The group encounters of the Euro 2012 came to an end yesterday, and the quarter final lineup is a clear picture now.
There is no major surprise in the lineup as all the major teams from each group who were expected to qualify, find their name in the list. Netherlands seems to be the only big name that is absent in the list, as underdogs Portugal mark their presence in place of them.
The first quarter final to be played on Friday will be between Czech Republic and Portugal.
The Czechs had a disastrous start to their Euro Campaign as they lost 4-1 to Russia in their opener. But successively won their next two matches, against Greece and host Poland, which got them to the top of the group.
Portugal on the other side was not one of the favorites from Group B, as odds were pretty high on Netherlands to qualify. But the Paulo Bento side notched up the second place beating Netherlands and Denmark, while they lost their opener to Germany.
Czech's Vaclav Pilar is the man to look out for as he has scored 2 goals for his team in 3 appearances in this year edition of the Euro. After their initial heartbreak against Russia, the team looks quite confident after registering two back to back wins.
But the main concern of the team is the injury to captain Tomas Rosicky, who might sit out of the quarter final clash.
Cristiano Ronaldo seems to the main talk for Portugal after his disastrous show in the match against Denmark. However, the good news for the team is that, their captain is back to show after having scored the two goals against Netherlands.
Other than him, the Portuguese side has Nani, Postiga and Raul, who seems to be in a great run, and certainly seems to be a head ache for the Czechs.
At this point, it seems Portugal might have an edge over the Czechs, and with Ronaldo back into action, they will have a desperate attempt of making it through to the semi finals.
The second match of the knock out phase would be played between impressive Germany and Greece.
Germany certainly looked the best to qualify from its group and it did. They also seem to the favorite for this year's championship title, having won all of their group matches.
The team is full of star players which includes names like Schweinsteiger, Gomez and Podoloski, a combination that supposedly one of the best in the world.
But looking into the performance of the team in the Euro this year, Mario Gomez seems to be the man to watch out for. The Bayern Munich striker has 3 goals to his name in 3 appearances.
The 2004 Champions Greece haven't yet had a great run in the Euro this year, as they drew their first match against Poland, and lost the second to Czech Republic. But they stormed into the Quarter finals beating mighty Russia in their last group encounter. Salpingidis, Karagounis and Gekas are the main players to look for in the Greek squad.
Odds are definitely high on Germany to win in this encounter, but underdogs Greece might come up with shocks, just as they did against Russia.
The third quarter final draw is certainly very interesting as World and defending champions Spain will play against France.
The Spanish team came into the tournament in tremendous form, having beaten all of their opponents by huge margins. Expectations were very high on the team as they went on to play against Italy in their opener.
But much to the surprise, Italy managed to hold Spain to a 1-1 draw. Nonetheless, in the next match, Spain got into their old business as they thrashed Ireland 4-0. Spain had their last match against Croatia, which they won hard fought 1-0.
The Spanish team has some of the best players available in the world football today, namely Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas and Torres.
And their opponents certainly know their style of play. Both Fabregas and Torres have 2 goals each to their name while Silva has one.
France on the other hand is struggling with its form as they have managed only one win in the tournament so far, and was humiliated in their last match against Sweden, as they lost 2-0.
In spite of their poor run, France has the power in their squad that can turn around the game. The defense of the team is headed by experienced Patrice Evra while the midfield is handled by Ribery and Nasri. The attack of the team is headed by Karim Benzema and supported by the likes of Giroud.
Spain vs Italy promises to be an exciting encounter as two equally poised teams. But somewhere Spain seems to have a better chance of pulling it away than France.
The final encounter of quarter final will be between England and Italy. Which also seems to be a cracker of a match.
England came into the Euro Cup with an injury rigged team and questions were being raised over Roy Hodgson's decision of including some inexperienced players. Also the team's chances of qualifying into knock out stages were further questioned as Rooney was unavailable for the first two games.
Nevertheless, luck seemed to be on Hodgson's side as everything went on quite like the way he wanted it to be. After settling for a draw in their first match against France, the English team went on to win their next two games against Sweden and Ukraine.
The return of Rooney in their last game against Ukraine, certainly seemed to have boosted the team's attack, and also the form of the striker seemed quite unaffected as he went on to score the winner for the team.
The team is being led by experienced Steven Gerrard, while the defense line of the team is comprises Ashley Cole, Martin Kelly and John Terry, which makes it one of the best in the world. There is Scott Parker and Ashely Young in the mid-field. Thus, the team looks quite strong on paper.
Italy came into the quarter finals by winning just one game against Ireland, while the rest two against Spain and Croatia ended in a draw. Di Natale and Balotelli are the main weapons of the Italian attack supported by Pirlo and they seem to be a quite good run, having scored 1 goal each.
