Zwei Minuten - 25 June

Ja! My first 2 Minutes in over a month and a special one covering what's been happening in the EUROs - since it's been raining and wet.

EURO 2012 - Business End (of Group Stages)!

My first 2 Minutes from Europe! I told you they'll be a bit rare at this stage. But since I've found a bit of spare time, thought I'd give my thoughts on the Euros so far - and it has been heaven being able to watch all the games at the reasonable hours of 6pm and 8:45pm - other than yesterday's games due to the massive thunderstorm in Donetsk yesterday which delayed the Ukraine v France game.

So we know:
Ireland are definitely out of the Euros.

Sweden and the Netherlands are on the verge of being out of the Euros.

Germany are pretty much through to the next round and will only miss out if the mathematical improbability occurs.

It's going to be one heck of a dogfight for the quarterfinal places this weekend.

It's been a pretty good tournament so far. We've had no goalless draws, plenty of goals and quite a few results and thrillers and vodka shots consumed - England's game against Sweden was probably the best game of the tournament so far although Germany v Netherlands and Portugal v Denmark were pretty good too.

England have looked better than people have given them credit for. The Germans and Spanish look as good as we thought they might be while the Dutch have definitely been the disappointment of the tournament so far.

And yes, the atmosphere has been good in Poland as far as I can see even though Krakow for some strange reason is not hosting any games despite having two of Polands biggest clubs, Wisla and Cracowia. 

Anyway my tips are
Germany, Russia, France and Spain to finish top of their groups. Portugal, Poland, England and Italy to join them in the next round. 

EURO 2012 Preview - Group D

With all the domestic leagues in Europe just about finished and this being an even numbered year, it means there's more football to come in the Northern summer.

This time it's the turn of the European Football Championships - or the Euros as we like to call them - and again it'll be hosted in two countries; this time it's the two former Eastern bloc neighbours, Poland and the Ukraine.

It looks set to be the biggest Euros yet in terms of following and money. Qualification saw little upsets and all the traditional giants like Germany, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, France & of course the champions, Spain, made it through to the Finals.

It means all groups are highly competitive with sides like Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, the Czechs, etc. capable of an upset or two to knock one of the fancied sides out.

Group D
The second toughest group at this year's Euros with the hosts, Ukraine battling for a spot in the quarterfinals with traditional powers, England and France, and the capable Swedes.

France
Make no bones about it. This is a different French team from the one that performed so disastrously at the 2010 World Cup. The national team has had a huge makeover from coach to players to the kit - France and Nike have signed the biggest sponsorship deal for a national team kit ever.

The French have always had the flair and this side is no different with Samir Nasri, Frank Ribery and Hatem ben Arfa having all been electric this season for their clubs. In the centre of the park, will coach Laurent Blanc pick the impressive Yohan Cabaye over the established but out-of-form Yoann Gourcuff? At the back, Roma's Phillippe Mexes should start but will he be partnered with Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny or Valencia's Adil Rami? Whoever the pair will be, Hugo Lloris will definitely be behind them in goal.

France's qualifying results have been fairly impressive and one wonders if they are back to the form that saw them win the 1998 World Cup and EURO 2000? Whatever the case, France should make it out of Group D, and I'd go as far and say that they'll win it and possibly be a semifinal contender.

France to win group, play Italy in the quarterfinals, but lose to Germany in the semifinals.


England

What to say about England, who go into this tournament with the lowest expectations ever in the nation's history? To say the Three Lions' build-up to the Euros has been chaotic is an understatement summed up in three names: Capello, Rooney, Hodgson.

To be fair though, England still have a squad that on paper, is talented and capable of being European champion. After all, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry, etc. play with some of the greatest players in the world in the greatest football league of them all. Then there's an exciting crop of players who are just emerging and ready to play for the country for the next 10 years or so, i.e. John Hart, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, etc.

Perhaps now that Hodgson is at the helm that this apparently "average" England side could actually cause a surprise. It'll take a monumental effort though, having stupidly based themselves in Krakow despite playing all their pool games in the Ukraine. That'll definitely be picked apart by the pack of wolves that is the English media should England fulfill expectations and exit the tournament early.

Let's not forget too that England should have drawn 2-all with Germany in their round of 16 match in South Africa having been 2-nil down so early in the game but for a blindspot by the linesman. Yes they probably would still have lost to the mighty Germans but it just shows that England aren't quite as bad as people made them out to be even if they are still downright dull.

