Euro 2012 preview

So the time for talking is nearly over as Euro 2012 begins on Friday. According to FIFA's world rankings, seven of the top ten teams in the world will be there so it is not going to be easy for anyone. There are almost two 'groups of death', and it is certainly quite tricky to try and pick who will get to the knockout stages. 

Will this be England's starting XI?

From an English point of view things could have been easier; having a new manager installed the month before the tournament with only a couple of weeks and two games to prepare is hardly ideal. And injuries and suspensions to key players won't help either. To say English optimism is at an all time low would be a huge under-estimation. That said, England might not have been at their best in the first two games, but if they can somehow win their next six games 1-0, England will be European champions on the 1st July. At the moment it is not pretty, but it is functional and we're winning; and winning breeds confidence which in turn would bring a more attractive style of football.  Whoever wins the tournament will not have had an easy ride for sure. The easiest group may be perceived to be Group A, but all the teams in this group are quite evenly matched so even though they're probably not being talked about as winners, it won't be easy for them either. 

One upside for whoever does make it to the quarter-finals is that Groups B and C look incredibly difficult to get out of, and it could well come down to goal difference as to who makes it through. If things go wrong (or right!) in the groups we could see two of the fancied teams going home early. Spain and Holland will be favourites with Germany not too far behind, and after that it is anybody's game really; particularly with Portugal, Czech Republic and Italy losing the weekend before the tournament. 

Future European champions?

I am going to stick my neck out now, and say I think Holland will win the tournament. Why? They won 10 qualifiers in a row, and only lost their last game to Sweden when they were safe. They are likely to start with Robin van Persie who has been electric all year, and if he needs a rest they have Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to come off the bench and he's been pretty handy as well. As well as this, these two will be ably assisted by Wesley Schneider, Arjen Robben, Rafa Van der Vaart, Ibrahim Affelay etc etc! 


Until now I had been quite underwhelmed, but with five days to go I am starting to get excited, almost irrespective of what happens with England. There is something special about tournament football that strikes a chord and I can't wait! I will be there at five o'clock on Friday supporting Greece v Poland (those who know me will know why) and hoping that the tournament can be a festival of football as it is meant to be. 

SPORT SHORTS

British athlete Mo Farrah made his intentions clear as he ran the fastest time (12m 56.98s) in the world this year over 5000m. He says he intends to concentrate on the 10,000m in London as it is run first, but surely there is not much better preparation than winning races. 


Kevin Pietersen 'retired' from international limited overs cricket this week, and will now only feature in the test team for England. It seems like he wanted to pick and choose when he played for England, and this was something that the ECB wouldn't stand for and rightly so. He might be missed in the beginning, but there will be another big-hitting superstar along soon enough; no player can be bigger than the team. 

Red Bull Racing F1 team have been told this week that they must make changes to the floors under their cars to make them compliant with regulations. Team principal had been adamant that his cars were compliant when asked on several occasions previously, but maybe change won't be a bad thing. Despite Mark Webber's win in Monaco, this season doesn't come close to the success RBR have had in the last couple of years.

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