Euro 2012

• like_that

  

  Didn't see a thread, figured I woul get this going since the tournament is 9 days away. Can't wait. Any predictions. This is who i see getting out of each group:
  
  Group A: Poland and Russia. The host country typically gets a boost.
  
  Group B: Germany and Netherlands. Tough group with portugal as well, but Germany seems to be an automatic semifinal team in international tournaments lately, and netherlands is the WC runner up.
  
  Group C: Spain and Italy. Italy has some good young talent, and their coach actually isn't too stubborn to play them this time around.
  
  Group D: Ukraine and Sweeden. Ukraine gets the "host boost" and mainly France and England can go fuck themselves.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Turkey fights off the fact they didn't qualify, and win the EURO championship
• gorocks99

  

  Group A: Czech Republic and Poland
  Group B: Germany and Netherlands
  Group C: Spain and Italy
  Group D: Sweden and England
  
  Group C, I could see Croatia or Ireland making it out in place of Italy. I don't think the Italians have been playing particularly well as of late (maybe they're just not playing the right guys, I don't know).
  
  Also, Group B will be stupendous.
  
  Here's the schedule for the first set of games (all games on ESPN):
  
  Friday, June 8:
  Poland v Greece, Noon ET
  Russia v Czech Republic, 2:45 ET
  
  Saturday, June 9:
  Netherlands v Denmark, Noon ET
  Germany v Portugal, 2:45 ET
  
  Sunday, June 10:
  Spain v Italy, Noon ET
  Ireland v Croatia, 2:45 ET
  
  Monday, June 11:
  France v England, Noon ET
  Ukraine v Sweden, 2:45 ET
• Iliketurtles

  

  Group A: Czech Republic and Poland
  Group B: Germany and Netherlands
  Group C: Spain and Ireland
  Group D: Sweden and England
  
  Group B will be amazing to watch.
• sportchampps

  I'll Take Germany or Spain to win it all with a strong lean on Spain winning it all. The Euros always seem crazy though with teams like Greece pulling off some upsets. I cant wait for the best international tourney outside the WC.
• like_that

  

  Iliketurtles;1183861 wrote:Group A: Czech Republic and Poland
  Group B: Germany and Netherlands
  Group C: Spain and Ireland
  Group D: Sweden and England
  
  Group B will be amazing to watch.

  Group C will be pretty fun to watch as well. Italy beat Spain in a friendly last time they played, and Italy/Ireland have gone at it with eachother over the past 4 years now.
• like_that

  

  sportchampps;1183862 wrote:I'll Take Germany or Spain to win it all with a strong lean on Spain winning it all. The Euros always seem crazy though with teams like Greece pulling off some upsets. I cant wait for the best international tourney outside the WC.

  Def a great summer for sports. You have the Euro Cup, then the Olympics to follow right after.
  
  Some might argue that the Euro Cup is actually a tougher tournament than the World Cup.
• Commander of Awesome

  

  I just don't see Italy coming out of group c. My guess is they're upset.
• like_that

  

  Commander of Awesome;1183867 wrote:I just don't see Italy coming out of group c. My guess is they're upset.

  It really wouldn't be considered an "upset" as Spain is the returning world/euro champs, and Ireland and Italy have played some tough games.
  
  Who do you see coming out of the other groups and why?
• gorocks99

  

  like_that;1183865 wrote:Some might argue that the Euro Cup is actually a tougher tournament than the World Cup.

  They'd probably be right. Top-to-bottom, the caliber of teams in Euro is better than the caliber of teams in the WC. Sure, you're missing top CONMEBOL teams like Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, but you're also missing middle-of-the-pack/lower class teams like any team from CONCACAF, Asia, Africa, Oceania. The worst team in Euro (outside of the host countries this year) is still a top-25 team in the world. The worst in the WC is probably top 75, at best.
  
  That's not to say I prefer Euro over the WC. I think there's something more special about the WC and enjoy watching it more (the US participation notwithstanding).
• like_that

  

  gorocks99;1183872 wrote:They'd probably be right. Top-to-bottom, the caliber of teams in Euro is better than the caliber of teams in the WC. Sure, you're missing top CONMEBOL teams like Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, but you're also missing middle-of-the-pack/lower class teams like any team from CONCACAF, Asia, Africa, Oceania. The worst team in Euro (outside of the host countries this year) is still a top-25 team in the world. The worst in the WC is probably top 75, at best.
  
  That's not to say I prefer Euro over the WC. I think there's something more special about the WC and enjoy watching it more (the US participation notwithstanding).

  Exactly, there really aren't any gimmie games at the Euro Cup.
• Laley23

  

  Ill take:
  
  Group Stage
  1. Russia
  2. Greece
  
  1. Germany
  2. Netherlands
  
  1. Spain
  2. Ireland
  
  1. England
  2. Sweden
  
  Quarterfinals
  Netherlands over Russia
  Germany over Greece
  
  Spain over Sweden
  Ireland over England
  
  Semifinals
  Netherlands over Germany (revenge from group stage)
  Spain over Ireland
  
  Final
  Spain over Netherlands (no revenge this time)
  
  I really dont think Spain will win it again, but in my scenario, I dont see anyone beating them. I think Germany would, but I think they fall before they play. Basically, I dont know who will beat them, so I didnt pick it. But I think someone upsets them.
• Mulva

  

  90% sure teams in the same group wouldn't meet again until the final.
  
  A: Russia and Poland
  B: Germany and Netherlands
  C: Spain and Italy
  D: France and Ukraine
  
  Quarters:
  
  Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France
  
  Semis:
  
  Netherlands, Germany
  
  Champ:
  
  Germany
• gorocks99

  

  Mulva;1184091 wrote:90% sure teams in the same group wouldn't meet again until the final.

