Euro 2012 Bracket: Sleeper Teams in Each Group

We know Spain and Germany are locks to find their way out of the group stage. We know Russia has a fairly good chance of waltzing through Group A, that Netherlands should join Germany out of Group B, that Italy would be distraught if they did not to advance with Spain out of Group C, and Group D, well, we know there is talent and that is about it.

Not a single squad in Group D can be trusted on the level of the aforementioned clubs, but France and England should be considered the favorites in the group.

But let's forget about favorites and talk about sleepers, because these tournaments rarely ever go as planned.

Here's a look at the top sleeper team in each group of Euro 2012. 

(Complete schedule posted below)

Group A: Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Russia

Russia is the favorite here, and host country Poland (featuring a dynamic scorer in Bundesliga star Robert Lewandowski and Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczęsny) has to be considered the No. 2 squad.

Thus, Greece is the sleeper here over the Czech Republic. The 2004 Euro Cup champion, Greece was dominant in qualifying and rarely allowed opposing teams to find the back of the net. 

However, this squad struggles to score goals and that is the problem. They have virtually no attacking speed at all and have to hope they can create opportunities from set pieces far more often than not.

One player in particular who could change their fortunes for the better is Ioannis Fetfatzidis—or as some call him, "the Greek Messi." With the Greeks' dominant defense, it might only take one goal, or play even, for "Fetfa" to help this nation earn a win.

They've had success in this competition before, so they cannot be counted out.

Group B: Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal

There really is no sleeper here. Portugal and Netherlands are battling behind Germany, but the Dutch do have a distinct advantage in overall talent.

That said, the Portuguese feature goal-scoring machine Cristiano Ronaldo and can make something out of nothing in a heartbeat (Denmark is an afterthought here).

The difference in this group will come down to the Portugal-Netherlands showdown on June 17.

Group C: Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Spain

Believe it or not, the Irish, who haven't competed in an international competition in 10 years, are the sleeper squad in this group. Spain, despite a few setbacks, will walk through this group easily, but the Irish, who were a handball call away from a World Cup appearance back in 2010, are out to prove something.

The Italians are currently surrounded by a match-fixing scandal and they've been falling off since their 2006 World Cup triumph.

Croatia has some talented players, most notably Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric, but it remains to be seen how they'll fare as a unit.

Group D: England, France, Sweden, Ukraine

France should be considered the favorite here with England following.

Ukraine and Sweden cannot be discounted at all, but if the French and English actually play up to their abilities, they should be two of the toughest outs in the tournament. The problem is that they almost never play up to their potential, so there really isn't a favorite among these squads.

Ukraine is captained by 35-year-old Andriy Shevchenko and the Swedes by 30-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimović. Both players are capable of catching fire and rocketing balls to the back of the net, but of the two, Sweden holds the advantage as the sleeper in this group.

If France or England are caught napping—which, again, is totally plausible—don't be surprised if the Swedes take advantage.

Date	Time (p.m. ET)	Team	v	Team	Group	Venue
June 8	12:00	Poland	v	Greece	Group A	National Stadium
June 8	2:45	Russia	v	Czech Republic	Group A	Stadion Miejski (Wroclaw)
June 9	12:00	Netherlands	v	Denmark	Group B	Metalist Stadium
June 9	2:45	Germany	v	Portugal	Group B	Arena Lviv
June 10	12:00	Spain	v	Italy	Group C	PGE Arena
June 10	2:45	Ireland	v	Croatia	Group C	Stadion Miejski (Poznan)
June 11	12:00	France	v	England	Group D	Donbass Arena
June 11	2:45	Ukraine	v	Sweden	Group D	Kiev Olympic Stadium
June 12	12:00	Greece	v	Czech Republic	Group A	Stadion Miejski (Wroclaw)
June 12	2:45	Poland	v	Russia	Group A	National Stadium
June 13	12:00	Denmark	v	Portugal	Group B	Arena Lviv
June 13	2:45	Netherlands	v	Germany	Group B	Metalist Stadium
June 14	12:00	Italy	v	Croatia	Group C	Stadion Miejski (Poznan)
June 14	2:45	Spain	v	Ireland	Group C	PGE Arena
June 15	12:00	Ukraine	v	France	Group D	Donbass Arena
June 15	2:45	Sweden	v	England	Group D	Kiev Olympic Stadium
June 16	2:45	Czech Republic	v	Poland	Group A	Stadion Miejski (Wroclaw)
June 16	2:45	Greece	v	Russia	Group A	National Stadium
June 17	2:45	Portugal	v	Netherlands	Group B	Metalist Stadium
June 17	2:45	Denmark	v	Germany	Group B	Arena Lviv
June 18	2:45	Croatia	v	Spain	Group C	PGE Arena
June 18	2:45	Italy	v	Ireland	Group C	Stadion Miejski (Poznan)
June 19	2:45	England	v	Ukraine	Group D	Donbass Arena
June 19	2:45	Sweden	v	France	Group D	Kiev Olympic Stadium