The match last quarter final also promises equal entertainment as two teams who are equally poised, face each other.
There is no major surprise in the lineup as all the major teams from each group who were expected to qualify, find their name in the list. Netherlands seems to be the only big name that is absent in the list, as underdogs Portugal mark their presence in place of them.
The first quarter final to be played on Friday will be between Czech Republic and Portugal.
The Czechs had a disastrous start to their Euro Campaign as they lost 4-1 to Russia in their opener. But successively won their next two matches, against Greece and host Poland, which got them to the top of the group.
Portugal on the other side was not one of the favorites from Group B, as odds were pretty high on Netherlands to qualify. But the Paulo Bento side notched up the second place beating Netherlands and Denmark, while they lost their opener to Germany.
Czech's Vaclav Pilar is the man to look out for as he has scored 2 goals for his team in 3 appearances in this year edition of the Euro. After their initial heartbreak against Russia, the team looks quite confident after registering two back to back wins.
But the main concern of the team is the injury to captain Tomas Rosicky, who might sit out of the quarter final clash.
Cristiano Ronaldo seems to the main talk for Portugal after his disastrous show in the match against Denmark. However, the good news for the team is that, their captain is back to show after having scored the two goals against Netherlands.
Other than him, the Portuguese side has Nani, Postiga and Raul, who seems to be in a great run, and certainly seems to be a head ache for the Czechs.
At this point, it seems Portugal might have an edge over the Czechs, and with Ronaldo back into action, they will have a desperate attempt of making it through to the semi finals.
The second match of the knock out phase would be played between impressive Germany and Greece.
Germany certainly looked the best to qualify from its group and it did. They also seem to the favorite for this year's championship title, having won all of their group matches.
The team is full of star players which includes names like Schweinsteiger, Gomez and Podoloski, a combination that supposedly one of the best in the world.
But looking into the performance of the team in the Euro this year, Mario Gomez seems to be the man to watch out for. The Bayern Munich striker has 3 goals to his name in 3 appearances.
The 2004 Champions Greece haven't yet had a great run in the Euro this year, as they drew their first match against Poland, and lost the second to Czech Republic. But they stormed into the Quarter finals beating mighty Russia in their last group encounter. Salpingidis, Karagounis and Gekas are the main players to look for in the Greek squad.
Odds are definitely high on Germany to win in this encounter, but underdogs Greece might come up with shocks, just as they did against Russia.
The third quarter final draw is certainly very interesting as World and defending champions Spain will play against France.
The Spanish team came into the tournament in tremendous form, having beaten all of their opponents by huge margins. Expectations were very high on the team as they went on to play against Italy in their opener.
But much to the surprise, Italy managed to hold Spain to a 1-1 draw. Nonetheless, in the next match, Spain got into their old business as they thrashed Ireland 4-0. Spain had their last match against Croatia, which they won hard fought 1-0.
The Spanish team has some of the best players available in the world football today, namely Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas and Torres.
And their opponents certainly know their style of play. Both Fabregas and Torres have 2 goals each to their name while Silva has one.
France on the other hand is struggling with its form as they have managed only one win in the tournament so far, and was humiliated in their last match against Sweden, as they lost 2-0.
In spite of their poor run, France has the power in their squad that can turn around the game. The defense of the team is headed by experienced Patrice Evra while the midfield is handled by Ribery and Nasri. The attack of the team is headed by Karim Benzema and supported by the likes of Giroud.
Spain vs Italy promises to be an exciting encounter as two equally poised teams. But somewhere Spain seems to have a better chance of pulling it away than France.
The final encounter of quarter final will be between England and Italy. Which also seems to be a cracker of a match.
England came into the Euro Cup with an injury rigged team and questions were being raised over Roy Hodgson's decision of including some inexperienced players. Also the team's chances of qualifying into knock out stages were further questioned as Rooney was unavailable for the first two games.
Nevertheless, luck seemed to be on Hodgson's side as everything went on quite like the way he wanted it to be. After settling for a draw in their first match against France, the English team went on to win their next two games against Sweden and Ukraine.
The return of Rooney in their last game against Ukraine, certainly seemed to have boosted the team's attack, and also the form of the striker seemed quite unaffected as he went on to score the winner for the team.
The team is being led by experienced Steven Gerrard, while the defense line of the team is comprises Ashley Cole, Martin Kelly and John Terry, which makes it one of the best in the world. There is Scott Parker and Ashely Young in the mid-field. Thus, the team looks quite strong on paper.
Italy came into the quarter finals by winning just one game against Ireland, while the rest two against Spain and Croatia ended in a draw. Di Natale and Balotelli are the main weapons of the Italian attack supported by Pirlo and they seem to be a quite good run, having scored 1 goal each.
The match last quarter final also promises equal entertainment as two teams who are equally poised, face each other.
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