Euro 2012: Questions Facing Each Team

In just a few days, the planet will be treated to some of the most exciting football in the world.

The Euros begin on June 9th, with co-hosts Poland and Ukraine getting ready to thrill the world.

There are many exciting storylines coming into the tournament, most notably Spain's quest to win back-to-back European Championships and three major tournaments in a row (2008 Euros, 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2012 Euros).

With the tournament getting ready to kick off, here are some questions facing each Euro 2012 team heading into the tournament. 

Can Poland Break Their Tournament Duck?

Poland isn't exactly what you would call a international powerhouse.

They failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The last European Championships saw them eliminated in the group stage at the hands of Croatia.

They were eliminated in the 2006 and 2002 World Cup in the group stages as well. 

Now that they are finally playing in front of their home fans, Poland has even more drive to make it to the knockout stages. Failing to make it out of arguably the weakest group in the tournament would be a huge disappointment. 

With up-and-coming talent in Robert Lewandowski, Wojciech Szczęsny and 19-year-old Rafał Wolski, and captain Jakub Błaszczykowski leading the charge, this is the strongest Polish team we've seen in recent memory. 

Just ask South Korea how much home-pitch advantage counts toward a deep tournament run. 

Can Greece Find a Legitimate Scoring Threat?

This is Kostas Mitroglou, the youngest striker Greece has on their Euro squad at 24. Greece will be looking for him to help score for a team that has built its foundations upon a extremely solid defense.

Due to this emphasis on defense, recently Greece has been lacking the lethal strike force that could make them a much more well-rounded team. 

The leading scorer on the team heading into Poland/Ukraine is Fanis Gekas, with 21 career goals. However, he is 32 years old, and can't carry the team's scoring load like he could.

Greece also has Celtic striker Giorgos Samaras and Dimitris Salpingidis in the team, but they only have 13 goals in 108 appearances between the two of them—in other words, largely ineffective in front of the net. 

In today's game, with an emphasis on free-flowing, attacking football, Greece is going to have a hard time competing in this tournament. Their defense can only support them for so long without production at the other end of the pitch.  

Although, a repeat of Euro 2004 is always in the cards. 

Can Russia Repeat, and Improve Upon, the Success of 2008?

Coming into the Euro 2008 tournament and missing a star (Andrei Arshavin) for the first two games (sound familiar, England?), Russia wasn't really expected to do much. 

After a 4-1 drubbing by eventual champions Spain, it looked to be business as usual.

Russia's hopes of reaching the knockout stages were given a boost after a 1-0 win over Greece. 

In the last game of the group, with both Russia and Sweden fighting for a spot in the knockout stages, Arshavin delivered in his return to the side, providing the second goal in a 2-0 win, booking their way out of the group stages. 

Russia met heavy favorites the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. After full time the sides were locked in a 1-1 draw, with Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring a equalizer late in the game. Russia then exploded in extra time, scoring two goals in the last eight minutes of stoppage, and went on their way to a semifinal matchup with Spain—again. 

The 3-0 scoreline Spain won by wasn't indicative of the way Russia played. With virtually the entire squad returning this year, Russia stands a good chance of winning Group A and repeating their success from two years ago. 

Which Petr Cech Will Show Up—the Barca-Slayer or the Butterfingers?

Petr Cech played like a man possessed in the semifinal tie against Barcelona in the Champions League, consistently denying arguably the world's most efficient attack. 

Cech is not getting any younger and has committed some howlers over the past couple years. 

His blunders in the group tie against Turkey in the group stages of the last Euro tournament cost them a spot in the knockout stages. 

The Cech that shows up will be either a help or a hindrance in the Czech Republic's bid for a knockout stage place. 

Can the Netherlands Shed Their Underachieving Ways?

The Netherlands have long been considered the best team to never win a World Cup, and it's hard to believe that they have only won one European Championship—back in 1988. 

The Dutch are perennial underachievers. 

In 2008, they were heavy favorites to win the whole thing. Instead they blew it to an upstart Russian squad.

They made it to the final of the last World Cup, bossing their way through, but an outstanding lack of discipline saw them lose it to Spain.

With world-class stars such as Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Rafael van der Vaart and Robin van Persie on the same squad, the Netherlands should strike fear into every side they come up against. 

