Euro 2012: Countries with Best Shot of Challenging Spain and Germany

Spain and Germany are the clear Euro Cup 2012 favorites, but there are plenty of countries primed to take them down. 

The Spanish are the defending World Cup champions and the Germans don't even know what to do with all the talent they have up front. Beating either of these squads won't be easy, but it's possible.

Let's take a closer look at who's ready to knock off 2008's winner and runner-up. 

Netherlands

Holland certainly has problems in the back, but the 2010 World Cup runner-up is still an extremely dangerous squad.

Just take a gander at all the weapons they have up front.

Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, and, oh yeah, some guy named Robin van Persie.

RVP has been setting the EPL on fire for Arsenal in 2012, netting a ridiculous 30 goals in league play alone. The 28-year-old is in the best form of his career, and if that carries over to the Euro Cup, watch out. 

The Oranje suffered a disappointing loss to Russia in the quarters in 2008, but they have been very successful in past Cups. Getting out of the Group of Death (Group B consists of Holland, Portugal, Germany, and Denmark. Yikes) will be hard, but even Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas recognizes Netherlands as a threat.

"

Casillas: "We can win the tournament [Euro 2012], although we face stiff competition. The biggest threats are Germany and Netherlands."

— Real Madrid Info (@RmadridInfo) May 10, 2012"

France

Listen, it's really hard for me to trust France after they failed to make it out of the Group Stage at both the 2008 Euro Cup and 2010 World Cup.

But they have too much talent to ignore, and all of the dysfunction seems to have left with manager Raymond Domenech.

Laurent Blanc is righting the ship for Les Bleus, and this could very well be the year they return to national football prominence. France has been inconsistent, but they haven't lost since September of 2010.

Again, as long as they stay away from the controversy, the talent is there with guys like Samir Nasri, Franck Ribery, and Florent Malouda, and the group draw is fairly easy.

The French are contenders and there's no doubt about it.

Portugal

It's hard for me to list a third team from Group B (counting Germany), but Portugal is too good to pass up. 

Led by all-world talent Cristiano Ronaldo, who is in top form right now, the Portugese are a favorite, despite their ability to disappear in big tournaments.

Nani presents terrific pace on the outside, but Portugal is dangerous because of its ability to keep the score low. 

Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, and Jose Bosingwa give Portugal a terrific core on the back end, and it will help keep Seleccao in every game. 

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