I'm gonna back the English here under Woy. They'll finish 2nd in the group but lose to Spain in the quarterfinals.

Ukraine

What to make of Ukraine. Like Russia, they have struggled for consistency since the breakup of the USSR and it is a bit of a surprise that it took till 2006 for the Ukraine to qualify for their first major tournament. They were a bit anonymous then but made the quarterfinals where they lost to Italy. Since then, they've been close in qualifying but have always just missed out.

Without the pressure of qualifying for EURO 2012, the Ukraine have had time to work on building a squad that will perform respectably at home. 35-year-old Andriy Shevchenko is still around to lead the squad, and will probably bring the curtain on his illustrious career after the tournament. Anatoliy Tymoshuk is probably the best Ukrainian playing beyond Ukraine and Russia, being a key member of Bayern Munich's squad.

Controversy over former PM, Yulia Tymoshenko has overshadowed Ukraine's preparations for EURO 2012

It is hard to predict how this team will perform - they will be tough to beat at home but probably won't quite have the quality of the Germans, Dutch & Spanish to really be a factor at this tournament. Having said that, a quarterfinals appearance is easily attainable and the public will be expecting nothing less. But can they?

Ukraine to just miss out. Don't think they quite have the quality of the French and English.


Sweden
Ah the Swedes. Their blonde haired fans have always caught the eye even when their football hasn't.

One thing's for sure, Sweden will not fear England when they meet even in the post-Eriksson era. Sweden's record against England is exceptional and they have been a thorn in the Three Lions side over the years.

The other thing for sure is that Sweden do have one of the best strikers in the world at the moment in captain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic is backed up by former Bolton striker, Johan Elmander. There are also names familiar to Premier League fans, i.e. Blackburn's Olsson twins, West Brom's Jonas Olsson, Sunderland's Seb Larsson and former Aston Villa captain, Olof Mellberg.

It is a solid, steady side but one that is unlikely to wow the world at this tournament. They are very much a contender for a quarterfinals spot in this group but I think will lose out on quality. Which is a shame as they will have some of the hottest fans at this tournament.

Sweden to miss out and finish 4th - nothing to be ashamed of though given it is the Euros.

So my tip: France 1st, England 2nd, Ukraine and Sweden to miss out.

EURO 2012 Preview - Group C

With all the domestic leagues in Europe just about finished and this being an even numbered year, it means there's more football to come in the Northern summer.

This time it's the turn of the European Football Championships - or the Euros as we like to call them - and again it'll be hosted in two countries; this time it's the two former Eastern bloc neighbours, Poland and the Ukraine.

It looks set to be the biggest Euros yet in terms of following and money. Qualification saw little upsets and all the traditional giants like Germany, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, France & of course the champions, Spain, made it through to the Finals.

It means all groups are highly competitive with sides like Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, the Czechs, etc. capable of an upset or two to knock one of the fancied sides out.

Group C
A tough group for the Irish and Croats but with the fragile Italians there, there is every chance of an upset here.

Spain

Raging hot favourites for obvious reasons - they are the reigning World and European champions and their domestic football is top of the world at the moment, and most importantly, it's still very much the same side that emerged victorious in Vienna and Johannesburg. Coach Vicente del Bosque is also still there and ready to guide the Spanish to an unprecedented treble.

However, question marks have been raised in recent months. Real Madrid and Barcelona, undoubtedly the two best club sides in the world with much of the starting XI for the Spanish, were beaten in their Champions League semifinals to Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively, and looked lethargic towards the end of a very long and gruelling campaign. However, lethargy aside, both sides looked like they had been figured out by the opposition. Whether the players are saving up for their shot at national glory remains to be seen.

But they've been dealt a blow with the injury to inspirational defender, Carles Puyol. He is a huge blow in my opinion, just for his experience and versatility at the back. He is easily the best defender in Europe up there with the greats like Cannavaro and Deschamps and I wonder if his loss could be just like the All Blacks losing Richie McCaw for the Rugby World Cup. Yes Gerard Pique or Sergio Ramos will fill the gap left by Puyol but there is more to that than just filling the gap.

Nevertheless, the rest of the team should still be quite sound with the Barcelona trio of Xavi, Iniesta & Serge Busquets likely to fill the midfield and supported by the highly talented Cesc Fabregas, Juan Mata & David Silva. Strikers could be an issue with David Villa having been out for so long, could del Bosque contemplate following Guardiola and playing Fabregas or Mata up front?

