EURO 2012
GROUP A
Colin Cowan
Czech Republic
Squad: Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Jan Lastuvka (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk).
Defenders: Theodor Gebre Selassie (FC Slovan Liberec), Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin), Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen), David Limbersky (FC Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moskow).
Midfielders: Vladimir Darida (FC Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk), Petr Jiracek (VfL Wolfsburg), Daniel Kolar (FC Viktoria Plzen), Milan Petrzela (FC Viktoria Plzen), Vaclav Pilar (VfL Wolfsburg), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Frantisek Rajtoral (FC Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal).
Forwards: Milan Baros (Galatasaray), David Lafata (FK Jablonec), Tomas Necid (CSKA Moskow), Tomas Pekhart (FC Nurnberg), Jan Rezek (Anorthosis Famagusta)
How they qualified: The Czechs were in a group that included World Cup holders Spain. They also faced the tough challenge of Scotland and also faced Liechtenstein and Lithuania.
Both the Czechs and Scotland were fighting it out for second place and it came down to the game in Scotland between the two. The game finished in a controversial 2-2 draw after the Czech Republic were awarded a controversial penalty which led to their second goal.
The Czechs went on to finish second in the group and qualify for the play offs. Here they faced Montenegro for the chance to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals. After winning the first leg 2-0 which gave them a great chance of qualifying their qualification was confirmed as they won the second leg 1-0 meaning a 3-0 win on aggregate.
Key Player: Petr Cech: To have any chance they will need Cech to be on top form. He comes into the tournament in great form after winning the Champions League with his club side Chelsea at the end of the season. He will be key if the Czechs want to have any chance of qualifying from Group A.
My Prediction: I think that they'll struggle in this group. I can see them getting a result against Greece but feel they will struggle against both Russia and co-hosts Poland.
Czech Republic
Squad: Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Jan Lastuvka (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk).
Defenders: Theodor Gebre Selassie (FC Slovan Liberec), Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin), Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen), David Limbersky (FC Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moskow).
Midfielders: Vladimir Darida (FC Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk), Petr Jiracek (VfL Wolfsburg), Daniel Kolar (FC Viktoria Plzen), Milan Petrzela (FC Viktoria Plzen), Vaclav Pilar (VfL Wolfsburg), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Frantisek Rajtoral (FC Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal).
Forwards: Milan Baros (Galatasaray), David Lafata (FK Jablonec), Tomas Necid (CSKA Moskow), Tomas Pekhart (FC Nurnberg), Jan Rezek (Anorthosis Famagusta)
How they qualified: The Czechs were in a group that included World Cup holders Spain. They also faced the tough challenge of Scotland and also faced Liechtenstein and Lithuania.
Both the Czechs and Scotland were fighting it out for second place and it came down to the game in Scotland between the two. The game finished in a controversial 2-2 draw after the Czech Republic were awarded a controversial penalty which led to their second goal.
The Czechs went on to finish second in the group and qualify for the play offs. Here they faced Montenegro for the chance to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals. After winning the first leg 2-0 which gave them a great chance of qualifying their qualification was confirmed as they won the second leg 1-0 meaning a 3-0 win on aggregate.
Key Player: Petr Cech: To have any chance they will need Cech to be on top form. He comes into the tournament in great form after winning the Champions League with his club side Chelsea at the end of the season. He will be key if the Czechs want to have any chance of qualifying from Group A.
My Prediction: I think that they'll struggle in this group. I can see them getting a result against Greece but feel they will struggle against both Russia and co-hosts Poland.
Petr Cech; in good form. Just as well.
Greece
Squad: Goalkeepers: Costas Chalkias (PAOK), Michalis Sifakis (Aris), Alexandros Tzorvas (Palermo).
Defenders: Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Werder Bremen), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Jose Holebas (Olympiakos), Stelios Malezas (PAOK), Giorgos Tzavelas (Monaco), Yiannis Maniatis (Olympiakos), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Schalke).
Midfielders: Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Costas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Giorgos Fotakis (PAOK), Costas Fortounis (Kaiserslautern), Yiannis Fetfatzidis (Olympiakos), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Grigoris Makos (AEK Athens).
