England will have a lot to prove in Euro 2012 after getting hammered 4-1 in the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and not even qualifying for the European Championships in 2008. As usual, they’ll be one of the favoured teams in this tournament and are hoping to make it to the finals this time. The best finish they had in a Euro event came back in 1996 when they hosted it and lost in the semi finals to Germany in a penalty shootout. Germany then went on to win the trophy.
Fabio Capello led his team to an undefeated record in Group G in the qualifying tournament as England topped the group with five wins and three draws. However he is no longer with them after quitting dramatically just a few months before the tournaments. We will see if that can actually be a good thing. Their 18 points was six better than runner-up Montenegro. The team’s scoring was shared equally in the qualifying round with Ashley Young, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent, and Wayne Rooney each scoring three goals and Adam Johnson chipping in with a pair.
However Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney will have to sit out the first two games of Euro 2012 Group D against France and Sweden due to a red card he picked up in England’s final qualifying match against Montenegro. Capello has some young strikers he could call up, such as Daniel Sturridge of Chelsea and Danny Welbeck of Man United.
The team looks strong enough in goal as long as Joe Hart of Manchester City can stay healthy and duplicate his league form. Hart earned five clean sheets in England’s eight qualifying games. John Terry was stripped of the team’s captaincy by the English FA, which was formed back in 1863, in early February and it’s believed that Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard may be given the armband for Euro 2012.
The Three Lions, as England are known, have played in 13 World Cup tournaments over the years as well as seven European Championships., However, they’ve also failed to qualify for the Euros on five occasions. Their best finish in the World Cup came in 1966 when they won the trophy at home after beating West Germany in extra time by a score of 4-2. Along with losing in the Euro 1996 semi finals to Germany, their previous best finish was third place in 1968.
England is ranked fifth in the World by FIFA as of February. Overall, England has played in 23 Euro tournament games with seven wins, seven draws and nine losses. They’ve scored 31 goals and allowed 28.
England Euro 2012 Group D Schedule
Monday 11th June: France v England, 18.00CET, Donetsk
Friday 15 June: Sweden v England, 20.45CET, Kyiv
Tuesday 19th June: England v Ukraine, 20.45CET, Donetsk
England’s chances in Euro 2012
Overall, England has played France 27 times and has beaten them in 15 of them while drawing four and losing eight. They’ve played Sweden 22 times with seven wins, nine draws and six losses and have played Ukraine four times with three wins and a loss. England has struggled over the years with Sweden and France has improved over the past couple of decades. Ukraine’s a host nation, so things are going to be tough. They can only afford one loss in the group as long as they win the other two games. They should do enough to advance to the second round.
As of March 2012, England has six wins and three draws in their last nine overall matches.
William Hill as the current Euro odds of England winning Group D at 6/4.