They should make it out of their group easily and make it to the Final, but I wonder if it may be time that one of the contenders will emerge to beat them - I'm tipping Germany this time as surely it must be Jogi Loew's time.

Italy

What to make of the former world champions of 2006? Italy have always been the sleeping giants of world football who seem to wake up every 24 years for the World Cup but have never really taken to the Euros apart from that final in 2000. They have always had the players although it has to be said that the class of 2012 may not be one of the best despite waltzing through the qualifying rounds.

Having said that, there is plenty of experience in the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Daniele de Rossi and Antonio de Natale. Then there's the enigma called Mario Balotelli who is more likely to implode in the next few weeks than Mount Vesuvius.

At the same time though, Italian football is not necessarily at its best right now with the once mighty Serie A now behind the Bundesliga, La Liga and Premier League, and Italians not really at the forefront of the European club transfer window.

In their azure blue, they will be tough opposition for the Spanish but I wonder if their outdated philosophy on football of catenaccio will be torn apart by the Spanish's lovely possession football.

Possibly runners-up in the group and a 50-50 quarterfinal against either France or the Ukraine.

Croatia

Croatia are a bit of an enigma in international football. Some might even say they are the serial underperformers of European football despite having so many talented players playing for big clubs like Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric, Niko Krancjar, Ivica Olic & Nikica Jelavic.

Should Italy or Spain slip up, Croatia may be in the best position to take advantage but it is often they who slip up and there is little sign to suggest that their mental state of mind has improved at big tournaments. In fact, at the last Euros, they conceded a killer last minute goal to Turkey in extra time and thereafter fell apart in the penalty shootout. And they missed out on the World Cup thereafter.

All talent, but will miss out on the quarterfinals.

Republic of Ireland

The phrase "the luck of the Irish" will make its return to a major tournament after the Irish bulldozed Estonia in the playoffs. That luck appears to have deserted them in the draw, having been drawn with the current and former world champions. Mind you, a tough draw for the pools has never stopped the Irish progressing to the 2nd round in all but one of the tournaments they have been involved in.

Rising Sunderland and Irish star, James McClean

Make no bones about it, this Irish squad is not one of the most talented in the world. However, they should be one of the grittiest and most hardworking, reinforced by their Italian coach, Giovanni Trappatoni. There will be firepower in captain, Robbie Keane and a wall in the goal in keeper, Shay Given but tough questions will be asked of Richard Dunne's defence and that midfield.

There is some talent on the wings though with the experienced Damien Duff and the exciting James McClean and this could be a big audition on the world stage for both of them.

Can the luck of the Irish prevail against three highly talented and more fancied sides? Write the Irish off at your peril.

An unlucky 3rd place for the Irish with lots of draws.

Tips: Spain 1st, Italy 2nd, Ireland and Croatia miss out.

Best XI Not Going to EURO 2012

EURO 2012 will have the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Mesut Ozil, Samir Nasri, Wayne Rooney if England make it to the next round but there are always a few quite talented world class players who will always miss out at these tournaments even if this time all the traditional giants are there..

NB: This team features only players whose countries failed to qualify for EURO 2012.

GK - Simon Mignolet, Belgium
DF - Aleksander Kolarov, Serbia

DF - Martin Skrtel, Slovakia
DF - Vincent Kompany, Belgium
DF - Ashley Williams, Wales
MF - Gareth Bale, Wales
MF - Marouane Fellaini, Belgium
MF - Marek Hamsik, Slovakia
MF - Eden Hazard, Belgium
FW - Moussa Dembele, Belgium
FW - Edin Dzeko, Bosnia & Herzegovina

EURO 2012 Preview - Group B

With all the domestic leagues in Europe just about finished and this being an even numbered year, it means there's more football to come in the Northern summer.

This time it's the turn of the European Football Championships - or the Euros as we like to call them - and again it'll be hosted in two countries; this time it's the two former Eastern bloc neighbours, Poland and the Ukraine.

It looks set to be the biggest Euros yet in terms of following and money. Qualification saw little upsets and all the traditional giants like Germany, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, France & of course the champions, Spain, made it through to the Finals.

It means all groups are highly competitive with sides like Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, the Czechs, etc. capable of an upset or two to knock one of the fancied sides out.

Group B
This could be the toughest group at this year's tournament with two of the tournament favourites drawn with two sides who can beat the best on their day.



