European Friendlies: Euro Contenders Left Hoping Exhibitions Are Mirages

This was a weekend that most of the EURO 2012 contenders will want to forget.

Just a week and a half out of the opening ceremonies in Poland and Ukraine, most nations took advantage of the gap between the end of the club season and the start of the international tournament to get their squads some warm-up time.

After all, most of the players hadn't played with their teammates for months, allowing for the possibility of past connections to rust.

Now, friendlies are meant to be low-pressure settings; they're more for practice and tactical planning for the coach than for competitive purposes. However, the performances of some of the top EURO 2012 contenders will be a concern for supporters, coaches and players alike.

Germany

Germany, the side who many are tipping to win the tournament, had a rough go in Basel. They were defeated by the Swiss 5-3, thanks in large part to a hat trick by Eren Derdiyok.

With the likes of Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski out there, it was a strong starting lineup.  However, the Germans can take solace in the fact that none of the stars of Bayern Munich, who make up the core of the German defensive unit, were available for selection.

In the end, though, it was Switzerland's first victory over Germany in some 56 years, which leaves the Germans with a few questions.

Netherlands

Netherlands also had a rough go of it, at home in Amsterdam in a 2-1 loss to Bulgaria.

It's an extreme wake up call for the Dutch, as they played almost exactly the starting XI that is sure to start in June.

Two second half goals, including the Ilian Micanski's winner in stoppage time, canceled out Robin van Persie's opener and left the Netherlands reeling.

The loss opens more questions for Netherlands' defense, as it was the second time in a week that they went from a winning position to lose in the dying moments of the match (the first coming in a friendly against Bayern Munich).

Portugal

In their 0-0 draw at home to Macedonia, Portugal typified the problems they have been having for the past few years. Once more, their defense was strong and they did not concede, but their attacking was less than threatening.

Every so often, a long-range effort from Cristiano Ronaldo caused some small amount of discomfort for the Macedonians, but the Portuguese seemed to lack the fluidity in their movement that is necessary to create meaningful danger.

It was this similar style that Portugal carried into the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where it helped them to 0-0 draws with both Ivory Coast and Brazil, but hindered them in the 1-0 loss to Spain that ended their tournament.

Perhaps it was the rust of not having played together in so long, or the fact that some of the probable starting XI were on the bench, but it was a performance that hearkened back to past troubles for Portugal.

Denmark

For Denmark, going up against Brazil was probably not the best way to get their confidence up right before the tournament.

The flashy Brazilians took a 3-0 lead into half time through Hulk's double and a Niki Zimling own goal. From there, Brazil seemed to take their foot off the gas, allowing Nicklas Bendtner to get a consolation.

Cast in the "Group of Death," Denmark may want to expect more of the same come June.

Greece

The Greeks began their match with Slovenia grandly, with Vasilis Torosidis scoring within ten minutes.

However, after Torosidis went down with injury, it was the Slovenians who looked the more likely side. Finally, in the 87th minute, Jasmin Kurtic hit the equaliser that must raise concerns for Greece.

Furthermore, Panagiotis Kone showed frustration and his inexperience around full time by getting sent off for lashing out after a foul.

France

In their ten matches in qualifying for EURO 2012, France conceded just four goals.

And yet, after the first half of their friendly with Iceland, the French found themselves 2-0 down. With great resilience, the French came back in the second half to win the match 3-2.

However, the match was much more of a struggle than originally anticipated.

EURO

Of course, it wasn't all doom and gloom across the EURO spectrum.

Ireland, England, Spain, Czech Republic, and hosts Poland all picked up nice victories over opposition.

Now, these were just friendlies.  Hence, it is probably unwise to get too worked up over their results and start writing off teams.

However, the issues that led to these adverse results are indicative of each team's overall struggles and weaknesses. Thus, these results may be harbingers of EURO struggles.

Then again, they could merely be mirages.

The coaches of each have at least one more friendly to work out the kinks and prove these results meaningless.