Euro 2012 Predictions: Czech Republic and Nations with No Hope of Advancing

One of the best things about the Euro 2012 tournament is that almost anything can happen, but sometimes it is obvious when a team doesn't stand a chance. There is so much talent in the tourney that there are a few teams that are bound to be left in the dust. While every squad will give maximum effort, it won't matter for some of them.

Every group is laden with a great deal of talent, but there has to be a team in each of them that simply doesn't measure up. It doesn't mean that those squads will be easy outs by any means, but when it is all said and done, they won't be playing more than three matches in this tournament.

Here are three teams that have no hope of advancing out of the group stage and continuing their pursuit of a Euro 2012 title.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic entered Euro 2012 with high expectations, but after being throttled 4-1 by Russia in its opening match, I can't envision any scenario in which the Czechs move on. They are already buried behind the Russians in Group A, plus Greece and Poland played to a tie. Perhaps if the Czech Republic beats both Greece and Poland it will be able to move on, but based on how porous the Czech defense looked against Russia, that seems impossible.

While you would think that the Czechs could stay in any match with Petr Cech in goal, he didn't receive any support vs. Russia and may not for the remainder of the tournament. Neither Greece nor Poland are incredible squads by any means, but they play good defense and are opportunistic, so one of them will succeed in eliminating the Czech Republic.

Ireland

Ireland was already facing an uphill climb when it qualified for Euro 2012, but it didn't get any favors with regards to its group placement. The Irish will have to deal with the defending World Cup and Euro champions in Spain, as well as tough squads in the form of Croatia and Italy. Ireland is clearly fourth out of those teams in terms of talent, and with Spain an overwhelming favorite to advance, Ireland will have to beat out both Croatia and Italy.

Italy is on the downside a bit, but the Italians still have enough talent to outlast Ireland, particularly if striker Mario Balotelli is on his game. Also, Croatia doesn't receive much publicity, but the Croatians play an extremely good team game and rarely lose their shape. With that said, Ireland will have to at least come away with a win and a draw in its matches against those two teams and that seems highly unlikely.

Ukraine

If not for the fact that it is one of the host countries, I'm not sure that Ukraine would have even qualified for Euro 2012. The Ukrainians have made it, though, and they will have to play with incredible efficiency to move on. Ukraine is stuck with two perennial powers in England and France, as well as a Swedish squad that could sneak out of the group stage. Both England and France have been susceptible to upsets in recent years, but neither should have much trouble with Ukraine.

Beating Sweden is an absolute must for Ukraine, but I highly doubt that will happen. If Ukraine somehow pulls off the upset, though, it will need at least a tie against one of the group favorites. Ukraine caught a bit of bad luck in terms of scheduling, because while English forward Wayne Rooney will miss the team's first two games, he will be back in time to face Ukraine. The odds are stacked against the host nation and the team won't be able to overcome them.

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