Germany

After being bridesmaid to eventual champions in the last 3 major football tournaments, can the Germans finally win their second tournament as a united Germany and their first since the old Bayern Munich guard of Klinsmann-Matthaus retired and they adopted a fast, attacking approach to football?

Germany as West Germany were bridesmaids to eventual champions for a long time, i.e. between 1986 and 1990, they lost to eventual champions, Argentina in the 1986 World Cup Final, the Netherlands in the 1988 Euros before winning the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina.

Mario Goetze: new wonder kid?

Could history repeat itself in Kiev in 2012 - let's note, Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, they lost to Spain in the final and semifinal respectively.

Loew's squad has evolved nicely over time with one of the most youthful and talented squads in world football that just gets younger and younger - Loew is now able to call on Borussia Dortmund's Mario Goetze and Schalke's Julian Drexler, 2 of world football's emerging footballers. It's going to be quite a competitive squad with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil likely to be heavily challenged for their starting spots.

Germany's success may be intertwined with the success of its most popular club, Bayern Munich - and to a certain extent, Real Madrid given that the midfield is made up of Germany's current starters there, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil.

Bayern Munich won the 1974 European Cup Final, just a couple of months before West Germany won the World Cup at home. And Bayern Munich look set for European Cup success on their home turf just months out from the European football championships. And Mario Gomez is in free scoring form just at the right time for club and country.

The German revolution that began under Jurgen Klinsmann prior to the 2006 World Cup and has continued at full steam under Jogi Loew since then must surely be due for its glorious finish just as Beckenbauer's revolution of the German team in the late 80s.

Germany to top the group and make it to the Final with glorious results.

Netherlands

What to make of the Dutch? Once again, they breezed through qualifying just like the All Blacks breeze through the group stages of the Rugby World Cup. But just like the All Blacks, the Dutch are a mixed bag in the crunch games.

However, judging from the 2010 World Cup, the Dutch appear to finally have a spine when it comes to the big games and this was evident in the quarterfinal against Brazil where they came from a goal behind to beat history and the samba boys to win 2-1 and book a place in the semifinals. After a 3-2 win against Uruguay, they faced Spain in the Final and even if the brutal and violent manner they played that Final was frowned upon by many, they showed they had gumption and were capable with winning the big games and were unlucky not to have taken that game to penalties.

The Dutch appear to have the ability to play the "Dutch" way we know - fast, flowing football - but they now seem to know how to be the bullies and able to play a more physical brand of football when they're required to. And of course, the Dutch have always had the talent in the side and this year should be no different with Arjen Robben, Klaus Huntelaar and the in-form, free-scoring, Robin van Persie. They've also now got a strong spine courtesy of Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel allowing the maestros to do their work in the other half of the field.

The Dutch will be a tough side to beat and they're actually more of a heavyweight during the Euros than in the World Cup. They looked set to win Euro 2008 with their free-flowing style under Marco van Basten until they faced the Russians and were outplayed at their own game. Under Bert van Marwijk, they will be quite determined to right that wrong as well as prove that they and not Spain should be world champions.

The Dutch to finish runners-up in the group and face Spain in a potentially tasty semifinal.

Denmark

After a brief, fallow period, Danish football appears to be on the way back up with players like Daniel Agger and Nicklas Bendtner now approaching the peak of their powers. However, the side is just solid, staid and unlikely to strike fear in the eyes of the Dutch and Germans. Mind you, the same was said about the Danes in 1992 and look what they did despite zero preparation for the tournament. However, this is a tough group and the Danes will need an excellent start if they are to have any chance in this Group of Death.

Denmark to finish last in their group but they shouldn't be ashamed if they don't get thrashed which they won't.

Portugal

Portugal aren't quite the same side they were under Luiz Felipe Scolari in my opinion. Yes they have the second best player in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo and there are plenty of familiar names in the Portugal lineup, i.e. Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, Raul Meireles and Nani but their form as one hasn't been that impressive, and they were second best to Denmark in qualifying, the same side they face here. A repeat of their inferiority against the Danes will definitely destroy any chance the Portuguese have of progressing out of this Group of Death.

Win though, and they could gain confidence and be a contender. But will Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao, Meireles and Nani be worn out by an exhausting club season? Will the pressure of ending Portugal's drought at international tournaments be too much for Ronaldo, a player who has the habit of disappearing in big games?

Portugal to finish 3rd in the group and just missing out.

So: Germany and Netherlands to advance in that order, Portugal and Denmark to miss out.

