The European 2012 Championships are drawing ever nearer and it’s that time of year where we can look and speculate as to how we think the competition will pan out. Read further for our personal Euro 2012 predictions and click here for our Euro 2012 betting guide.
With many of the top European nations all competing for coveted crown of champions, the 2012 competition looks set to be one of the most hotly contested tournaments for years. With 7 European nations currently occupying the world’s top ten ranked countries, European football has seldom been stronger than it is today.
Spain are the world number ones and will be hot favourites come kick off in the summer of 2012. They are simply head and shoulders above everyone at the minute and have a squad depth rivalled by very few. We feel the Spanish will be the team to beat this year and fully expect them to go and lift the crown.
Over the last 5 years German football has seen a massive revival and turnaround in fortunes. After being ranked as low 22 in March 2006, they now find themselves in 3rd position and with a very young and promising side. It will be no surprise to see this German team reach the final of the competition, but will likely not be a strong enough force to overcome that of the Spanish.
The Netherlands have been a potent threat in all major championships over the past decade or so. They are a team that no one wants to meet late on the championships as they will pose a menace to even the very best in the world. They are but still without a major international title to their name however, which suggests that come the big games, their star studded line ups fail to perform. The 2012 competition could see them go on to glory, but we feel there are teams in the competition that will pose a larger threat than the Dutch. We predict a semi final outing for the Netherlands.
Somehow, England finds themselves ranked at number four in the world. The English have been a far from convincing international outfit for years and more often than not, have failed in the big competitions after promising qualifying campaigns. There’s no doubt that they poses the players and support to do well in major championships, which make it even more of a conundrum as to why they have not won more than they have. We feel the English can mount a serious charge in this year’s competition; however we feel a semi final place is as far as they will go. It’s not a team we will ever put far ahead in our predictions for Euro 2012 or any other tournament.
Italy has had a relatively tough time in international football as of late which has seen them slip to 14th in the World in 2010. They now lie in 6th position and their return to form has been a one that is raising a few eyebrows on the international circuit. The success and prestige that the Italians have provided over the years looks to finally to be getting back on track after a rather baron spell since their World Cup triumph in 2006. The Euro 2012 championship may come a little too soon to see a 180 degree turnaround, but a battling quarterfinal place is highly achievable and that’s our prediction.
Similarly to Italy, France has struggled after being so dominant in world football in recent history. Their world rankings slumped as low as 27th in the world, which is as low as they have been since 1993. The farce that was the 2010 World Cup seems to be behind them after they failed to even qualify from the group stages. With big names retiring, they have been forced to bring young blood through quicker than they may have anticipated, but if anything, it seems to have given them a fresh approach to international football. Many are suggesting that France may not even make it out of the group stages for Euro 2012, but this is a World Cup and Euro Cup winning nation here and we feel they will be too strong not to qualify. We predict a quarter finals place is on the cards for the French.
Making up the final quarter final spot is that of the Portuguese, another major footballing nation that is amazingly without an international title to their name. An astonishing fact when you consider that Portugal poses some of the biggest names in world football. For years Portugal has been a team that have massively underperformed. If you look back throughout the years and see some of the phenomenal footballers that have played for them, it’s an astonishing fact. It’s tough to see that they will fair any better in 2012 after a scratchy at best qualifying campaign. A quarter final place is the best they can hope from Euro 2012.
Surprise Packages
You can normally guarantee that there will be a surprise package at major championships and this usually guarantees some good odds. Greece did it in 2004, storming to their first international honours, but who will do it in 2012?
This year we have opted for two teams in our Euro 2012 predictions, Sweden and Russia. Both are now well established footballing nations with a host of each squad playing at the highest level domestically around the world. The teams are ranked 17th and 19th respectively and will be teams that no nation will want to play at any stage of the competition.
What could let both teams down is their lack of experience late on in major championships. On the other hand, they both have to push on at some point and 2012 could well be that year. There’s no doubt that both teams will have to play out of their skins if they are wanting to progress to the knockout stages and beyond. But they both teams have individual players that are match winners, something even the bigger nations lack.
Host Nations
For the Ukraine and Poland, the Euro 2012 competition could prove to be a bridge too far and we’re not betting much on them. Both teams will have to work exceptionally hard to just qualify from the group stages, but with home support behind them, anything could happen.
Ukraine are now the stronger nation of the two after Poland have seen a landslide like slip in the world rankings from being a top 20 team to a low of 67th. Ukraine fair little better and are currently at 42nd in the world but are on the rise in international football.
You have to think that if either team make it out of the group stages of Euro 2012 then this will be a remarkable feat for either nation. Let’s hope for the good of the competition, that at least one of them does and the support of a nation can spur one of these teams onto a memorable European Championship.
