Euro 2012 Bracket: Impressive Squads That Will Make Deep Runs

Italy, and Croatia and Germany all seem primed to make deep runs at Euro 2012.

It's a tough tournament where just one win or loss can completely change the tide, and early on we've already seen some impressive action in group play. This is where these sides can really line themselves up for success or failure.

Judging on what we've seen so far, let's break it down:

Italy

Starting the tournament off with a loss to the defending champions would have been acceptable, but Italy wanted no part in that scenario. While they didn't get the win, the Italian side looked very capable while keeping up with the No. 1 ranked team as they were able to force a 1-1 draw.

Gianluigi Buffon played solid in net per usual and Italy's passing was able to exploit Spain's defense and cause more than a few scares.

This squad is going to grow in confidence because of this game, and they didn't even play their best match. Mario Balotelli didn't exactly have his head in the game, but he showed a few flashes of how dangerous he can be on this stage.

If Italy pulls it together after getting this huge point, the sky will be the limit.

Croatia

Group B is considered to be the "group of death", but let's not underestimate how dangerous group C really is, and right now Croatia is the big leader. They won their match against Ireland 3-1 which puts them on top of Group C considering the draw from Italy and Spain earlier in the day.

What was so impressive about this win was the fact that Ireland came into this match as a very sound, fundamental, defensive team on a 14-match unbeaten streak, but Croatia was able to post three goals up on them.

They were rewarded with three points and the confidence of being on top of this group.

Germany

This German team has the skills to be very good, so it would be foolish not to predict them going very far in Euro 2012. They were able to shut down a very talented Portugal team off the strength of some incredible defense and world glass goalkeeping by Manuel Neuer.

If you can beat Portugal by just putting one goal on the board you are doing something right, so expect the Germans to continue their incredible defense moving forward.

The scoring should also pick up for Germany, and that's something that has to be a scary thought for the rest of the field at Euro 2012.