses defending and organization first, and scoring second. Aside from Alexander Frei, Switzerland doesn't have a legitimate goal-scoring threat up front. With little offensive support coming from the midfield, it's hard to see how the Swiss will score goals.

Still, there's plenty of optimism in the Swiss camp, and Frei believes his team will rise to the occasion.

"Our players have developed and ripened since the 2006 World Cup," the Swiss captain told reporters on Thursday.

"I believe in the quality of the team and I know it is hungry for success. We want to write history and now have the chance to do so in our own country."

Austria will be making its Euro debut and comes into the tournament as an 80-1 long shot.

The Austrians have not qualified for a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup — when they went winless in three games and bowed out in the first round — and have only three wins in their last 16 exhibition games.

A 5-1 destruction of lowly Malta (ranked No. 134 in the world) on June 1 was Austria's first victory since last October.

Austria the lowest-ranked team

Last year, more than 10,000 Austrian fans signed a petition asking the Austrian Football Association to withdraw the national team from Euro 2008, so great is the fear the Austrian team will embarrass itself and the country.

But Austrian coach Josef Hickersberger believes his team, which plays its opening game on Sunday against Croatia, won't simply roll over and die.

"We want more than one point against Croatia on Sunday," Hickersberger told reporters earlier this week. "After the Poland match, we'll need to be on four points before playing Germany."

Hickersberger believes Austria is capable of pulling off an upset.

"We know the strengths of our opponents, but we also know how we can fight them," he said.