Instead, they continually disappoint.

This year, it will be a much harder road, since they need to get out of a group consisting of Germany, Portugal and Denmark. 

Can Germany Win It All?

Well, yeah.

The question is, will they win it all?

Germany definitely has the talent on the roster to make it to the final for the second straight tournament and they've been touted as early favorites to take away Spain's hope of a repeat. 

Joachim Löw has compiled an extremely balanced team that possesses the ball all over the pitch. He has done a great job blending youth and experience within the squad, and built a team that should make it to the final. 

Will they win it? It depends on how badly they want it. 

Will Denmark Have a Chance to Make It out of the Group of Death?

When I was watching the draw, the first thing I thought was "Poor Denmark..."

Denmark is going to have to go through Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal in Group B—the "Group of Death"—if they want to have any chance of replicating their improbable Euro 1992 win. 

Denmark definitely has the talent in Daniel Agger, Nicklas Bendtner and wunderkind Christian Eriksen to cause trouble for the other three teams in the group, but it remains to be seen if the Danish can cause major ripples.

If Denmark goes through, it means either Germany, the Netherlands or Portugal—three of the world's best teams—will go home way too early. 

Intriguing. 

Can Cristiano Ronaldo Finally Carry Portugal to Glory?

It's quite simple, really: when Cristiano Ronaldo plays well, Portugal tends to play well. 

Portugal doesn't have a win yet in 2012. Hmm.

Perhaps CR7 was too busy lighting it up in La Liga to focus on the national team.

At any rate, as captain of the Portuguese team, Ronaldo is going to need to rally his team through the hardest group in the tournament. He has plenty of supporting players in Raul Meireles, Real Madrid teammate Fábio Coentrão, Nani and Helder Postiga to help Portugal through to the knockout stages.

Still, it's going to take something special from this struggling Portugal team to upset Germany and the Netherlands, the two favorites to top the group. 

Will Spain Repeat?

I think this is the question on everyone's mind. Will Spain be able to repeat as European champions, and in doing so, win three back-to-back-to-back major tournaments?

With world-class stars filling every position on the pitch and more world-class stars sitting on the bench, it's hard to argue against another title-winning charge from Spain. 

However, without goal-scoring machine David Villa and defensive stalwart Carles Puyol, the road will be a little tougher this time around. 

No matter; Spain has one of the deepest sides in all of world football. 

Fernando Llorente will be relied upon to fill David Villa's shoes and pick up any slack from Fernando Torres, who has looked bright as of late but still can't be consistently counted upon to produce the magic of 2008. 

Expect Spain to make it to the final again. Whether they win or not remains to be seen. 

Will Italy Even Be Participating?

There were a lot of questions surrounding Italy coming into this Euro tournament: Will Italy be able to rise to international prominence again? How big of a role should Mario Balotelli play in the team? Is this the year they finally find the balance between youth and experience? 

Now the question is: Will they even participate?

Recently, Italian football was hit with another, possibly more serious, match-fixing scandal, which saw Italy's first-choice left-back, Domenico Criscito, get dropped from the team and Lazio captain Stefano Mauri (among others) get arrested during investigations. Juventus coach Antonio Conte was also informed he was being investigated.   

This investigation has led Italy manager Cesere Prandelli saying that he has "no problem" if Italy was withdrawn from the tournament

Further steps in terms of Italy's removal from the tournament remain to be seen, but it would be a major blow to Italian football—world football in general—if one of the best teams in the world was forced to withdraw. 

Will Ireland Be This Tournament's New Zealand?

New Zealand shocked the world two years ago in the 2010 FIFA World Cup when they finished third in their group ahead of Italy without losing any of their matches. 

No disrespect to the Irish team, but they are the weakest team in their group, which consists of Spain, Italy and Croatia. 

Spain is one of the tournament favorites and is as deep as the Grand Canyon.

Italy is one of the best technical sides in the game.

Croatia has qualified for three Euros in a row and never should be dismissed. 

The Republic of Ireland's chances of getting out of the group are slim; however, they possess a determination and grit that is rarely seen in any other side. 

