Euro 2012 draw

[RedAnarchist]

Euro 2012 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, France, Sweden, England

Out of Group A, I see Greece and the Czechs going through to the next round. B looks tough for Denmark, but I see the Netherlands going through and one of the other three. Whilst I would have liked England to play Ireland, they are in C, a very tough group for them, but I think if they play well enough they could go through. However, I think it will be Spain and Italy going through. Group D, I think England might make it, and I see Sweden or Ukraine going through as well.

I think we could see a repeat of last year's World Cup final.

[Arm Cathartha na hÉireann]

Ireland do have a very tough group, but it should be very enjoyable. You can never tell what your going to get with Italy and Croatia in the major tornaments, so not all doom and gloom for Ireland, one good result could seem them pushing for second.

As for England its a tough group, no Rooney aswell. France should be a force to be reckoned with but wheather they turn up is another thing all together. Sweden and Ukraine will be no pushovers either, especially with home support behind Ukraine. Wouldnt be suprised to see England miss out in this group.

Netherlands vs Germany should be an epic match! Both two very technially gifted sides.

[bricolage]

So close to the group of debt...

[Nox]

Can't wait until North Korea owns everyone in the next world cup.

[Triple A]

My dear Portugal wont get through the first stage :crying:

[socialistjustin]

Ireland will beat out Italy for the second spot in group C. Hopefully Duff and Keane can do well in what could be their final major tournament.

England will get by without Rooney, but France wins the group. If France can get good football out of the young players then they could win the tournament.

Group B is tucking amazing. Who cares who comes out of the group, it will be fun to watch either way.

Group A will probably have Russia and the Czechs come out of it. Russia did well last time and seem to have the same players so they could win the group.

[Triple A]

Ireland will beat out Italy for the second spot in group C. Hopefully Duff and Keane can do well in what could be their final major tournament.

England will get by without Rooney, but France wins the group. If France can get good football out of the young players then they could win the tournament.

Group B is tucking amazing. Who cares who comes out of the group, it will be fun to watch either way.

Group A will probably have Russia and the Czechs come out of it. Russia did well last time and seem to have the same players so they could win the group.


Where have you been?
Making it this far is a victory for France.

[brigadista]

thought this was about the lottery:wub:

[Tifosi]

A - Poland and Russia

B - Netherlands and Germany

C - Spain and Croatia

D - England and Ukraine

[Manic Impressive]

good group for England terrible group for Ireland. I guess it's good that Spain will be tested hard early in the tournament. Germany v.s. Netherlands will be a good one. Of course there'll be lots of love between Poland and Russia as well, that should make for an interesting match.

[socialistjustin]

Where have you been?
Making it this far is a victory for France.

No it isn't. They won their qualifying group and don't seem to have the problems they had at the world cup. Blanc is a good manager who did great things at Bourdeaux and players like Remy and M'Vila are quality young players which have added to the talented squad they had.

I know they had a horrible world cup, but they seem to have gotten past that and with guys like Ribery and Nasri in your squad you are always going to have a chance to win the tournament.

[ZeroNowhere]

Ireland didn't exactly get the best of the draw, but hopefully they can manage to make it through somehow. If they did so at the expense of Spain, that would be hilarious. Still, there's quite a few teams that could win this, and the final will probably ultimately depend on which teams underperform and when.

[Sam_b]

Looking forward to getting raging at commentators with their poor pronunciation of Czech names.

[Prismane]

Spain could have some problems if Puyol does not stay healthy because he's been one of the world's best defenders. Since Spain's World Cup victory, I've hardly seen Puyol play anymore because of injuries. If Puyol had to miss the Euros, I can't see a good enough replacement for him. Ramos has filled in for him, but I think it's a waste to play him as a centre-back because he contributes so much as as an attacking right-back. With Villa getting injured and Torres' poor form, Spain have problems with their strike force.

It'd be interesting to see what kind of line-up Holland goes with. I'd say they have the world's two best center-forwards right now with Van Persie and Huntelaar. It would be madness to leave Huntelaar on the bench given his amazing goal-scoring rates. Huntelaar should be the lone striker with V. Persie and Robben on the wings. In the midfield, they'll probably go with Van Bommel and De Jong to compensate for their bad defense, but I think it's wasted to leave van der Vaart on the bench.

England has strengths in some areas - Wilshere is one of the world's best players his age and has a bright future ahead of him. Main problem with England is that their strike force consists of a bunch of clowns who belong in the mid-table: Darren Bent, Ashley Young, Walcott, Lennon, Agbonglahore, Defoe are all mediocre, unskilled players.

I've seen France play lately, and they have a lot of quality, promising players. Mexes for me is one of the world's best defenders and is a natural leader for the team. Gourcuff is an amazing talent, and hopefully he'll return to top form and get more international success now that thugs like Anelka, etc are gone. I've been very impressed by the striker Olivier Giroud, who's doing major damage in the French league.