Would US Soccer Win at Euro 2012 Finals?

With the draw for next summer's Euro 2012 finals complete, a lot of us in the States had to wonder, "How would our Yanks do against the top competition in Europe?"

With a new manager looking to install a new system involving a lot of new players, the sad truth is that the team wouldn't get very far.

But let's just say, for the sake of fun, that the United States found themselves in the draw for the Euro 2012 finals. How would they realistically do?

For this experiment, I put the Americans into Pot 4—the weakest group of countries—and substituted them in where all other respective Pot 4 teams were drawn.

It sounds a bit complicated, but you'll see it's really not.

That said, let's go group by group and see how the United States would do had they qualified for the Euro 2012 finals.

Group A

Group A—Poland, Greece, Russia and the United States (instead of the Czech Republic)

This would be a dream scenario for the Yanks, as they'd go against a Polish team that wouldn't have qualified had they not been hosting, and a Greek team that has dropped off since the 2010 World Cup and struggled in qualification against mediocre Eastern European teams like Romania and Georgia.

I think the US could get an easy win against Poland and collect a draw against Greece—but only if the offense could match that of the high-scoring Greeks.

Russia would present the greatest challenge, but a draw would be a probable result because the Russians rely on defense. If the US adopted the Irish strategy and sat on the ball and let them do the same, the Yanks could salvage a point from this matchup.

That's five points in the opening round, which would likely be enough to move on with Russia to the quarterfinals and battle (i.e. lose) against Group B's Germany or the Netherlands.

If the US were drawn in Group A, I predict they'd be runners-up to Russia, make it out of group play and lose by at least three goals to their quarterfinal opponent.

Group B

Group B—The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and the United States (instead of Denmark)

Here would be what media pundits would call "The Group Of Death."

The United States might not even salvage a point in this group. All three of these European clubs know how to score and, quite frankly, the US team does not.

But there's a silver lining—US fans would get to see their Yanks go up against some of the best players in the world. And the team would be playing with nothing to lose. What if the world was watching as they shocked Portugal with a 3-2 win?

If the US was drawn in Group B, I predict they'd lose all three games. Sad, but true.

Group C

Group C—Spain, Italy, Croatia and the United States (instead of the Republic of Ireland)

Blast! I wanted to see the United States play my beloved Boys In Green!

Alas, the Republic of Ireland leaves Group C and so does any hope of a win in the group. Spain's roster depth is such that their second team could beat the Yanks' first team (just look at what happened in the game against Spain before last summer's Gold Cup).

The impenetrable wall that is Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon would give the US fits, and Croatia has one of the best collections of midfielders in the world—the US would be outplayed and outperformed for 90 minutes.

If the US was drawn in Group C, I predict the Americans would lose to Spain and Croatia, but perhaps collect a draw with Italy. They may have one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but the Azzurri rarely scored more than one goal in Euro 2012 qualifiers and showed weaknesses in a recent friendly with Uruguay.

Group D

Group D—England, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States (instead of France)

Like Group A, this is the only other place that the Yanks could likely make it out of group play and into the quarterfinals.

England has shown they are vulnerable as of late. With manager Fabio Capello leaving after next summer and the squad not able to put away inferior opposition in qualifiers, the United States might be able to score a win if they got an opening round matchup against the Three Lions. Ukraine, like Poland, only qualified for the tournament as a host and will likely be overwhelmed by their opponents.

The Swedes are the best of the second-tier countries (Portugal, England, Ireland, Croatia, etc.). They were in the same qualifying group as the Netherlands and were within three points of winning it, even defeating the Dutch at home.

If the US team was drawn in Group D, I predict the Americans would win over Ukraine (easily), draw with England and lose to Sweden. That's four points. Depending on goal differential, the Americans could make it out, but only as runners-up to Sweden. They'd then play the winner of Group C (most likely Spain) and lose in overwhelming fashion.