European Championship 2012: Contenders with Easiest Road to Quarterfinals

Group play is under way in Euro 2012, and some of the top teams in the tournament should have no problems advancing to the quarterfinals, thanks to favorable groupings.

Here are the teams that will undoubtedly have the easiest roads to the next round of the European Football Championship.

France

After an extremely disappointing end to the 2010 World Cup, France is looking to redeem itself with a strong showing at Euro 2012.

The French are part of Group D, which consists also of England, Sweden and Ukraine.

England is missing their best player, Wayne Rooney, thanks to a suspension for the first two matches of group play. England as a whole clearly isn't as good as they were in years past and won't be a major threat to Les Blues.

Sweden and host country Ukraine aren't nearly as strong as England, despite their diminished expectations. Both teams will be fighting to stay out of the bottom of Group D and certainly won't be challenging France at the top.

Spain

Don't let their opening-match tie with Italy fool you: Spain is still a great team and one of the favorites to win this tournament, after having won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. Italy simply overachieved, escaping with an even score and a point.

But besides Italy, there isn't much competition for the Spaniards.

While Croatia had an impressive showing in their opening match, it was against the Republic of Ireland, and a win against a team that hasn't seen this tournament in 24 years doesn't make Croatia contenders against Spain.

The Croats don't have the necessary talent to hang with Spain in a future match.

The tie with Italy is the worst Spain will do in group play, so expect the Spaniards to win their next two matches en route to the quarterfinals.

Germany

With Portugal and 2010 World Cup runner-up Netherlands without a win, Germany's victory already gives them a huge leg-up on their two stiffest forms of competition.

The Germans topped a tough Portugal team in the first match of the tourney, and after getting past the Portuguese, Germany will enjoy slightly easier matchups with the Dutch and Denmark.

Germany can even afford to tie one of their remaining matches if need be as long as they win the other. They are clearly the class of this group, and with their early advantage, Germany should have no problem getting through group play.