Forwards: Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Dimitris Salpigidis (PAOK), Costas Mitroglou (Atromitos), Nikos Lymberopoulos (AEK Athens), Fanis Gekas (Samsunspor).
How they qualified: In qualification Greece faced the tough task of facing Croatia in a group that also included Israel, Latvia, Georgia and Malta. The Greeks managed to top the group by two points finishing ahead of Croatia who they beat 2-0 in Athens, leading them to a top place finish and automatic qualification for the Euro 2012 tournament.
Key Player: Georgios Samaras: The Celtic striker will need to have a great tournament if Greece are to have any hope of qualification from this group. He had a good season with the Glasgow giants, winning the domestic league. If he can bring some of the form he had for Celtic to his national side then Greece have an outside chance of making it into the knockout stages.
My prediction: I personally cannot see Greece doing well in Euro 2012 but I would not be surprised if they managed to sneak into second place as they have a history of shocking people at major tournaments, most recently in Euro 2004 where they went on to win the tournament.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Costas Chalkias (PAOK), Michalis Sifakis (Aris), Alexandros Tzorvas (Palermo).
Defenders: Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Werder Bremen), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Jose Holebas (Olympiakos), Stelios Malezas (PAOK), Giorgos Tzavelas (Monaco), Yiannis Maniatis (Olympiakos), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Schalke).
Midfielders: Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Costas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Giorgos Fotakis (PAOK), Costas Fortounis (Kaiserslautern), Yiannis Fetfatzidis (Olympiakos), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Grigoris Makos (AEK Athens).
Forwards: Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Dimitris Salpigidis (PAOK), Costas Mitroglou (Atromitos), Nikos Lymberopoulos (AEK Athens), Fanis Gekas (Samsunspor).
How they qualified: In qualification Greece faced the tough task of facing Croatia in a group that also included Israel, Latvia, Georgia and Malta. The Greeks managed to top the group by two points finishing ahead of Croatia who they beat 2-0 in Athens, leading them to a top place finish and automatic qualification for the Euro 2012 tournament.
Key Player: Georgios Samaras: The Celtic striker will need to have a great tournament if Greece are to have any hope of qualification from this group. He had a good season with the Glasgow giants, winning the domestic league. If he can bring some of the form he had for Celtic to his national side then Greece have an outside chance of making it into the knockout stages.
My prediction: I personally cannot see Greece doing well in Euro 2012 but I would not be surprised if they managed to sneak into second place as they have a history of shocking people at major tournaments, most recently in Euro 2004 where they went on to win the tournament.
Greek tragedy for Georgios Samaras?
Poland
Squad: Goalkeepers: Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal), Przemyslaw Tyton (PSV Eindhoven)
Defenders: Sebastian Boenisch (Werder Breman), Marcin Kaminski (Lech Poznan), Damien Perquis (Sochaux), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw), Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan).
Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Dariusz Dudka (Auxerre), Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor), Adam Matuszczyk (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Adrian Mierzejewski (Trabzonspor), Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan), Ludovic Obraniak (Bordeaux), Eugen Polanski (FSV Mainz), Maciej Rybus (Terek Grozny), Rafal Wolski (Legia Warsaw).
Forwards: Pawel Brozek (Celtic), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Sobiech (Hannover 96)
How they qualified: As co-hosts along with Ukraine, Poland automatically qualified for Euro 2012. This is the first major tournament that Poland have been at since Euro 2008 where they exited the tournament at the group stages after defeats by Croatia and Germany.
Key Player: Robert Lewandowski: Lewandowski needs to show some of his club form for his national side to give Poland a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament.He has had an outstanding season for club side Borussia Dortmund, winning both the league and cup and on a personal note scoring thirty goals in all competitions. He has the ability to perform at the highest level for Dortmund but he needs to show he can do it for his national side. If he performs well then Poland have a great chance of qualifying from Group A.
