Group A: Germany is one of only three teams (Spain and Netherlands being the other two) who has a perfect record and has not suffered a draw or loss thus far in qualifying. They are all but through into Euro 2012. The Germans have been lead by Miroslav Klose's 8 goals in 7 games including 6 in Germany's first 4 games. The race for second is up for grabs between Belgium and Turkey. Belgium is currently in second place with 11 points but Turkey has played one less game and is sitting just one point behind on 10 points. The two teams played on June 3rd and had a 1-1 tie after Belgium missed a potential go ahead penalty kick in the 75th minute. For Belgium to get through, they will have to take care of business against the bottom two teams in the table, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and then get a result against Germany in their final game on the road. Turkey plays Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Germany and they also have an extra game against Austria. Turkey's only remaining game away from home is against Austria on September 6th.
Group B: Group B currently has three teams sitting on 13 points and at the top of the table. Ireland, Russia, and Slovakia will all have a chance to win the group or come in second. The three teams will each meet each other one more time with each team having one game at home and the other on the road. Ireland will have to continue to get scoring from Robbie Keane, who has 5 goals in 6 games including 3 in his 2 games this year. Russia defense has been great the entire campaign but they have seen a spike in goals especially with Roman Pavlyuchenko playing so well up front including a hat trick against Armenia on June 4th. Slovakia has really struggled to score. While Slovakia has allowed just 4 goals, they have scored just 6. Slovakia travels to Ireland on September 2nd and then the Irish take on Russia on the road the next week. On October 7th, Russia will travel to Slovakia in another huge game.
Group C: Italy has 5 wins and 1 draw in six games and their 16 points have set them up to make it to Euro 2012. They have scored 14 goals, while allowing just 1. The new generation of Italian stars such as Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano has provided wonders for an Italian side that failed to make it past the first round of the 2010 World Cup. The second place spot will come down to Slovenia and Serbia. Slovenia is 3 points ahead of Serbia but have played one more game. Serbia has already had to deal with issues from fans rioting when the team played Italy at home on October 12th. The match had to be abandoned due to violence from the crowd and Italy was awarded a 3-0 victory. The loss was a costly one to Serbia and really has hurt their goal differential. Slovenia and Serbia have a big game on October 11th in Slovenia that will likely determine who comes out of group C along with Italy.
Group D: France has not run away with group D and it is wide open for first and second place. France leads the group with 13 points, while Belarus has 12 and Bosnia-Herzegovina has 10. France and Bosnia have played one less game than Belarus as well. Only Italy and Montenegro have allowed fewer goals than France and Belarus who have allowed just 2 goals in 6 games. France could only get a 1-1 tie out of their fixture with Belarus on June 3rd, while Bosnia-Herzegovina gained ground with a 2-0 victory over Albania. Belarus will play Bosnia-Herzegovina in a huge game on September 2nd in Bosnia and then Bosnia will travel to France to play the French on October 11th in a pivotal game for both sides.
Group E: Group E has seen some really great futbol from Netherlands, Sweden, and Hungary. It is a shame that one of these teams will not have a shot to make it into Euro 2012. Netherlands is a perfect 6-0-0 and has scored an incredible 21 goals in just 6 games. The Dutch have been lead by Shalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who had 8 goals in the team's first four games of qualification including 2 goals against Sweden in a big 4-1 victory. Dirk Kuyt also has 4 goals including 3 in 2 games against Hungary where the Dutch beat Hungary 4-0 on the road and 5-3 at home. Sweden have scored 20 goals in 6 games, while Hungary are not far behind with 18 goals in 7 games. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has 5 goals for Sweden, while Balazs Dsudzsak leads Euro 2012 qualification with 8 assists. Sweden will play Hungary in Hungary in a huge game on September 2nd and if they win that game, they may have a chance to surpass Netherlands for first place if they can beat the Dutch at home on October 11th. However, Hungary will be looking to crack the top two with a victory over Sweden on September 2nd.
Group F: Group F is very much like Group B with three teams all in contention for first and second place. Greece leads the group with 14 points, while Croatia and Israel sit in second with 13 points each. Israel has played one more game than the other two teams. The three teams will each meet each other one more time with each team having one game at home and the other on the road. All three teams have seen great stuff from their superstars. Croatia has seen strong play from their midfielders Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, and Danijel Pranjic. Kranjcar has four goals for Croatia including 2 in a 2-1 victory over Israel. Chelsea star Yossi Benayoun has also racked up four goals. He scored a huge goal for Israel in their 2-1 victory over Latvia to keep them in contention in the group. As always, Greece has seen spectacular play from their defense, which has allowed just 3 goals and none on the road. Israel will have a must win game against Greece at home on September 2nd and then another equally as important game the next week on the road against Croatia. Greece will host Croatia on October 7th.
Group G: Group G appears as if like England and Montenegro will finish 1 and 2 but the order will be determined by the team's remaining 5 games. Montenegro has scored just 4 goals in 5 games but they have made up for it be allowing just 1 goal. They won their first three games by a score of 1 to 0 and they played England to a 0-0 draw at Wembley Stadium in London. England had a very disappointing draw with Switzerland at home on June 4th as Switzerland scored two unusual goals off free kicks. The two teams will meet in Montenegro on October 7th in a game that will likely decide which team will win the group and which team will come in second.
Group H: Group H is another group that has three teams who could all take home first place. Portugal, Denmark, and Norway all have 10 points through 5 games. Portugal got off to a very rough start that included a 4-4 tie to Cyprus at home and a 1-0 loss to Norway on the road. They have rebounded since then winning 3 straight games and outscoring their opponents 7-1 in those games. While Norway won their first three games, they tied Denmark and then lost to Portugal in their last two games. Denmark is hosting Norway on September 6th and then Portugal on October 11th in two huge games that will determine the fate of the group.
Group I: Spain is running away with Group I, as they have a perfect record of 5-0-0 and have 15 points. Just like in the 2010 World Cup, David Villa is leading the charge with his 5 goals in 5 games. Although it is still early, Scotland will have to catch ground on Czech Republic. Although Scotland has played one less game than Czeck, they are five points back and need to gain ground fast. Scotland will have an opportunity as they host Czech Republic on September 3rd. Scotland will need to get a great performance from Charlie Adam in the midfield to contend with the Czechs.
I agree in Group G that England has struggled at just meshing as a team. Monterego with a great backline really beat up England's tricky fowards. The best Group is H. With Portugal, Denmark, and Norway all tied it should be interesting to see who finishes atop that table.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Norway doesn't have any really big name players, they are a very good team. They are ranked 11 in the FIFA world rankings. Portugal is finally starting to play well.
ReplyDeletePortugal is a great team and I think they will fair very well in their group. Although Norway and Denmark are good teams too. Hopefully Portugal will take first place in that grouping. Hoping for the Best!!!!!!
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