European Championships: Can England Win Euro 2012?

The European Championships, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, kick off in a little over nine months' time.

Although England haven't yet qualified for the tournament, this week's qualifiers should see Fabio Capello's charges seal their invitation to Eastern Europe's premier party next summer.

But even with qualification nearly assured, (England currently sit in first place in Group G with one game remaining on their docket, six points clear of Montenegro, who have a game in hand) the English media will soon launch into a new question after Friday's match against Montenegro: can England win Euro 2012?

Well, of course they can. Whether they will is an entirely different question altogether.

As a proud Scotsman, I'd like to see nothing more than England getting destroyed 5-0 in every single match, but in reality, this won't happen. England are far too good a side for that to occur.

England certainly have the quality to sustain a run to the final, but whether this squad of undoubtedly talented players can gel remains to be seen.

The Three Lions didn't even qualify for the last European Championships in 2008 after an abysmal qualifying campaign under the reign of "the Wally with the Brolly" Steve McClaren, culminating in a 3-2 home defeat to Croatia in late 2007.

Euro 2004 had seen the emergence of an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney who led his country through the group stages, and would go on to score four goals in the competition. But an injury to the then-Evertonian (he would sign for Manchester United in September of that year) in the quarter-finals sealed England's exit from competition as they crashed out to Portugal on penalties.

The current squad boasts world-class players, such as the aforementioned Rooney, but also has a new crop of youngsters coming through. Come next summer, the likes of Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Danny Wellbeck (Manchester United), Jack Rodwell (Everton) and (Ashley) Young could play crucial roles.

This immensely talented generation comes on the heels of one of England's greatest, headlined by aging stars Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, and Frank Lampard. We've already seen France struggle to integrate generations (Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010); can England avoid a similar fate?

However, although England have almost qualified for Euro 2012, they have coughed and spluttered their way there.

Capello's men recorded a 1-0 win over Wales at Wembley last month, but it was a tepid display in which Robbie Earnshaw spurned the chance of an equaliser by firing over the bar from two yards out.

Previous group results, including two home draws to Montenegro and Switzerland, have hardly inspired confidence amongst the fans either.

Fabio Capello, reportedly on a £6m-per-year salary, has stated that he will leave his post following Euro 2012. The Italian will not go down as an all-time great manager of the national side, but next summer's European Championships will be his last chance to write his name into the annals of English football.

Capello's last outing at an international tournament did not go well, as his side drew with both USA and Algeria before scraping a result against Slovenia and then crashing out to Germany 4-1 in the knockout stages.

The pressure will be on the veteran coach to deliver this time round.

The potential opposition for England at the Euros will also determine how successful the side are.

Realistically, England could face a tough group a lá Euro 2008 Group C, when Italy, Spain and France were drawn in the same group together.

With Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain already qualified, a difficult group is not out of the question - and this could lead to England being unceremoniously dumped out of the competition at an early stage.

So, in conclusion—can England win Euro 2012? Yes, they can.

But will they?

Although the tournament is not for another nine months, at this moment in time, I'd have to say a definitive no.

However, come June next year, millions of England supporters will believe that their side will be the ones holding the trophy aloft in Kiev on July 1st.