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In the portal "EuroFootball.com" - fan of the sport king Subo's BLOGs about current football events.
Inspired by the success two years ago, I will try again to rearrange my predicted mosaic of events in Poland and Ukraine:
Group A
On paper, things look good for the Poles - the group seems easy at first glance and the chances of moving to the next stage are definitely better than in any other group. However, appearances can be deceiving - the Swiss looked similar at Euro 2008. In the Polish ranks - a trio from Borussia who had an impressive season and a decent group of players playing in serious leagues. But that may not be enough, as none of the competitors seem weaker.
The strength of the Russians is primarily the coach. In this group, no one has a coach of the same level as Advocaat.
It's unlikely for the fairy tale of EURO 2008 to repeat throughout the championship, but Arshavin, Pavlyuchenko, and Pogrebnyak in good form can make the Russians happy. Especially since practically the entire starting 11 has a lot of experience accumulated in the Champions League. The Greeks are disciplined, always good at defending and improving even in attack. But they sorely lack personalities. Rosicky played one of his better seasons at Arsenal, other Czech leaders will be Plasil and, of course, Cech. Without the legendary Nedved, a similar stature in attack has not yet emerged, but overall the Czechs don't look bad.
Prediction: 1. Russia 2. Czech Republic 3. Greece 4. Poland (Unless their Foreign Minister, Sikorski, changes his rhetoric towards Lithuania, then I will revise the prediction :D).
Group B
When the first ten of the FIFA ranking are in one group, it's impossible to expect boring matches. The favorites - the Germans - have an excess of talent, and the coach is probably the best in the tournament. Basically, they could field two evenly-matched teams, maybe only the defense of the second team would be slightly weaker. The Dutch have similar problems, as van Marwijk's tactics are not very adventurous, and when players who usually sat on the bench have a good season (for example, Huntelaar), then the pleasant worries increase.
After a long break, the Portuguese have a coach again who knows what to do when he has CR in his lineup and can extract the team's full potential.
If CR and the other leaders are in good form, the battles for the playoffs will be impressive. The Danes are often called the dark horses, but in such a group, they have almost no chance. Unless the final round doesn't matter to the Germans, which is unlikely...
Prediction: 1. Germany 2. Netherlands 3. Portugal 4. Denmark
Group C
At this stage, the Spaniards can still be calm - the winners' mentality doesn't disappear quickly, the Italians are currently far from good form, the Croats are just Croats, and Trap's defense is somehow always breached.
When there are two equal 11s, even with a weak forward line, it is a solvable task. It is not desirable to expect the Italians to suffer another fiasco, although the probability is still there. The Croats are truly stubborn opponents and, knowing the Irish tendencies, a 0-0 could be the most logical result. But the Italians must somehow dig themselves out. The Croats will play their beautiful football and try to surprise Europe again. But at least for now, it doesn't seem likely that they will become the force they were thought to be when they shocked Europe at EURO 2008. Many talents have matured but have not reached what was expected of them. The Irish will bite, defend hard, and fight stubbornly, but success probably won't come... The outstanding factor - impressive strategists, i.e. the gigantic personality Trapattoni, probably the most charismatic European coach, Bilic, the clever Prandelli, and del Bosque, who has won almost everything.
Prediction: 1. Spain 2. Italy 3. Croatia 4. Ireland
Group D
The French have an impressive streak of unbeaten matches, a coach who no longer needs to barricade himself in a bus, and serious hopes of achieving something beautiful. They can come true, although there are serious losses and strange decisions by the coach regarding the lineup. The other three countries have equal chances. Even with the current quite funny lineup, the English must at least be second. Although it seems that all the necessary components are in place for a fiasco to occur (changing the coach's decisions, injuries, Liverpoolization), it would be too shameful not to play at least four matches.
The Swedes have a decent frontline, a core that has played together for many years, but it's probably not enough. Ukraine is certainly capable of not being last, but it won't be easy to do so. The team's playing style is beautiful, with the charismatic Blokhin at the helm again, and Shevchenko wanting to end his career at home. Unfortunately, but probably on June 19...
Prediction: 1. France 2. England 3. Sweden 4. Ukraine
