Euro 2012 Bracket: Contests That Will Separate the Strong from the Weak

With Group D the last group that needs to wrap up, it’s never too early to take a gander at the handful of bracket matches in the near future.

With these matchups come loads of predictions, favorites, and calls for upsets.

Despite calls for underdog victories and such, once teams get to bracket stage it’s almost a guarantee that the better team will emerge.  

Some teams are just better than others, plain and simple.

I understand the concept of teams gaining momentum and surprising performances, but some matchups are too difficult to overcome.

With that being said, let’s take a look at a few known and hypothesized matchups in which the distinction of strong and weak teams will be made. 

Quarterfinals: Germany vs. Greece

One quarterfinal matchup that we know for certain is the Group of Death winner and joint favorite Germany facing off with the textbook underdog in Greece.

While they did face Portugal, the Netherlands, and Denmark, the German team qualified for quarters in an efficient yet show-stopping fashion.

With a potential Golden Boot winner in Mario Gomez and sharpshooter Lukas Podolski playing inspired football of late, the German attack is absolutely loaded and set to take down any opponent in its path.

Also, not to be overlooked has been the midfield trio of Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, and Bastian Schweinsteiger that makes the team’s motor run.

These three world-class players have been dominating with their ability to gain possession of the ball and then set up a structured and lethal attack with crisp, concise passing.

Even though the Germans have played at such a high level, some people are giving Greece a glimmer of hope in this contest based on the way they played their hearts out in the group stage.

Greece had unlikely heroes come from guys like Dimitris Salpingidis and would like to see similar performances against the Germans.

However, I’m siding with most sane people and saying that Germany will dismantle the Greeks from the first whistle and will prove that they are an elite team as opposed to the weaker Greek side.

Quarterfinals: Italy vs. England

With Italy advancing to quarterfinals, the Azzurri will be playing the winner of Group D, who I believe will be Roy Hodgson’s England squad.

Let’s be honest here, Italy barely skated by with their qualification for the quarterfinals after this late goal by the Spanish that sent Croatia home.

Before the tournament started, the popular pick for a surprising run at the finals was the Italians. With experience in Cassano and Pirlo along with a potential world-class scorer in Mario Balotelli, the Azzurri looked like a solid sleeper pick.

However, their run in the tournament will be put to rest if they play England in the round of eight.

I like the veteran leadership in the midfield for Italy, but to put it simply their defensive backs are just too old and slow.

And while their defense wasn’t tested too much against the likes of Ireland, a resurgent and revitalized English team is a whole different animal.

With Theo Walcott expected to make an immediate impact if healthy and the return of Wayne Rooney, England should take care of Ukraine and be in great form heading into a matchup with Italy.

Even though the Italians are a well-disciplined and experienced bunch, the speed of Walcott and Ashley Young up front combined with the dominating skill of Rooney would be overwhelming for an old Italian defense if they would play each other. 

Quarterfinals: Czech Republic vs. Portugal

Portugal has been tested coming out of the Group of Death and are playing scary good football.

Even though the squads they've faced so far have been top-notch, the team they'll face in the quarters is easily of lesser pedigree compared to their former group mates.

However, the Czechs have seen team-jolting play from Vaclav Pilar and Milan Baros, and also own one of the world’s best goalkeepers in Chelsea man Petr Cech.

Despite the way the Czechs have played off late, they don’t have the firepower to keep up with a resurgent Portuguese side in a quarterfinal game.

If the Nani-Ronaldo connection can continue to click and the play of Raul Meireles and the midfield can control the game, beating the Czech Republic shouldn't be too much trouble.

And with that I'm predicting a Spain-Portugal semifinal matchup.

Semi-Finals: Spain vs. Portugal

In this matchup, we will see if this Portuguese team is for real as they'll have to beat the world's best team and defending Euro champs to go on to the finals.

We know that on paper Spain is stronger and I think that things will translate smoothly on the pitch.

I understand that Cristiano Ronaldo is finally playing up to his abilities this tournament and the team's defense led by Pepe and Fabio Coentrao persevered through the Group of Death as a cohesive unit.

However, Ronaldo can't carry their offense to the finals and the alternative attackers' inexperience will catch up to Portugal.

Also, a team that’s starting XI boasts footballers like Xavi, Iniesta, and Ramos are going to be favorites heading into the contest, and rightfully so.

Portugal is certainly a good team and deserves to have made it through group play and further, but Spain is in superb form and will prove to be the better side.