Euro 2012 Schedule: Match-by-Match Preview and Predictions

Euro 2012 will begin an exciting summer of world football that includes intense action at the European championships and thrilling competition at the Summer Olympic Games in London.

With three of the four groups containing multiple world-class squads, the group stage at the European championships should be absolutely phenomenal.

Let's look at a complete match-by-match preview and make some predictions.

Group A

Friday, June 8

Poland vs. Greece, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: Poland, along with Ukraine, will be one of the host nations at this year's tournament. Their best player is Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who must be at his best to keep Greece from lighting up the scoreboard.

Prediction: Greece has a talented squad that will overpower the Polish defense with a balanced attack to open up Euro 2012 with a convincing victory. Greece wins, 3-0.

Russia vs. Czech Republic, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This matchup doesn't have a lot of star power, but it might be extremely competitive since the teams are very evenly matched. It will be a battle of world-class goaltenders, with Igor Akinfeev of Russia and Petr Cech of the Czech Republic being the most important players for their teams.

Prediction: Russia's attacking quality will be a little too much for an inferior Czech defense. Russia will win 2-1.

Tuesday, June 12

Greece vs. Czech Republic, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This will likely be a match in which the first team to score wins. If the Czech attack cannot get on the scoreboard first, expect Greece to control the match and counter attack to perfection.

Prediction: The Czech Republic could be facing a must-win game against Greece in their second group match. However, they will once again be beaten by a talented group of forwards, as Greece will take this match, 2-0, for their second group stage victory.

Poland vs. Russia, 2:45 p.m. on ESPN

Preview: Unless Poland can score first and play defensively to protect their lead, there's no chance that they can beat a superior Russia squad.

Prediction: Russia wins easily, 3-0.

Saturday, June 16

Greece vs. Russia, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This could very well be the match that decides the winner of Group A. The runner-up in Group A will have to play the winner of Group B, which will most likely be a certain loss to the Netherlands or Germany. Avoiding that matchup will be crucial for these teams.

Prediction: Russia wins an exciting match, 3-2.

Poland vs. Czech Republic, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: These two teams might not have anything to play for in this match, but that doesn't mean it won't be exciting. Expect this matchup to have plenty of quality scoring chances.

Prediction: Expect the Czech Republic to win this match, 3-2, and give Poland three defeats in three matches at Euro 2012.

Group B

Saturday, June 9

Netherlands vs. Denmark, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: The Dutch are one of the top three teams in world football and will score lots of goals throughout the tournament. Denmark's defense must stop forwards Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben to have a chance at keeping this match competitive.

Prediction: Netherlands win easily, 4-1.

Germany vs. Portugal, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: Germany begins their journey toward a second straight appearance in a European championship final against Portugal in the two team's first group stage match. Cristiano Ronaldo must play like he did with Real Madrid this season at the Euros or Portugal won't survive this challenging group. He must score a lot of goals for Portugal because they don't have the same firepower up front that they normally do. Against a strong German defense, Ronaldo could be in trouble unless his teammates step up.

Prediction: Germany earns an impressive win, 3-1.

Wednesday, June 13

Denmark vs. Portugal, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This is a must-win match for Portugal, and it will be their easiest opponent of the tournament. Expect Ronaldo and Nani to cause major problems for Denmark's back four.

Prediction: Ronaldo scores a hat trick en route to a 4-0 Portugal win.

Netherlands vs. Germany, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This is the best matchup of the group stage by far, and it could also be the matchup of the final just a few weeks later. Both teams can score goals in a variety of different ways, but the weak Dutch defense could be an issue against a German side with several playmakers such as Mesut Ozil. The Netherlands can't play a defensive battle with Germany and expect a positive result.

Prediction: Germany will take an early 1-0 lead and win by a score of 3-1.

