UEFA Euro 2012

[Phil89]

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Poland Greece Russia Czech Republic	Netherlands Denmark Germany Portugal	Spain Italy Republic of Ireland Croatia	Ukraine Sweden France England

Starts June 8th with Poland playing Greece in the opening game.

Predictions:

Winner: Spain - Just because the majority of their squad have been there and done it before. No David Villa is a big loss though.
Top Scorer: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - He was the top scorer in the qualifiers with 12 and could do well with Sneijder, Robben and Van der Vaart in midfield.
Best Player: David Silva - He's had a good season at Man City and could be key for Spain's attacks without Villa.

[shadowgrin]

My god the mascots are Jedward. KILL IT WITH FIRE!

[|)e8*]

interesting to see if ronaldo can lead portugal out of that group

[Jackal]

Netherlands.

[[Q]]

yeah Spain is a no-brainer pick for me, but I'd like to see the Netherlands win. do the winners get an automatic world cup or olympic spot? what's on the line here?

[Phil89]

Being the champions of Europe and qualifying for 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Plus the prize money. Not sure what % the players actually get though.

The team that lifts the UEFA Euro 2012 trophy could pocket up to €23.5 million in prize money, European football’s governing body announced after its executive meeting in Nyon, Switzerland.

UEFA fixed the total prize money for the 16 finalists at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine at €196 million, up from €184 million at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Every team at the tournament will receive €8 million for reaching Euro 2012, with €1 million on offer for a win in the group stage and €500,000 for a draw in the group stages.

Teams will receive €2 million for a win in the quarter-finals while a semi-final victory will be worth €3 million. In the final, the winning team will be awarded €7.5 million and the runner-up will receive €4.5 million. UEFA will also give €1 million to the team finishing third in the group. “This will act as an incentive if the top two qualifying places are already decided,” said a UEFA spokesman.

[Jackal]

What the fuck Holland, seriously..

[Phil89]

That's one tough referee

[[Q]]

Being the champions of Europe and qualifying for 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

does the confederations cup qualify you for the 2014 world cup?

[Phil89]

Nope. It's basically just an exhibition tournament held a year before the world cup with the winners of all the major international tournaments. It's going to be interesting to see Tahiti competing against the likes of Brazil and Spain.

Back to the Eurso, who would have though after Russia beat the Czechs 4-1 in the first game that the Czechs would win the group and that Russia wouldn't go through to the next stage.

[Jackal]

[[Q]]

I'd like to see the Netherlands win.

Jackal your people disappoint me

[c0nr4d]

So who called this group of 8 in the QFs?

Nonetheless, I still have confidence in my Spainards, tho I'm a little wary of those damn Portugese bastards. Also, Germany will strut into the final uncontested, imo...can't wait till these QFs in the next 4 days!

[Radioman]

I voted for Germany. They improved their game and even they are the youngest team in the tournament they gained a lot of experience and confidence over the last 2 years. Their Game has become more effective and secure, but opponents are aware of Germanys Game and try to avoid to let them play like we saw against Portugal and Netherlands.

[Radioman]

Germany - Italy > 0:2 at halftime

I can t believe the bad game by the germans, history seems to repeat itself. Germany never won against Italy in a tourney.

Just because of this evil man:

[Phil89]

First team to ever win 3 major tournaments in a row.



Reina wearing that shirt as a tribute to Miki Roque who died of cancer on June 24 at the age of 23.

[Radioman]

Coming back from a scanty win against Portugal, Spain showed what real champions are made off showing their best game in the Finals.

It will take a lot more to defeat this team in 2 years at the WC, but the preliminary round showed that even Spain can't book the title yet.

[[Q]]

called it. not much of a shocker other than the fact that they didn't score vs portugal