Euro Cup 2012 Draw: Group-by-Group Guide to Poland and Ukraine Next Summer

Friday December 2nd, 2011 saw the wait and anticipation for the 2012 UEFA European Championship draw come to a close.

The results saw some teams get lucky; however other nations will be scratching their heads as to how they ended up with such a tough result.

Host nations Poland and the Ukraine both received draws that they will hope to take advantage of as each avoided the Group of Death, which has turned out to be possibly one of hardest groups in European Championship history.

Lets take a look at where the 16 teams qualified for the 2012 UEFA European Championship have been placed after another great levitated draw.

Group A

Clearly the easiest group of the tournament is the first one completed on the docket. Host nation Poland takes the first seat in the group followed by Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic. All four teams are ranked out of the top 10 in FIFA's Coca-Cola World Rankings. 

Russia comes in the the highest at 12th, Greece 14th, Czech Republic at 33rd and Poland the lowest at 66th in the world.

While the group is made up of the majority of the lower-ranking teams in the tournament, it should make for some great open play.

Czech Republic is most likely the sleeper to take second but Greece and Russia will be expected to take the spots in the quarterfinals.

Poland—The host nation got lucky with a weak group but they are still likely to be knocked out. The Poles will look back to their form in the nation's September 6, 2011 friendly with Germany, which they drew 2-2 thanks to a late German goal, as inspiration for the first round.

Greece—Known for their defensive style of play that helped them win the 2004 European Championship, the Grecian army returns to the biggest competition in UEFA once again this summer. Ironically they are grouped with Russia who were one of the teams that helped usher them out of the group stage in 2008.

Russia—The Bears made a great run in the 2008 Euros thanks to brilliant play from Andrei Arshavin and others in their squad. Both Arshavin alongside Roman Pavlyuchenko and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov are expected to be the key players for the team.

Czech Republic—The Czechs could be a surprise team to take a second-place finish in the group. Milan Baros was the Euro 2004 Golden Boot winner and is one of the most feared international strikers in his nation's history. Midfielder Tomas Rosicky as well as goalkeeper Petr Cech are the other big players expected to make a huge difference for their nation.

Projected Winners—Russia and Czech Republic

The SPI Odds: Russia—63.4 percent, Poland—55.7 percent, Czech—54 percent, Greece—28.0 percent

Group B: The Group of Death

In most cases the term "Group of Death" is enough to signify a hotly contested group, but Group B of the 2012 UEFA European Championships beats all I have seen. All four nations are ranked in the top eight of UEFA and the top 11 in the world. Three of them in the top five of UEFA.

The Netherlands were the 2010 World Cup Runners-Up and will be favored with their current world ranking still in second place behind Spain. Germany were third in the 2010 World Cup while Portugal are ranked seventh in the world and Denmark 11th.

Netherlands—The Oranje made a quicker exit than they wanted to in the 2008 competition thanks to Russia, who scored two goals in the last eight minutes of extra time to send the eventual 2010 World Cup runners-up packing.

This summer is a long way away but if Robin van Persie carries his form over to the national stage he could carry his nation to the final on his back alone.

Denmark—The Danes are the lowest-ranked nation in the group at 11th in the world. That speaks volumes about what they will have to overcome. Daniel Agger of Liverpool will captain his side from the back line but is sure to make all the effort to contribute at both ends.

Young 19-year-old Christian Erikson is expected to make a huge contribution in the midfield, while Nicklas Bendtner will have to be the goal work horse for his nation.

Germany—Die Mannschaft are one of the most consistent national teams in the last 10 years when it comes to international competitions.

Their recent exploits include 2002 FIFA World Cup Runners-up, 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place, 2008 UEFA European Championship Runners-up, and most recently 2010 FIFA World Cup Third Place.

Polish-born Lucas Podolski is expected to be a major contributor as always.

Portugal—The Navigators were eliminated from the 2008 European Championship knockout stage by Germany. Needless to say the Portuguese will want to avoid that once again but have more than just their enemies in the group to contend with.

Projected Winners—Netherlands and Germany

The SPI Odds: Germany—78.6 percent, Netherlands—57.2% percent, Portugal—55.3 percent, Denmark—9.0 percent

Group C

Ireland were drawn with three nations in the top 10 FIFA rankings of the world. The luck of the Irish will either continue to pay off or it will end with an early elimination from the tournament as Robbie Keane and company thoroughly deserve to have a chance at a Cinderella run for an international cup.

Group C is almost guaranteed to see Spain take the group, but the other three teams could beat each other up and is up for grabs for all three. Ireland truly have a better chance than many may believe to take second place in the group.

Spain—Spain come into the group as the World and UEFA No. 1-ranked nation, and are defending World Cup Champions from 2010 and returning European Champions from 2008.

Fernando Torres was their savior against Germany four years ago, but is not looking to play spoiler at the moment with his continued dip in form.

Italy—Italy won the 2006 World Cup and have fought back to ninth in the world rankings after a disappointing 2008 Euros and 2010 World Cup. The Azzurri are not favored to advance, and could once again be set for a toothless dismissal if they do not come out of the gates tough.

Ireland—Ireland should have been in the 2010 World Cup but were denied by France, have fought tooth and nail to get into the European Championships and could be a magnificent storyline to follow next summer.

Croatia—The Blazers finished fifth in the 2008 European Championships on the back of massive performances from now world-known players like Luka Modric. Croatia have great success to look back on as they won their group over Germany four years ago.

Projected Winners—Spain and Croatia

The SPI Odds: Spain—89.7 percent, Croatia—49.5 percent, Italy—35.9 percent, Ireland—24.9 percent

Group D

Second host nation Ukraine were drawn in a group that they truly have a chance of taking a result from. England will be the heavy favorites as long as they don't shoot themselves in the foot, while France and Sweden are wild cards in the last few years.

Ukraine—The hosts have a team made up of basically a hybrid version of Dynamo Kyiv with a little of Shakhtar Donetsk mixed in.

Sweden—The Blue-Yellow have a national team with perhaps the most club teams represented in their top 23 players, as only two pairs of players are club teammates outside of the national team.

Sweden won their group in the 2004 Euros only to be eliminated by the Netherlands on penalties. They were in Group D of the 2008 Euros but where knocked out in the group stage.

France—France are coming off 12 years of frustration with their 2000 European Championship trophy being the last time they brought home any silverware as a nation. The 2006 World Cup loss to Italy was the last time they were anywhere close.

England—The Three Lions are possibly the most overrated chokers in international football.

The teams they have sent to major competitions in the last 12 years have been outstanding, but have failed to get a sniff at any silverware. Wayne Rooney's match ban could help them or hinder them as the national team know they must find a way to get some results.

Projected Winners—England and Sweden

The SPI Odds: England—71.9 percent, Sweden—46.1 percent, Ukraine—43.7 percent, France—38.4 percent

Conclusion

This coming summer's UEFA European Championship competition has the chance to be one of the best ever, and will hopefully do justice to its reputation, since the nations will contest it for the last time with only 16 teams in the competition.

Group A will be wide open as will the lower half of Group C as teams like Ireland and Poland look to make their presence felt in the tournament. The Group of Death is most certainly Group B and will be the most difficult to call, while Group D is another that has a tough call because no one knows which England National Team will show up.

All in all I cannot wait for this summer's action to get underway.

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