Euro Cup 2012 Draw: 5 Young Studs Whose Club Careers Could Take Off

Euromania is just a few months away from kickoff.

The groups have been drawn. The stadiums are ready—well, almost ready. All roads, even the unfinished ones, lead to Poland and Ukraine.

Questions and storylines abound:

• Will Poland and Ukraine be successful as Eastern Europe's first host of a major international football tournament?
• Is Group A unfairly soft?
• Has there ever been a nastier Group of Death in international competition than this year's Group B?
• Can los campeones become the first team to sandwich a World Cup title with two Euro Championships?

Much will be written in prediction of these matters.

As exciting as the actual results of tournaments like the European Championship, World Cup and Confederations Cup are the individual performances that help put up-and-coming stars on the club map.

Think Thomas Muller and Mesut Özil in World Cup 2010, Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko in Euro 2008 or Franck Ribéry in World Cup 2006.

So who has a chance to take their club career to the next level with a superb showing in Poland and/or Ukraine this summer?

Nikola Kalinić, Croatia

The 23-year-old Croatian forward has been in the club circuit since 2005, breaking in at the ripe age of 17.

Already in his seventh club season, though just his third outside of his native country, Kalinić has a stellar 45 goals in 123 appearances. He has yet to feature for a top club, currently playing for FC Dnipro in Ukraine after falling out of favor with Premier League side Blackburn.

Kalinić's side features in Group D along with England, Sweden and France, possibly the second-most difficult of the four depending on who you ask.

Most analysts are split on the capability of Les Bleus to regain form after their World Cup fallout two summers ago and England will most likely be without Wayne Rooney in the group stage.

In just 12 caps for the national side Kalinić has netted four goals.

This is a perfect chance for Kalinić to show he belongs on a bigger stage than the Ukrainian Premier League if he can help Croatia make some noise.

Martin Olsson, Sweden

Martin Olsson is certainly not under the radar, joining Blackburn Rovers in 2007 and emerging as a key defender/midfielder in 2009. But Blackburn has never finished higher than seventh in the Premier League table during his tenure.

Olsson was only called up to the Swedish side in May 2010, but has four goals in his seven appearances. Like Kalinić and the Croatians, Olsson's side can make some noise in an even Group D.

Quality defenders—especially one as versatile moving up the field as Olsson—fetch a premium. and he could be valuable to a top European club.

André Schürrle, Germany

Germany is absolutely loaded up top.

With Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller, Germany are not hurting for goals.

In fact, Germany netted more goals in qualifying (34) than every team except the freaky-deaky Dutch.

Andre Schurrle only makes coach Joachim Low's lineup decisions harder.

Schurrle, currently playing for Bayer Leverkusen, is only 21 years old and already has 28 goals for both club and country. Three of those tallies came in just 173 minutes of playing time during this Euro qualifying campaign.

Schurrle will not be starting behind all of Germany's stud strikers, but rest assured he will be brought on in late-game situations if Die Mannschaft finds itself in need of a goal, and is ready to show the world that he can produce when the pressure is high.

Robert Lewandowski, Poland

Co-host Poland probably does not deserve to be in this tournament based on talent, being ranked 66th in the FIFA world rankings.

But if there is a player on the squad that does deserve to be on the field with all the other European talent, it's Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski is on fire this season at Borussia Dortmund, scorching Bundesliga opponents for 14 goals in all competitions in just 22 games.

His international track record is solid as well, netting 13 goals in 39 games since 2008.

If there is one guy who can help prove that Poland belongs among the big guys, and that he belongs at one of the top clubs in Europe, it's Robert Lewandowski.

Christian Eriksen, Denmark

Christian Eriksen is well on his way to stardom, already having been linked to Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea in the transfer tabloids.

And he is only 19.

Eriksen has been proving his worth for Dutch side Ajax since joining moving up to the first team in 2009, and became the youngest international to score a goal in European qualifiers when Denmark beat Iceland in June.

Among other accolades, Eriksen is the second-youngest player to score a goal in UEFA Champions League this year, and was named Danish Footballer of the Year in November.

A solid showing in the disastrous Group of Death with Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal could do much to solidify a high-paying transfer to a Barcelona or a Manchester United.