Euro 2012 Standings: Teams That Won't Continue Hot Starts

Getting off to a quick start in a major tournament like Euro 2012 can help an underdog team to greatly exceed expectations. It can also lead to disappointment if a squad isn't able to fully capitalize on that early momentum, however.

With that in mind, let's take a look at three teams that should feel good about their current position but won't be able to keep their hot streaks alive for the long haul. For a complete look at the current group stage standings, click here.

Croatia

Croatia made easy work of Ireland in the team's opening game, getting two goals from Mario Mandzukic in a 3-1 victory. Thanks to a draw between Italy and Spain, the Vatreni are all alone atop the Group C standings with three points.

They couldn't have scripted it any better. Unfortunately, Italy and Spain feature a lot more star power than Ireland and have offensive weapons that are more capable of exposing Croatia's lack of depth, especially along the back line.

Since the group favorites are likely to take care of business against Ireland as well, the Vatreni will still need to get a result against one of them to advance. That's a long shot.

Ukraine

Even though Ukraine didn't get much respect heading into the tournament, the co-hosts were able to use their home-field advantage to pick up a surprising win over Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden to take the Group D lead.

Just like Croatia, though, the Zbirna still have their two toughest opponents yet to come. France and England both played it safe when they faced off the in the opener and are still the top contenders to advance from the group.

While veteran Andriy Shevchenko showed he still has some goals left in his 35-year-old legs, Ukraine simply do not have enough talent to outlast the two longtime powerhouses.

Russia

Russia will enter its final group game against Greece with a great chance to advance, but the run will end there for the Sbornaya. Assuming they move on, the next matchup will be against one of the "Group of Death" survivors.

All four teams in that group would have had a good chance to win Group A. So, even though Russia is likely to finish atop the standings, it doesn't mean they're going to get an easy opponent in the quarterfinal round.

The Sbornaya have a lot of experienced players on the roster, so they shouldn't be rattled by the pressure. That said, talent usually finds a way to trump experience, as Russia will soon find out.