Sunday, June 17

Netherlands vs. Portugal, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: The losing team of this match could find themselves going home after the group stage. There will be a lot on the line in this game, and the Netherlands just have too much firepower to be stopped by the Portugal defense. Expect an amazing performance from the Dutch.

Prediction: Netherlands clinch a spot in the knockout stage with a 4-1 victory over Portugal.

Germany vs. Denmark, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: Germany could have a spot in the knockout stage secure before this match begins, but expect them to still try hard in this match so they face an easy quarterfinals matchup against the runner-up of a very bad Group A.

Prediction: Germany dominated Denmark for a 3-0 victory.

Group C

Sunday, June 10

Spain vs. Italy, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This is a compelling matchup between two fantastic teams. If there's one team that can "park the bus" and defend Spain well, it's Italy. This Spain side also isn't as strong as they were during the 2010 World Cup.

Prediction: Italy will shock the world with an opening match upset of Spain, by the score of 2-1.

Croatia vs. Ireland, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: Ireland will be a surprise team at Euro 2012 since they have a balanced squad and aren't lacking talent in any area. Croatia always fields a competitive team as well, so this could be an exciting game, even if there is a lack of goals.

Prediction: The Irish will beat Croatia, 1-0.

Thursday, June 14

Italy vs. Croatia, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: Italy will be able to play more of an attacking style against Croatia than they will against Spain, so expect this match to be quite exciting. However, Croatia needs to score first to beat the Italians.

Prediction: Italy will win their second group stage match with a 3-1 victory over Croatia.

Spain vs. Ireland, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: Spain will not dominate Ireland, but I cannot expect the defending World Cup champions to be in danger of losing at any time against the Irish. The Spanish midfield will dominate this game for 90 minutes and give Spain their first group stage victory.

Prediction: Spain wins, 2-0.

Monday, June 18

Croatia vs. Spain, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: Spain will have to win this match and they will against an inferior Croatian team. The strong Spanish defense and goalkeeper Iker Casillas will not allow Croatia to have any hope of an upset by keeping a clean sheet.

Prediction: Spain wins, 3-0

Italy vs. Ireland, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: The Italians might have a chance to win this group with a great performance against Ireland. The Irish will need their attacking players to have the match of their lives to get a positive result against a stingy Italian defense.

Prediction: Italy wins easily, 3-0.

Group D

Monday, June 11

England vs. France, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: This might be the most interesting match of the group stage because of the mental effect this game could have on these teams going forward. The winning team will have a tremendous amount of confidence for the rest of the tournament. If France defend well, then they will score goals with their talented attack, led by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

Prediction: France wins a very entertaining match, 3-1.

Ukraine vs. Sweden, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: Sweden won't have too much trouble winning the possession battle against an inferior team. Unless Ukraine's attack can finish their chances consistently, they won't win this match.

Prediction: Sweden wins behind two Zlatan Ibrahimovic goals, 2-0.

Friday, June 15

Ukraine vs. France, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: France's balanced squad will be too much for an inferior Ukraine team that won't be able to keep French forwards Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery off the score sheet.

Prediction: Expect France to dominate this match by the score of 3-0.

England vs. Sweden, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: England will have to win this game and even though they don't respond well to pressure too often, I don't expect this game with Sweden to be difficult for the Three Lions. Sweden doesn't have enough firepower on the attack to beat England.

Prediction: England wins comfortably, 2-0.

Tuesday, June 19

England vs. Ukraine, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN

Preview: England will have to face a talented Ukraine team that will be in front of their hometown fans in the final group match, but the Three Lions will win because striker Wayne Rooney will be eligible following his two-match ban. Adding the world-class skill of Rooney will be the difference in this matchup.

Prediction: England wins, 3-0, with a Wayne Rooney goal.

France vs. Sweden, 2:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Preview: If France can stop Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, then they will win their third group stage match. France will need world-class goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to shine against Sweden and the rest of the group stage if they want to have success.

Prediction: France wins in an entertaining match, 2-1.

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