Euro 2012 Preview

What are those things?

It's been a busy two weeks in Russia, and my time here is really beginning to fly by.  But before I talk about Russia, I figured I would do a quick prediction of Euro 2012 group winners.  There are only four groups with four teams each, and of course there is a Group of Death that will provide us with the greatest games early on.  As always, I've done exhaustive research on each squad and how they qualified.  Hopefully I can do better than my Champions League predictions, which weren't exactly spot-on.  






Group A:  Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

Winners:  Russia and Poland

Very tough group to call other than Russia.  I'm giving Poland the edge because they are playing on home turf and their striker, Robert Lewandowski, tore up the Bundesliga with Dortmund last season, scoring 22 goals for the league champs.  Poland also have Arsenal's keeper, Wojciech Szczęsny, who is always solid between the posts.  Being in Russia, I can't wait to go into downtown St. Petersburg to watch their games.  And all the games for that matter.  Having one class for the next two weeks equates to me being able to watch most if not all the games (under questionable sobriety, naturally).

Group B:  Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal (Group of Death)

Winners:  Germany and Netherlands

Also a tough group to call, only because there are three teams that should be advancing out of this group.
I have Germany and the Dutch advancing because I feel that they have more complete teams than Portugal.  Will Ronaldo be able to carry his team through to the knockout rounds?  I don't think he can do it.

Group C: Italy, Spain, Ireland, Croatia

Winners:  Spain and Italy

I really wanted to take Croatia here, based solely on the fact that they have dutifully served me as my go to international team since FIFA 11.  Mario Balotelli, the Italian striker, has said that if he is subject to any form of racism during or in between matches while in Ukraine and Poland, he will simply leave and go back to Italy.  Balotelli has been the victim of various types of racism, one of the worse occurring while he was playing in Italy and had bananas thrown at him.  He is key to Italian success and removing himself from competition would spell the end for Italy, or at least I think so.

Group D: England, Ukraine, Sweden, France

Winners:  England and France

England has been plagued with injury woes just prior to the start of the competition, and they will be without Wayne Rooney for the first two games.  I was reluctant to take France because of their World Cup performance two years ago, but they did well during qualifying and I think they will redeem themselves this time around.


That's all I've got for now, I've been sitting in this bar for far too long with my computer up. I really hope I'll be able to watch these games when I get back to America, so when the group stages are over, look for my predictions on who will be crowned the best team in Europe.