Euro 2012 Predictions: 8 Players Who Will Disappoint on International Stage

International tournaments always provide a combination of nervousness and excitement not only for fans, but also for the players on the pitch. 

These big stage events are much talked about beforehand and the pre-tourney hype can be wildly uncontrollable. 

The lead up to Euro 2012 has been no different, as people have been making cases for each team and why it's their turn to win the final game. 

While people debate all the time on who will lead certain teams to success, one thing that we should maybe focus on is whose play will unexpectedly hurt their team's chances to hoist the trophy. 

Considering there will be ungodly pressure and expectations for numerous players heading into Euro 2012, let's take a look at players who will disappoint their countries in Poland-Ukraine. 

Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark)

While it is a close race with Christian Eriksen, striker Nicklas Bendtner will be the most talented player to take the pitch for Denmark this go around in Euro 2012. 

Standing at 6'3'', the 24-year-old Danish forward is a strong presence and has the uncanny ability to hold off defenders and make an impact in the aerial attack. 

However, Bendtner is widely known as a controversy-grabber for his actions off the field and owns a ridiculous amount of arrogance for a good, but not fantastic player.

The Copenhagen-native has also been under scrutiny for his inability to finish at goal with certain opportunities—something that can't happen in a major international tournament.

Considering the Dane will have to deal with the "Group of Death" (Germany, Portugal, Netherlands), I wouldn't be surprised if Bendtner gets shut out of goal and Denmark goes home without a win.   

Stewart Downing (England)

After improving every year in club play, Stewart Downing caught the attention of powerhouse Liverpool and signed a lucrative contract after the 2010-11 season to play at Anfield. 

However, Downing's inconsistency on the pitch proved extremely frustrating for Liverpool fans and could do the same for England supporters in this summer's tournament.

With superstar Frank Lampard going down with a thigh injury and unable to compete in Euro 2012, England manager Roy Hodgson will most likely start Downing in the midfield and hope he can use his creativity and footwork to bring something to the table.

Despite this confidence, Downing has shown the inability to perform in big spots and simply disappears on the field at some points.

For example, the 27-year-old midfielder managed to contribute no league goals and no assists over the entire Premier League season, despite taking one penalty kick and 72 shots.

The reason why Downing has the strong potential to disappoint in Euro 2012 is simply because he's done so recently and his inconsistency won't prevent him from doing it again.  

Jordi Alba (Spain)

After a fantastic season with Valencia FC, back Jordi Alba was called up to Spain's senior team and is now looking at a potential spot in the starting XI. 

With stalwart defender and World Cup hero Carles Puyol going down with injury, the back line of Spain's defense will undergo a few changes.

One of these changes is the insertion of Alba into the starting lineup. Manager Vincente del Bosque will be expecting Alba to make an immediate and lasting impact like he did with Valencia.

Despite his skills, the 23-year-old lacks international experience, as he's only logged five international caps for the senior national team.

It wouldn't shock me if Alba has an exemplary showing in Euro 2012, but something tells me that the absence of maturity and a heap of pressure on his back will be too much for the youngster to overcome for Spain.  

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a world-class striker, arguably one of the best in Europe. However, there is no logical way someone can say that he is the world's best player.

Well, I don't think anyone has made this claim other than the striker himself. In March 2011, Ibrahimovic claimed that he was the "greatest player in the world"—a title that could go to at least ten other footballers before the 30-year-old would receive consideration.

However, the AC Milan superstar is a strong and agile player, who can change a game with his ball control and rocket of a shot.

With this being said, Ibrahimovic will need to let go of this god-like approach and rely on his teammates if Sweden is going to have a legitimate shot past group stage.

Possessing the vice of drifting in and out of games and losing his cool, Ibrahimovic is bound to disappoint in Euro 2012 unless he's able to keep a level head.  

Maarten Stekelenburg (Netherlands)

After what seemed like an eternity with Ajax, goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg made the move to AS Roma after the 2010-2011 season.

However, Stekelenburg did not have a good season by any accounts for the Italian club. While he didn't have the best defenders in front of him, the Dutch keeper logged only seven clean sheets in 29 league games, along with 81 saves. 

The 29-year-old will have to deal with similar defensive issues when playing with the Netherlands in Euro 2012. 

Even though Mark van Bommel and Nigel De Jong will help stop the opposing attack in the midfield, the mediocre play of backs like Gregory van der Wiel and John Heitinga will put more pressure on Stekelenburg to perform at an extremely high level.

While he performed superb for the Dutch in the 2010 World Cup, including an amazing quarterfinal save against Brazil's Kaka, Stekelenburg will have a tough time repeating that success in Euro 2012.  

Franck Ribery (France)

"He is the jewel of French football." That's what international legend Zinedine Zidane had to say about Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery. 

The 29-year-old enjoyed a great amount of success this past year with the Champions League finalists, scoring 12 goals and distributing 12 assists in 32 games for the German club. 

Ribery is no doubt a world-class footballer with swift dribbling and tricky movements that could fool the best defenders in the game.

However, the Frenchman hasn't lived up to Zidane's claim in the past three years for Les Bleus, scoring only three goals in 22 caps. 

If he doesn't change that lack of production for the French side in Euro 2012, Ribery and Les Bleus' trip to Poland-Ukraine will mirror the disappointing showing in South Africa in 2010.

Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)

Dont' get me wrong, Robin van Persie is one of the best strikers in the world and arguably the most talented person on the Dutch side heading into Euro 2012.

His abundance of pace and skill, coupled with an incredible sense of balance and vision has been lethal toward opposing defenses. 

The 30-year-old superstar was able to use those skills this past year as he put together a wonderful season for Arsenal, compiling 30 goals and nine assists in 37 league games.

However, historically van Persie has had issue making an impact when he's not the go-to guy on the pitch.

For example, in the 2010 World Cup the Dutch star was almost nowhere to be found, as Wesley Sneijder took over the team and probably should have earned the Golden Ball.

More recently, van Persie scored six goals for the Netherlands during the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, but four of those netted against lowly San Marino.

Not only will van Persie not have the team built around him, but also he most likely won't play his preferred position.

Schalke man Klass-Jan Huntelaar, who put 12 balls in the back of the net during qualifying, has been playing at center-forward while van Persie has taken a back seat at right attacking midfielder.

With a history of underperforming internationally and the possibility of losing a duel with Huntelaar, van Persie could be in a for a let down in Euro 2012.  

Fernando Torres (Spain)

Fernando Torres absolutely tore it up in his time with Liverpool, but has been under the microscope for some time now since his departure to Chelsea. 

While there were soft speculations that he wouldn't get the call, the 28-year-old striker is included in manager Vincente del Bosque's squad for Euro 2012 and will probably be the go-to scorer with David Villa out due to injury.

Despite his aura of potential and top notch ball skills, Torres hasn't lived up to his hype for Spain or Chelsea, which was affirmed this year with just 11 goals in 48 games for the Champions League winners.

Torres does have some experience in the Euro tournaments, as he scored the game-winning and lone goal of the 1-0 Euro 2008 final against Germany.

However, he didn't score in the 2010 World Cup and barely saw the field as his starting performances against Chile and Honduras were below-par.

After such an unexceptional Premier League season and with the added responsibility of being a reliable scorer, the crafty striker could have the tournament of his life or a frustrating performance on the big stage.

I'm going with the latter.