Euro 2012 Playoffs: Bold Predictions for the 4 Showdowns
The draw is set. The teams are ready.
Now it's time to wait—and predict.
The eight teams in the Euro 2012 playoffs learned their assignments today at a draw in Krakow, Poland. The four playoff pairings will be decided by aggregate goals over two legs.
The first legs will be held November 11-12, with the return legs November 15.
Winners qualify for next summer's final 16-team tournament, which will be held in Poland and then Ukraine from June 8 to July 1, 2012.
Here is the full draw with seeded teams on the right. Seeded teams play the second leg at home, which is considered an advantage.
Turkey vs. Croatia
Estonia vs. Republic of Ireland
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Portugal
Czech Republic vs. Montenegro
Follow me into the slideshow to get my bold predictions for each tie.
Turkey over Croatia
1 of 4Pairing: Turkey vs. Croatia
Who wins: Turkey
Why: Turkey was a semifinalist in Euro 2008, as well as World Cup 2002. It beat Croatia in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals.
Turkey has experience in the playoffs. It beat Ireland in the playoffs for Euro 2000, and Austria in World Cup 2002 qualifiers. It lost to Latvia in the 2004 playoffs and Switzerland in the 2006 playoffs.
But most importantly, Guus Hiddink is Turkey's manager. The Dutch genius does everything right in World Football. In 2008, he led Russia to the European semifinals. In 2002, he led South Korea to the World Cup semis.
Now it's Turkey's turn.
Hiddink is a master tactician and motivator. He will get the most out of Turkey's squad.
Ireland over Estonia
2 of 4Pairing: Estonia vs. Republic of Ireland
Who wins: Ireland
Why: Ireland won't win because it's easy. This is going to be a struggle.
Estonia has never qualified for a major tournament—Euros or World Cup—but played well to beat out World Cup qualifiers Serbia and Slovenia in Group C play. This is not a team to be taken lightly, even if it did lose to Faroe Islands in June.
Ireland, meanwhile, could be without Robbie Keane after the 31-year-old aggravated a muscular tear by playing the full 90 minutes last week against tiny Andorra.
Kevin Doyle will miss the first leg through suspension.
Still, Ireland should have enough quality to go through.
Montenegro over Czech Republic
3 of 4Pairing: Czech Republic vs. Montenegro
Who wins: Montenegro
Why: Montenegro is the seeded team, but Czech Republic will be the favorite. Every playoff needs an upset, and this will be it.
The Czech's generally played below standard in qualifying, and sneaked in on the last day thanks to a big win over Lithuania and a Scotland loss to Spain. The squad is aging, and is in need of an overhaul.
Montenegro gave England trouble both times they played, earning a pair of draws. Led by Stevan Jovetic, this is an up-and-coming team.
Portugal over Bosnia and Herzegovina
4 of 4Pairing: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Portugal
Who wins: Portugal
Why: I would have liked Bosnia against just about anyone else in the draw, but Portugal will prove too tough an assignment.
Bosnia finished second in Group D qualifying just behind France. It came within about 12 minutes of qualifying automatically until France scored a late equalizer.
Still, Portugal has too much quality despite underachieving in qualifying. Cristiano Ronaldo is always a threat, while the squad has other dangerous options in guys like Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida.
This could be a very close pairing, though.