Captain Robbie Keane (Ireland's all-time leading scorer), Aiden McGeady and Shay Given will lead their team into Poland and the Ukraine with something to prove. While they may not make it out of the group, expect them to give their groupmates a fight for their lives. 

Can Croatia Steal a Place in the Knockout Stages?

Croatia possesses the all-around talent to upset Spain or Italy and steal a place in the knockout rounds.

You cannot count out a side that has Luka Modrić pulling the strings in midfield and supplying the ball to the likes of Eduardo and Everton hotshot Nikica Jelavić. 

Along with a balanced back line including Vedran Ćorluka and Josip Šimunić, Croatia is a team that quietly and efficiently dispatches teams in their way. 

Probably the most underrated team in the tournament, Croatia stands a very good chance of usurping either Italy or Spain (probably Italy) and advancing into the quarterfinals. 

Can Ukraine Impress in Front of the Home Crowd in Andriy Shevchenko's Last Bow?

Andriy Shevchenko, arguably Ukraine's most recognizable star, is 35 years old and is most likely on his way out of international football after the tournament. 

It is only fitting that Shevchenko's international career ends at home. 

Even though Ukraine is one of the weakest teams in the tournament, Oleg Blokhin has assembled an interesting blend of youth, creativity and grizzled experience that is eager to please the home fans. 

Shevchenko is surrounded by underrated talent in former Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin, 22-year-old Andriy Yarmolenko and exciting midfielder Olexandr Aliyev.

Neutrals would love to see Ukraine succeed on their home field, although they have a tough road of it, needing to go through France, England and Sweden to get into the quarterfinals.

At any rate, expect Andriy Shevchenko's final international tournament to be a memorable one.  

Can Zlatan Ibrahimovic Live Up to His Billing as "the Greatest Player on Earth?"

No, because he's not.

Whatever delusions Zlatan Ibrahimovic has about being the "best player in the world," there is a certain short-statured Argentine, a certain flashy Portuguese and a certain young Brazilian that would say otherwise.

If Sweden wants to make it out of the group stages ahead of France or England, Ibra is going to need to drop the delusions of grandeur and incorporate the rest of the squad in the game plan. 

Ibrahimovic is the best player on the squad, but he's going to need the support of Rasmus Elm, Sebastian Larsson, Kim Källström and Ola Toivonen in order to be effective enough to win more than one game in the group. 

Sweden looks good to beat Ukraine in their first game, stands a good chance of beating a Wayne Rooney-less England in the second game (Sweden holds the all-time advantage over England with a 9-9-6 record) and will give France a run for their money in the final group game. 

However, Sweden's success will be tied to a group effort, not the exploits of one man. 

Will England Survive Without Wayne Rooney? and Frank Lampard? And...

This has been the talking point surrounding England since Wayne Rooney's suspension for his pointless red card against Montenegro back in October. 

England fans have become resigned to the fact that the Three Lions will be without their star striker against France and Sweden, but now England will be without Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Gary Cahill and John Ruddy, who have all been ruled out due to injury. 

That's four starters that England will be missing against tough group opposition.

Will youngsters Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson, Martin Kelly and Danny Welbeck be able to fill some big boots?

Hopefully. 

Has France Exorcised the Demons of South Africa?

Everyone who doesn't live under a rock remembers the absolute meltdown of the French squad in South Africa two years ago, which saw them win only one game in the group and finish third, missing out on a round-of-16 spot. 

It was hard to watch as a football fan, as one of the greatest teams in world football dissolved in front of our eyes. 

Two years later, coach Laurent Blanc has assembled one of the strongest sides in the tournament—one that should make a strong push for the final and shake off any doubts left over from South Africa 2010. 

With world-class talent at almost every position and title-winners in Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Olivier Giroud, France looks to be a tournament favorite to upset Spain's bid for a second consecutive European Championship. 

Conclusion

This year's Euros should prove to be an extremely exciting tournament from start to finish. 

The world will be captivated for one month as Europe's best nations take the pitch in their quest for a European championship. 

Will Poland and Ukraine delight their fans by making deep runs into the knockout stages or will they disappoint, a la Austria and Switzerland?

Can some of the tournament's dark horses sneak into the quarterfinals?

Will Spain be crowned again, or will we see a new champion?

These questions, and many more, will be answered come July 1st.

Enjoy!