Euro 2012: Why the Smart Money Is on Germany Winning the Tournament

The smart money is on Germany to win Euro 2012.

Granted, the Germans have been tipped as second favorites by most bookmakers and pundits, and at William Hill, Joachim Löw's team has 3-1 odds to lift the trophy.

So it's not like Germany will sneak up on anyone this summer. But still, the smart money is on them for good reason.

Mostly because they're going to win it.

The reasons are almost too numerous to count.

First, there's Germany's front line, the best in the tournament. The Germans will play fast, flowing, attacking football, and few opponents will have the personnel to stop it.

Löw is blessed with an abundance of attacking options, led by the superb creative midfielder Mesut Özil, who has a good chance of being named the player of the tournament.

The names read like an all-star team: World Cup 2010 Golden Boot winner Thomas Müller, World Cup 2006 Golden Boot winner Miroslav Klose (who is also the joint second-leading goalscorer in World Cup history), Lukas Podolski, Mario Gomez, Mario Götze, André Schürrle, Marco Reus and Toni Kroos.

The list goes on for so long that there simply isn't room for everybody in the starting lineup. With such quality throughout the squad, the German bench must be considered among the best in the tournament.

Behind the impressive front line, the Germans have a world-class keeper in Manuel Neuer and a talented, experienced captain in full-back Philipp Lahm.

Ahead of the defenders, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira form one of Europe's top holding midfield partnerships.

Placed in Group B, this tournament's so-called "Group of Death," Germany will face a stiff test just to reach the knockout stage. That could either help or hurt, but with such a deep squad, it's probably the former.

Two years ago, Löw brought a team consisting of mostly the same players to the World Cup in South Africa. In 2010, they were considered young and inexperienced, not ready to challenge for honors.

But they stormed to the semifinals before losing to Spain, the eventual champions.

Two years later, those young and inexperienced kids have evolved into world-class players, and now they're ready to prove it.

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