My Prediction: I think that Poland have a great chance to make it into the knockout stages of Euro 2012. They have been given a group that gives them a great chance of qualifying from. I think the fact that they have the home support behind them will give them that extra push and can see them finishing second in the group.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal), Przemyslaw Tyton (PSV Eindhoven)
Defenders: Sebastian Boenisch (Werder Breman), Marcin Kaminski (Lech Poznan), Damien Perquis (Sochaux), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw), Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan).
Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Dariusz Dudka (Auxerre), Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor), Adam Matuszczyk (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Adrian Mierzejewski (Trabzonspor), Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan), Ludovic Obraniak (Bordeaux), Eugen Polanski (FSV Mainz), Maciej Rybus (Terek Grozny), Rafal Wolski (Legia Warsaw).
Forwards: Pawel Brozek (Celtic), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Sobiech (Hannover 96)
How they qualified: As co-hosts along with Ukraine, Poland automatically qualified for Euro 2012. This is the first major tournament that Poland have been at since Euro 2008 where they exited the tournament at the group stages after defeats by Croatia and Germany.
Key Player: Robert Lewandowski: Lewandowski needs to show some of his club form for his national side to give Poland a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament.He has had an outstanding season for club side Borussia Dortmund, winning both the league and cup and on a personal note scoring thirty goals in all competitions. He has the ability to perform at the highest level for Dortmund but he needs to show he can do it for his national side. If he performs well then Poland have a great chance of qualifying from Group A.
My Prediction: I think that Poland have a great chance to make it into the knockout stages of Euro 2012. They have been given a group that gives them a great chance of qualifying from. I think the fact that they have the home support behind them will give them that extra push and can see them finishing second in the group.
Robert Lewandowski...he's good.
Russia
Squad: Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg), Anton Shunin (Dynamo Moscow)
Defenders: Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexei Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Roman Sharonov (Rubin Kazan), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo Moscow), Kirill Nababkin (CSKA Moscow)
Midfielders: Igor Denisov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St Petersburg), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala), Alan Dzagoyev (CSKA Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Marat Izmailov (Sporting), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow)
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alexander Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham).
How they qualified: Russia in a group that included the Republic of Ireland, Armenia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Andorra. Russia topped the group by two points, confirming their place in the Euro 2012 finals. The vital win for Russia was away against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. The game ended in a 3-2 victory for the Russians and this was the victory that led to their qualification to the finals.
Key Player: Andrei Arshavin: Arshavin, who played the second half of the 2011/12 season on loan at Zenit St Petersburg, is vital if Russia want to make it to the business end of the tournament. He has the ability to change the game by himself as he has shown in his time with Arsenal. He needs to rediscover some of the form that he had when he first joined Arsenal and if he can do that Russia may be the dark horses for the European Championships in 2012.
My Prediction: I think that Russia will have no problem making it through this group. They will need to up their performance levels if they want to make it to the latter stages of the tournament though as they will be coming up against some tough opposition and I’m not sure that they have the ability to make it past the quarter final stage in this tournament.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg), Anton Shunin (Dynamo Moscow)
Defenders: Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexei Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Roman Sharonov (Rubin Kazan), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo Moscow), Kirill Nababkin (CSKA Moscow)
Midfielders: Igor Denisov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St Petersburg), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala), Alan Dzagoyev (CSKA Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Marat Izmailov (Sporting), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow)
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alexander Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham).
How they qualified: Russia in a group that included the Republic of Ireland, Armenia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Andorra. Russia topped the group by two points, confirming their place in the Euro 2012 finals. The vital win for Russia was away against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. The game ended in a 3-2 victory for the Russians and this was the victory that led to their qualification to the finals.
Key Player: Andrei Arshavin: Arshavin, who played the second half of the 2011/12 season on loan at Zenit St Petersburg, is vital if Russia want to make it to the business end of the tournament. He has the ability to change the game by himself as he has shown in his time with Arsenal. He needs to rediscover some of the form that he had when he first joined Arsenal and if he can do that Russia may be the dark horses for the European Championships in 2012.
My Prediction: I think that Russia will have no problem making it through this group. They will need to up their performance levels if they want to make it to the latter stages of the tournament though as they will be coming up against some tough opposition and I’m not sure that they have the ability to make it past the quarter final stage in this tournament.
Who wants an Arshavin?
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