The UEFA 2012 European Championships draw has been released and many have began to look at who will be making it to the final round in 2012. The tournament is hosted Poland and Ukraine so they are the first two teams to qualify to the final 16. Who else will qualify and what will the group standings look like at the end of qualifying? It’s still a long ways before the start of qualifying but let’s take an early look and some predictions.
UEFA 2010 European Championships Qualifying Draw Predictions (order of predicted finish in parentheses)
GROUP A: Azerbaijan (6), Kazakhstan (5), Belgium (3), Austria (4), Turkey (2), Germany (1)
Germany is the clear favorite in Group A but the battle for second place should be very close. Belgium and Austria could surprise but Turkey should edge both of them out.
GROUP B: Andorra (6) , Armenia (5) , Macedonia (4), Republic of Ireland (2), Slovakia (3), Russia (1)
A group that does not have a clear cut winner although Russia will be expected to take first. Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland could win but will likely end up battling it out for second place. Ireland had bad luck in the World Cup (Thierry Henry’s handball) and could make up for it if they can qualify for the tournament.
GROUP C: Faroe Islands (6), Estonia (6), Slovenia (3), Northern Ireland (4), Serbia (2), Italy (1)
Italy are the favorites but could be challenged by Serbia or Slovenia for first. Northern Ireland don’t have enough to win the group and will have to overachieve to make a play-off of second place teams.
GROUP D: Luxembourg (6), Albania (4), Belarus (5), Bosnia (2), Romania (3), France (1)
France lead Group D which contains several weak sides. The battle for second place is up in the air but Bosnia is the front-runner at this point.
GROUP E: San Marino (6), Moldova (5), Hungary (3), Finland (4), Sweden (2), Netherlands (1)
The Dutch are a cut above the rest of the teams but second place will be extremely competitive. Sweden on paper is the second best team but Finland and Hungary have a decent chance. San Marino and Moldova have virtually no chance at anything better than fourth in the group.
GROUP F: Malta (5), Georgia (6), Latvia (4), Israel (2), Greece (3), Croatia (1)
Group F lacks one of the traditional powerhouses in UEFA but is one of the most even groups. Croatia, Greece, and Israel are all capable of winning the group. Greece had an incredible run in 2004 but will probably miss out on making the final tournament just behing Israel and Croatia. The three teams could be separated by only a few points at the end of the qualifying.
GROUP G: Montenegro (5), Wales (4), Bulgaria (3), Switzerland (2), England (1)
After the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2008 tournament, England should have little trouble winning Group G. Wales, Montenegro, and Bulgaria will probably not take a point off England and are three of the weaker sides in all of Europe. The Swiss should get second place but don’t have the quality to push England.
GROUP H: Iceland (3), Cyprus (5), Norway (4), Denmark (1), Portugal (2)
One of the weaker groups as there’s not a top team but several solid countries. Portugal has talent but doesn’t have the depth and consistency of the Danes. Norway, Cyprus, and Iceland are all too weak to compete with Portugal and Denmark.
GROUP I: Liechtenstein (5), Lithuania (4), Scotland (3), Czech Republic (2), Spain (1)
Spain and Czech are a level above the other sides and should have a tough fought campaign to win the group. In the end, Spain has too much depth and talent for the Czechs. Scotland are the only other team with a realistic shot at second place but the odds of them qualifying are less than 50/50.
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Well my friend, so you don’t think that group H has a so called “TOP TEAM”. Well, idiot, try looking up the most recent FIFA WORLD RANKINGS and you’ll find that PORTUGAL is ranked fifth in the “WORLD” mostly because of the awsome playoff that they had against BOSNIA, especially having to play the away game in a bloody cow pasture of a pitch with savages in the stands throwing objects on to the field, hitting an official in the head, and spitting and abusing the PORTUGUESE players. In the end PORTUGAL won both games with two clean sheets. That’s why THEY are ranked #5 IN THE WORLD my friend and they are the class of goup H. So get off of your England high horse and get ready to be dissapointed. Regards, M.O.
You’re entitled to your opinion but I don’t put much stock into the World Rankings as the United States was ranked #4 in April of 2006 before that World Cup but no one would agree they were the fourth best team in the World at that point or ever. Its fine that you have a different opinion but there’s no need to use ad hominem attacks.
I’d also add that Portugal’s performance in the World Cup qualifiers was pretty embarassing. Sorry Manny, but I’m a Denmark fan and I’m not sure they’re good enough to have shellacked Portugal like they did. To Portugal’s credit they got better towards the end but their campaign was troubled at best and two wins over Bosnia & Herzegovina don’t sing “world class.”