  I believe you are correct.
  
  QF1: Winner A vs. Runner-up B
  QF2: Winner B vs. Runner-up A
  QF3: Winner C vs. Runner-up D
  QF4: Winner D vs. Runner-up C
  
  SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF3
  SF2: Winner QF2 vs. Winner QF4
• hoops23

  

  Can't wait. The Euro is right there with the WC for me. Two of my favorite sporting events period
  
  Group Play
  Group A
  Russia
  Greece
  
  Group B
  Germany
  Netherlands
  
  Group C
  Spain
  Ireland (Complete "homer" pick.. have a lot of Irish blood/roots; I think Italy advances in this spot realistically)
  
  Group D
  England
  Sweden
  
  Quarters
  Netherlands over Russia
  Germany over Greece
  Spain over Sweden
  England over Ireland (revenge win)
  
  Semis
  Netherlands over Germany
  England over Spain (I think Spain is the best team in the Euros, but for some reason I think they lose before the championship)
  
  Final
  Netherlands over England
  
  
  
  BTW, anybody with FIFA '12 buy the Euro expansion? I'm glad they decided to release it as DLC instead of a new $60 game.. I may download it tonight. Think it's $20?
• NilesPacMan

  Group A: Russia and Czech Republic
  Group B: Germany and Netherlands
  Group C: Spain and Croatia
  Group D: England and France
  
  Quarters
  Germany over Czech Republic
  Netherlands over Russia
  Croatia over England
  Spain over France
  
  Semis
  Germany over Croatia
  Netherlands over Spain
  
  Final
  Germany over Netherlands
  
  
  I think that in the previous Euro, the Spain/Russia semi was a re-match from the group stage, so I'm pretty sure they changed it so that a re-match only happens again in the Final.
  
  Also, I do think that Germany/Spain are the most talented here; I just think Spain gets upset en-route to the final. Also, I think that England/France take their array of talent out of Group D, but France gets beat by a superior squad in Spain and England gets upset by the Croats to knock both out in the quarters.
• Laley23

  

  Fucking ESPN and their brackets. Made it kinda confusing. But I am an idiot and didnt read close. They have eliminated the re-match for this year, before the final.
• Automatik

  

  Can't wait for this!!!
  
  Link to the fixtures in EST.
  http://www.beteuro2012.org/fixtures/euro-2012-fixtures-schedules-est-eastern-standard-time.php
  
  
  3 matches I'm looking forward to this weekend.
  
  Netherlands / Denmark
  Germany / Portugal
  Spain / Italy
  
  I'd like to see Holland win it all, but I'm pulling for DK in that game. I have a ton of friends in Copenhagen and they are getting fired up despite being put in the 'group of death.' I don't think they have a shot in hell to make it out.....or even win a game. They do have a rising young star...Christian Eriksen. He's 20 and currently playing for Ajax. He's a solid player for his age and former Danish player of the year. I expect him to make a move in the near future to a bigger club.
  
  Spain/Italy.... I hope Spain wins 6-nil.
• killer_ewok

  

  Looking forward to it. This will be my first time watching/following the Euro.
• Automatik

  

  The last one was amazing and my first. Some of the craziest finishes/outcomes in a tourney I've ever seen.
  
  I'm not sure it even got much coverage before that? I definitely can't remember ESPN ever covering it.
• like_that

  

  Automatik;1189445 wrote:The last one was amazing and my first. Some of the craziest finishes/outcomes in a tourney I've ever seen.
  
  I'm not sure it even got much coverage before that? I definitely can't remember ESPN ever covering it.

  
  Last one definitely had a shit ton of crazy outcomes. Turkey alone had 3 games end with last minute goals.
• Ironman92

  

  like_that;1183830 wrote:Didn't see a thread, figured I woul get this going since the tournament is 9 days away. Can't wait. Any predictions. This is who i see getting out of each group:
  
  Group A: Poland and Russia. The host country typically gets a boost.
  
  Group B: Germany and Netherlands. Tough group with portugal as well, but Germany seems to be an automatic semifinal team in international tournaments lately, and netherlands is the WC runner up.
  
  Group C: Spain and Italy. Italy has some good young talent, and their coach actually isn't too stubborn to play them this time around.
  
  Group D: Ukraine and Sweeden. Ukraine gets the "host boost" and mainly France and England can go fuck themselves.

  
  My grandparents used to listen to German Folk Music. I will root for Germany! That's how I roll! Lol
  
  Seriously....who is the favorite in all this? Don't know crap about soccer other than the basic gym class benchmarks and standards.
• hoops23

  

  like_that;1189448 wrote:Last one definitely had a shit ton of crazy outcomes. Turkey alone had 3 games end with last minute goals.

  Yep, I remember S&L going ape shit multiple times over the Turkish club and their finishes. They had a great run.
• Automatik

  

  Ironman92;1189449 wrote:My grandparents used to listen to German Folk Music. I will root for Germany! That's how I roll! Lol
  
  Seriously....who is the favorite in all this? Don't know crap about soccer other than the basic gym class benchmarks and standards.

  I would go with Spain, Germany, Netherlands in that order, but anything can happen. Greece won in '04 and according to my coworker (from Greece) it was one of the luckiest runs ever.
  
  Russia also had a hell of a run in the last one. It was Arshavin's coming out party and the reason I was so stoked when he came to Arsenal. Too bad he's a bum.
• chicago510

  

  Hoping the Germans can get over the hump this year. They have a loaded roster, but haven't been able to get by Spain when it counts.