Euro 2012: Predicting the 10 Most Exciting Matchups

Following a few weeks' anticipation, the Euro 2012 Group Stage draw was finally made last Friday.

While it didn't end up throwing at us a cutthroat Group of Death as I had hoped, the four groups will feature some intriguing matchups in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

First, a recap of the final Group Stage draw:

Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic
Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal
Group C: Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia
Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England

Now, without further ado, the 10 most exciting matchups in the Euro 2012 Group Stage next June—and feel free to have your say below.

Poland vs. Czech Republic

Let's start off with a relatively less emphatic encounter.

The mini-rivalry between Poland and the Czech Republic dates from the days when Czechoslovakia still existed.

Poland secured their first big international victory after the Second World War when they beat Czechoslovakia, then one of Europe's strongest national teams, 3-1 in 1948.

Since then, they didn't enjoy many encounters of note, until Poland once again beat the Czechs in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. Unfortunately, the Poles didn't manage to secure entry into the World Cup finals.

As the two countries enjoy a close geographical proximity, and with Poland as one of the co-hosts next summer, expect a fiery encounter between Poland and the Czech Republic.

Greece vs. Czech Republic

A more recent rivalry here.

Perhaps the defining contest between Greece and the Czech Republic took place eight years ago in Portugal, during Euro 2004.

By the time Greece secured their place in the semifinals of the tournament after defeating France in the quarterfinals, the Czechs had beaten all their opponents in the run-in and, following the fall of other heavy favorites, had assumed the role of favorites in the latter stages of Euro 2004.

Greek defender Traianos Dellas had other thoughts, though. His silver goal header after 90 minutes of goalless action secured an unexpected final berth for the Greeks.

And, of course, the Greeks would go on to win the Euros that summer in an act that defied all pre-tournament hype.

Netherlands vs. Germany

Now we get to Group B, where some of the most fascinating matchups will take place.

Let's first start with the Netherlands and Germany.

Two of the most illustrious and famous national teams in history, these two share a rivalry that goes way back. Things started for real in the 1974 World Cup, where the Netherlands lost to then-West Germany 0-1 in the final.

The Dutch would come and bite back the Germans in 1988, when they secured a victory in the Euro 1988 semifinal, and went on to win the competition that year.

The two teams met again in the 1990 World Cup round of 16. In a fiery match best remembered for the spitting incident between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller, the Dutch lost 1-2.

A recent comprehensive friendly victory for the Germans means that this great rivalry has not lost its luster. Needless to say, we all look forward to one of the best matches on paper next June when the two greats meet again.

Netherlands vs. Portugal

Here are two teams with some of the most formidable attacking options on the planet.

In 2004, the Netherlands made it to the Euro semifinals, where they faced eventual runners-up Portugal and lost.

Two years later, one of the most hot-blooded World Cup matches ever took place between these two teams. Now nicknamed the Battle of Nuremberg, the second round match between the Dutch and the Portuguese finished with a goal to Luiz Felipe Scolari's men, and with eighteen men on the field at full-time. A record four red cards were shown, along with 16 yellow cards.

While no one will be looking forward to a battle to such proportions again, this will surely be one of the matches of the Group Stage next summer.

Germany vs. Portugal

Now onto the final permutation from the last two fixtures, and Germany and Portugal also share competitive recent history.

The 2006 World Cup third-place play-off pitted the Germans against the Portuguese. Jurgen Klinsmann's charges, having defied expectation to reach the semi-finals, met Portugal in the penultimate match of the tournament. Germany won 3-1.

They met again in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack ensured that the Germans would once again come on top, and they finished the tournament as runners-up, after a final defeat to Spain.

And now these two teams will meet in the Group Stages next June. That'll be plenty to look forward to.

Denmark vs. Germany

And we almost forgot about the final team in Group B.

Denmark won't be favorites to qualify from the group, but that doesn't mean they won't try to make it a tough task for the others.

One of the Danes' finest international achievements was their Euro 1992 final triumph over the Germans, who had finished as World Cup winners in 1990.

While this matchup won't make the adrenaline rush as thrilling as other Group B fixtures, Denmark-Germany will still be an interesting encounter.

Spain vs. Italy

The draw for Group C also threw out some tasty encounters, the biggest of which features two of the biggest international teams in Spain and Italy.

A match that some readers may recall is the thrilling quarterfinal between Spain and Italy in Euro 2008. Italy's famous defence held the gung-ho Spain to a goalless draw before Spain snatched a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over the Italians to advance to the semifinals. A subsequent clincher from Fernando Torres in the final ensured that Spain will be entering Euro 2012 as European Champions.

One of the finest attacking forces on their day, Spain will come up against a newly-reformed Italy team. Will the Spanish's tiki-taka style come out on top, or will Italy's tactical and defensive discipline?

Spain vs. Republic of Ireland

What captures the imagination more than a match between rank outsiders and tournament favorites?

Here's a famous past match involving Spain and the Republic of Ireland: the second round encounter in the 2002 World Cup. After Fernando Morientes scored an eighth-minute goal, Robbie Keane sent the Irish fans into delirium with a last-gasp equalizer.

Unfortunately for the Boys in Green, their dreams of a quarterfinal slot were dashed after Spain beat them in the subsequent penalty shootout. And the Spanish would go on to be defeated on penalties themselves by South Korea in the quarterfinals.

I picked this matchup to feature in a potential Group of Death because I tipped Ireland to make a right go of it. Now that this has happened, we should all look forward to a heroic performance from Giovanni Trapattoni's men.

And who knows? Maybe a giant-killing act might just happen.

Italy vs. Republic of Ireland

The same can perhaps be said of Italy vs. Ireland, except maybe not to such an extent.

Ireland caused one of the biggest shocks in the world footballing arena when they beat Italy in the opening match of the 1994 World Cup, hosted in Italy. Of course, Italy wouldn't be deterred as they ended up reaching the final, but here was an eye-catching result from the Irish.

In June 2011, some 17 years later, the Irish ended a record-equalling unbeaten run by the Italians by beating them 2-0 in Belgium.

And with Giovanni Trapattoni getting a chance to claim one over his home country, this will be a fascinating duel in the exciting Group C.

France vs. England

And finally, my last pick: Group D's France vs. England.

In an otherwise not-too-exciting Group D, France will face England in the group's first matchup next June.

While the traditional rivalry between France and England may perhaps never go away, this particular match may give England a chance to avenge its injury-time defeat against France in the Group Stages of Euro 2004 eight years ago.

Remember how that went? Frank Lampard headed home a David Beckham free-kick to give England the lead, but Beckham went on to have a penalty saved by Fabien Barthez. And the rest, so they say, is history, as Zinedine Zidane coverted a last-gasp free-kick and penalty to give France all three points.

Add in the number of French players currently facing up against their English counterparts in the Premier League, and you have all the ingredients for a fascinating encounter once again between two of Europe's fallen giants.

What about you? What matchups are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below!