EURO 2012 Preview - Group A

With all the domestic leagues in Europe just about finished and this being an even numbered year, it means there's more football to come in the Northern summer.

This time it's the turn of the European Football Championships - or the Euros as we like to call them - and again it'll be hosted in two countries; this time it's the two former Eastern bloc neighbours, Poland and the Ukraine.

It looks set to be the biggest Euros yet in terms of following and money. Qualification saw little upsets and all the traditional giants like Germany, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, France & of course the champions, Spain, made it through to the Finals.

It means all groups are highly competitive with sides like Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, the Czechs, etc. capable of an upset or two to knock one of the fancied sides out.

Group A
Hosts, Poland must have been slightly happy to have landed in a group without Germany, Spain or the Netherlands, but it is still quite a tough group to navigate.

Poland

Poland were a force in football to be reckoned with in the 1980s as an Eastern bloc nation but have hit rather fallow times recently. Many of their best footballers have often ended up playing for other nations, e.g. Podolski, Trochowski and Klose for Germany.

However, there is a case for optimism this season for the Poles. They signed a lucrative kit contract with Nike and one of their potential key players, Robert Lewandowski, has had a belter of a season having found the back of the net 27 times for Borussia Dortmund as they defended their Bundesliga title. His Dortmund teammate and Poland's captain, Jakub Blaszczykowski, was also an integral part of Dortmund's highly successful campaign.

Then there's Wojciech Szczesny, the Arsenal keeper who has emerged as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.  

It is quite a superb spine and platform to have and it will come down to the supporting cast stepping up to the quality of their teammates if they are to carry over their club form into the biggest football tournament in their nation's history ever.

And in this fairly open and competitive group, this could be Poland's year to shine in front of their home crowd. They won't win the championship but a quarterfinal place would be a huge improvement on what they've achieved since the end of the Cold War.

Russia

Like Poland, Russia were a force to be reckoned in the 1980s behind the Iron Curtain but success on the pitch has eluded them in recent times. However, under Guus Hiddink at EURO 2008, the Russians had their most successful performance at a major tournament since the breakup of the Soviet Union, only losing to eventual champions Spain in the semifinals.

It is one of the first signs that the Russians are once again becoming a power in world football and it was a huge surprise that they failed to make the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They aimed to put that right with the appointment of Guus' countryman, Dick Advocaat, and had an impressive qualifying campaign, finishing top of their group.

There is plenty of talent in the Russian squad with some familiar names like Pavel Pogrebnyak & Roman Pavlyuchenko, Andrei Arshavin, Yuri Zhirkov, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. Bar the in-form free-scoring Pogrebnyak, these stars of the Russian game have been playing their football in the ever improving Russian league to get game time before the tournament comes.

It's a competitive group but one that Russia with the coach and talent at hand should be able to navigate easily out of and be a quarterfinalist at least. They're a long shot at best for the title but on their day, could be a contender for the title - after all, if Greece could do it in 2004, Russia on paper can.

Czech Republic

The Czechs aren't quite the side they were in the past but still have plenty of talent in the squad to be a force. Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky has stepped up to the mantle now that Pavel Nedved has retired and there's always Petr Cech in goal, one of the best roadblocks in world football although he has been involved in some clangers when donning the Czech goalkeeping gloves - he was culpable for Turkey's 2 late goals that knocked the Czechs out of EURO 2008.

Power up front is a huge question mark with Milan Baros the only well known name - but he is 30 now and well has never been a great goal scorer.

Not the best Czech side ever but one that will push hard for a quarterfinals squad. Perhaps, them not being rated at all may be the best thing for them as they've always been on the fragile side when they're favourites. However, they'll finish just outside the top 2 places after losing to the Poles in the last game.

Greece

It'll be interesting to see how Greece will cope at the Euros in the post-Rehhagel era. Greece still essentially have a technically limited side but can be efficient and hardworking. They also broke their World Cup drought, qualifying for the Finals and then scoring their first goal and win at World Cup Finals level. Confidence should be good and given the recent history of the Greeks at the Euros, the Greeks will be a side not to be taken lightly even if their squad is a bit on the average side. There will be plenty to play for for the Greeks - their country is in an economic mess as is the domestic game and people will be looking at the Euros for some relief from their troubles at home.

However, I can't see them progressing past this highly competitive group and everyone will be aware of what they can do. 4th in the group, only just.

So my tips to recap - Russia top the pool, Poland runners-up, Czechs and Greeks to miss out.