The quarter finals are nearly here, and Wayne Rooney will be hoping to fire England there tonight on his return.
It’s fair to say Euro 2012 has lived up to expectations so far, unless you are Dutch, with one of the most open and interesting tournaments we have seen for quite some while.
Each group has been hotly contested, with Russia who beat the Czechs 4-1 in their opening game crashing out along with host nation Poland.
Qualification has gone down to the wire, and both Germany and Spain were at risk of elimination if a goal went against them midway through the second half of their final group games.
England will be hoping to tie up their path to the knockout stages tonight, and need a win or draw against co-hosts Ukraine to be sure of it.
France face already eliminated Sweden, and will expect to cruise through to set up a quarter final against 2006 World Cup final opponents Italy.
There are some strong teams in the quarter finals, including Portugal and Italy, England are hoping to join them while the Czech Republic and Greece will remain unfancied.
What we are asking is whether any of these sides have a chance, or is the tournament between Spain, Germany and France?
Germany are on a roll, they won all 10 qualifications games, and are the only side to maintain their 100 per cent record through the group stages.
At present they look unbeatable, and have dispatched quality opposition on their way to the knockout rounds too, beating Portugal, Denmark and Holland.
They will be glad there is no imminent meeting with Spain, who have defeated them in the final throes of Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010.
Even so, at present Germany look a more well-rounded side, apart from the comfortable rout of Ireland, Spain have not imposed themselves as they would have liked, drawing with Italy and squeaking out a late win against Croatia.
Their tactic of playing without a striker has caused a lot of debate, and you feel they may just come unstuck late on. France are very much an unknown quantity, failing to beat England in their opening game, and will face a true test of their credentials if as expected they face Italy in the knockout rounds.
Italy are a difficult side to assess, clearly tricky to beat, but yet to set the tournament alight with their performances. If anybody thinks England underachieved at the last World Cup, they should reflect on how Italy the defending champions failed to progress from the easiest of groups, featuring Slovakia, Paraguay and New Zealand, without registering a single win.
Up front they are undecided on the trio of Di Natale, Cassano and Balotelli, each who often flatter to deceive and the side has scored just three goals in three games. Right now they are nobody’s favourites for the competition, but may just come into their element in the knockout rounds.
Another team who are hoping to come to life in the latter stages are Portugal, who impressed in their 2-1 win over Holland. That was aided by the Dutch’s cavalier approach but Cristiano Ronaldo could have scored two hat-tricks in that game.
In fact he should far and away be leading the race for the golden boot, but his brace at least shows he is starting to spark into life, and it could not be better timed. Facing the Czech Republic in the quarter finals, the Portuguese will be confident of progress to the semi-finals, where Ronaldo will be expected to prove his reputation as a big game player.
England are an enigma, Wayne Rooney will hope to give the side another lift upon his return tonight, but with a quarter-final spot against Spain up for grabs, if they can somehow win that one, they may be, just perhaps, supporters can dare to dream.
Who will win Euro 2012? Can you see past Spain, Germany and France?
image: © sdhansay
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