Germany vs. Greece: Why Germans Are Still Far from the Favorite to Win Euro 2012

Upon watching a convincing, 4-2 beatdown of Greece in the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 on Friday, I found myself internally crowning Germany as Euro 2012 champions while listening to ESPN's team of announcers proclaim their dominance not only on the pitch today, but in Europe.

We're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves, aren't we?

Did we forget about the team who won the last two major international titles, who is still around and is as dangerous as they've ever been? 

Sure, Spain, the defending World Cup and Euro champion, haven't won every one of their games in the tournament thanks to an improbable performance from Italy in their opening game. Maybe they haven't played up to the potential that we've come to expect, either. But they certainly aren't showing many signs of slowing down and will likely get past France.

So far, Germany's revolving line of attackers and strikers has paid dividends for them in their torching of the fields in Poland/Ukraine. There's no doubt that an even contribution from their team and not having to rely too much on one player's shoulders is an advantage in most situations.

But is it possible, once they run into a formidable defense, that the spread of wealth could end up hurting them? If they're going to win the European Championship, it's almost inevitable that there'll have to be a moment where their go-to player can score an all-important goal.

Who's the go-to guy? It's almost impossible for anybody, even head coach Joachim Low, to decipher that.

Germany may have gotten the best of Portugal in their tournament opener with a 1-0 victory, but Cristiano Ronaldo's squad may be the European team left standing that they fear the most. They were strapped for scoring opportunities during many moments of that match and Portugal gave up multiple scoring opportunities that usually would've made the net bulge. 

Who knows if the Germans even get past their semifinal foe? England and Italy will face off Sunday for the rights to face Germany, and neither will be an easy win. 

The return of Wayne Rooney proved to be all that the English needed to head into the quarterfinals rolling, and they proved along the way that their midfield-mindful and pass-heavy style can still pay dividends. They also showed that they can stay in a game that they're outmatched in when they drew France, which might be the most useful skill of all if they face the Germans. 

So next time you hear that Germany will win this year's European Championship, remember that nearly every team remaining is at the international powerhouse level that the Germans are and each have the ability to take home the title.