The Euro cup is round the corner and all the fans are putting in high expectations into their favorite teams.
.jpg)
With the groups being equally balanced with top teams; apart from Group B, which can be considered this year's 'Group of Death'.
The real fun is set to begin only in the knock out phases.
Group A consists of Poland, Greece, Russia and Czech Republic.
Poland being the home team is definitely seems to be the limelight of the group. They have won 4 of the last 5 games played by them but they seem less significant as they were all against poor oppositions. However, the goal less draw against Portugal seems to be the only highlight.
L. Pisczek has been the top scorer of Poland for the current year with 2 goals.
Though this is the second outing of the Polish team in the European Championship, but being the co-hosts of the events, lots of expectations are poured in.
Greece is considered quite less significant in their group as their performance has not been consistent this year. They have managed to win only 1 one of the last 5 games, while drew three and lost one against Romania. But though weak, anything is unexpected in football.
Russia is one of teams which are looked upon with lot of expectations this year. They haven't lost any of the last 5 matches; two wins and three draws. Of the wins, the 3-0 victory over Italy has made the team a real headache for its oppositions.
In their last 5 matches Russia has scored 7 goals while conceded only 2. R. Shirokov with 3 goals takes the credit of having scored the maximum number of goals in the season, and is definitely the player to look for.
Czech Republic is the fourth team in the group, on which the odds are pretty low to qualify for the knock out stages. They have won 3 of the last 5 games, but all were against the minnows. They lost 1-2 to Hungary in their last game which certainly seems to dampen the expectation of its fans.
So the teams most likely to qualify for the knock out phases form Group A are Poland and Russia, while Greece can be considered the underdog in the situation.
Though the top teams are grouped quite equationally this year, but out of them Group B appears to be the 'Group of Death' this year.
Group B consists of Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Portugal.
Netherlands have had a pretty decent year this season as they have won 3 of their last 5 games. Of the matches won, the 3-2 win over star studded England has been the highlight.
Also their 6-0 victory over Denmark just before the start of the tournament seems to have rung the warning bells in the opposition.
Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie are the key players to look for as they can single handily take the match away from the opposition.
Odds are pretty low on Denmark though they have won 3 of the last 5 matches. Their wins are basically against the low profiled teams. However, they cannot be taken lightly.
Denmark is considered the dark horse of the group who has the potential of upsetting big teams. Nickolas Bendtner, Daniel Agger, Christain Eriksen are the players on which the opposition would definitely like to keep an eye on.
Germany definitely seems to be the favorites to win the European title this year. The FIFA rank 2 team have won only 2 of the last 5 games played while drew 1, which seems to be a concern for its fans.
But the form of its Striker Klose has definitely made the opposition rethink about their game plan. Klose scored 9 goals in the qualifiers.
Also team has won almost all of their qualifiers by huge margins.
The 2008 Euro runners-up Germany looks very strong on paper, with players like Podoloski, Schweinsteiger, Lahm etc. being included in the team.
Portugal seems to be the main concern for Germany in the group. Cristiano Ronaldo is definitely the main player to look for but team has also some other players who have the capability of turning things around. They lost only a single game in the last 5 played but have also won a single game against Bosina-Herzegovnia with a huge margin of 6-2.
Team has a much unexpected reputation as they pull off from impossible situations but fail to deliver most of the time. But if all the guns of the team are on fire, then it becomes very difficult for the opposition to surpass them.
So, Netherlands and Germany seem to be the teams that might qualify for the Knock out phases, but the presence of Portugal cannot be ignored.
Group C consists of Spain, Italy, Ireland and Croatia.
Spain has been the most consistent team of the season, winning 4 of the last 5 matches played while drawing 1. They have won all of the matches with huge margin.
In all of their 5 matches, they have scored 14 goals, while they conceded only 3. Soldado is the top scorer of the season with 3 goals, and is one of the players to look for after Torres.
Italy can only boost on their name as their performance in the last 5 matches have been quite poor. They have managed to win a single game, and lost the rest.
Italy has lost to feeble teams such as USA, and there is definitely a question on its form.
G. Rossi has been the top scorer of the season with 2 goals followed by M. Balotelli. But the presence of big guns in the team might come handy at time and pull it off.
Ireland is one of the team that has entered the tournament via the qualifying play offs and odds are very low on the team. It has won three of the last 5 games all against scrawny oppositions.
Similar is the case of Croatia, who too have entered the cup via play offs. The performance of the team has been pretty decent with 2 wins and 2 draws in the last 5 matches, but they have rare chances of qualifying into the quarter finals as they are placed against much stronger opponents.
So, from Group C, its Spain and Italy who might make into the next round, unless Italy decides to continue with their poor run.
Group D consists of Ukraine, Sweden, France and England.
Ukraine is the latest addition to the cup and is also the co-host. They have had a pretty decent last 5 matches, where they have won 3 and drew 1. However, they lost to Austria 3-2 in their last warm-up game.
Though the team has the advantage of playing at home, but odds are very low regarding their qualification to the next round.
Sweden has all its hope on Ibrahimovic, who seems to be the only key player in the Team. They won 3 of the last 5 matches played and lost the rest. Bit since they are grouped against stronger opposition like England and France, they too have thin chances of qualifying.
France seems to be the strongest of the group and after the injury problems of England, they look even stronger. They have won 4 of the last 5 matches, significant of which was the 2-1 victory over Germany.
In 5 matches, they have scored 6 goals while conceded 3. Malouda and Ribery are the top scorers for the team with 2 goals each.
England is the most unfortunate team of the event, fighting with multiple injury problems of its players even before the start of the tournament.
England was in top form as they have lost only 1 match in the last 5 they have played. They even defeated Spain 1-0 in one of the encounter.
But the injury of major players might affect the game of the team in the tournament. Also, the decision of bringing less reputed players to the squad by the manager has also put the performance of the team in question.
England has scored 6 goals in their last 5 matches while conceded only 3.
Thus, from Group D, France and England looks best to qualify.
No comments:
Post a Comment