Poland
Home nation Poland are the first of four in a tricky Group A. Led by their German title winning superstars Jakub Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski, the Poles stand a reasonable chance of progressing through to the knock out stages. Their opening match against Euro 2004 Champions Greece is a crucial fixture. If the home fans in Warsaw can rally behind their troops, a win could prove vital in going further in this competition.
Key Player - Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski scored 22 goals in 34 games for Borussia Dortmund in their Championship winning season. If he can produce that type of scoring record throughout the group stages, he poses their biggest threat.
Prediction - 2nd
With the home support getting behind them, the Polish side should have enough quality in their squad to get the 3 points against Greece in game one and build from there.
Greece
Euro 2004 winners Greece will need to summon the miracle of eight years ago if they're to progress to the latter stages this time around. They will, as always, draw inspiration from their legendary captain Giorgos Karagounis, who has been capped 117 times and is serving in his 14th year as a national team player. Their final group match against Russia will be an important one, as it could decide who goes through in Group A.
Key Player - Vassilis Torossidis
The 26-year-old right back plays an important role for the Greeks. He's very influential buzzing up and down the flank, with the defensive aspect to his game just as important. The Greeks will need his creativity from the back if they're to qualify from this group.
Prediction - 3rd
There's no obvious stand outs from Group A, however I think Greece will have a difficult time in qualifying for the knock out stage of this competition. It's not beyond them, but they'll need to exceed expectations to get out of this tough group.
Russia
Dick Advocaat's Russia is packed with quality, and should be favourite's to progress on top from Group A. Looking through their squad, it's hard to find a weakness. Igor Akinfeev is one of the best goalkeepers in the world on his day, their defence is strong and well built, their midfield is tricky and creative and their forwards are led by captain Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Pavel Pogrebnyak, all of which have proven their quality in the English Premier League.
Key Player - Andrei Arshavin
The captain of Russia, it all comes down to him. He can play a role both in midfield and up front, and needs to get some consistency back into his game for Russia to meet their expectations. It's the perfect stage for him to prove his doubter's wrong, and if he can, a spot in the knock out stages awaits.
Prediction - 1st
Russia are my surprise packets for Euro 2012. I think they'll qualify top of Group A, and could potentially become giant-killers as this competition wears on.
Czech Republic
The Czech's received a huge boost prior to this tournament, with captain Tomas Rosicky proving his fitness and keeping his place in the squad, however it's going to be an uphill battle for them to get out of this group. Scoring will be the biggest problem for the Czech's, with their top scorer in the qualifying stage being defender Michal Kadlec, with 4 goals.
Key Player - Petr Cech
If they're not a side that scores too many goals, they'll rely heavily on Chelsea keeper Petr Cech. The veteran shot stopper will need to be at his best if the Czech's are going to go anywhere in this group.
Prediction - 4th
Unfortunately, I can't see the Czech's progressing from Group A. It's a tricky group to navigate, and I think they'll find it very difficult to grab a win.
No comments:
Post a Comment