Hello readers, here is the next instalment of my Euro 2012 previews, this article previews group b, which involves, Denmark, Germany, Holland and Portugal, a group which the Germans and Dutch will be hot favourites to progress to the last eight.
Denmark
 |
Erikson is a young up coming Danish prospect and is
one to watch this summer |
Euro 1992 winners Denmark come to Euro 2012 in a tough group, and they will be expected to fall at this stage, this time around as the Germans and Dutch will probably be too much of a powerful force to deal with. But this could work in their favour as expectation will be less due to the tough nature of the group, but they will be expected to put up a fight at the same time and not just roll over. In the warm up fixtures to this game, the Danes beat Australia 2-0, a few days later they lost 3-1 at the hands of Brazil. Friendlies are only warm up games though, we'll see how much steel the Danes have when the football fever hits Poland and Ukraine in a few days time. The Danish player to look out for this competition is, Ajax's Christian Eriksen, the 20 year old attacking midfielder is a highly rated player in Holland, he'll be the man pushing the midfield engine forward and creating chances for the forwards. If he puts a good performance in this tournament, the European giants may come calling for his signature. Other players of note will be, Nicklas Bendtner who will be the main man up front for the Danes and will need to be on form if the Danes want to qualify for the last 8. Dan Agger will be making sure the Danish defence is in order the Liverpool defender has made 21 appearances this season and his long range shooting ability is something to take note of. The Danes have talented players but I can only see them crashing out at the group stages, but I am sure they will be at the 2014 World Cup looking hungry as ever, the class of this group is too much.
Player To Watch - Christian Erikson
Prediction - Group Stage (4th)
Germany
 |
Mario Gomez has been on form for Bayern Munich this
season and will be expected to continue it for Germany |
Germany, one of the tournaments favourites to win the Euro's and my personal prediction for the winners also boast a squad of highly talented players and will fight it out with the Dutch for top spot in the group. The Germans boast a wide range of highly talented players, such as, Mario Gomez who has been on top form with Bayern Munich this season, Lukas Podolski will also need his shooting boots this tournament too, The Germans have a lot of young attack minded players, Mario Gotze is an exciting prospect the Dortmund attacking midfielder and winger will be looking to showcase his talents this tournament at the young age of 20. Andre Schurrle is also another player to look out for in the German attack, the 21 year old forward is highly rated at Bayer Leverkusen. The German midfield looks solid with a sea of talent to chose from, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira to choose from along with Bastian Schweinsteiger who has a powerful shot and will be trying long range efforts from time to time in games. The Germany defence looks strong again, with such names as Phillip Lahm, Holger Badstuber, Mats Hummels, will be making sure the German defence is tough to break down. The goalkeeper choice is fairly straight forward with the Bayern Munich stopper Manuel Neuer being first choice, one of the worlds best keepers at the moment, and is also a known penalty taker, which is unusual for a goal keeper. The Germans have so much talent at hand its fantastic, I am looking forward to watching them, the best thing is also, this is young talent, and the Germans will be a force in years to come with this very exciting squad.
Player To Watch - Mario Gomez
Prediction - Euro 2012 Winners
Holland
 |
Van Persie has been crucial to Arsenal this season
and now will be crucial to the Dutch if they are
to win Euro 2012 |
The Dutch, are again a strong force for Euro 2012 and will find themselves fighting with the Germans for the top spot of the group, I think they will be runners up to the Germans in 'Group B' though. The Dutch display a lot of attacking power with the inform Arsenal forward Robin Van Persie looking to make his mark again on the big stage, Arjen Robben will be a key player for the Dutch also, the highly creative player will be pulling the strings for the Dutch and creating chances, Robbens quality is that not only he can create chances for others, but he creates so many chances for himself with his dribbling ability defenders will have to be on top guard for the 90 minutes against his talent. Klaas Jan Huntleaar will be another player to keep an eye on, the proflific forward has bagged 31 goals in 51 games for Holland and will surely add to that tally again. The Dutch have a very expereinced man in Mark Van Bommel , the 35 year old has had a fantastic career, and is a tough midfield man and will add steel to the Dutch midfield if he plays. Spurs player Rafael Van Der Vaart will be looking to make an impact in Poland/Ukraine also, he has had a good season at Spurs and will look to continue his form again here, he's an attack minded midfielder and will be a threat if left on the ball. Wesley
Sneijder will be a crucial player again for the Dutch another attack minded player who plays for Inter, heavily linked away with a move from the San Siro this season, if he puts a good shift in that will add a few more million to his price tag for the clubs chasing him. He'll be first choice in the squad no doubt and will be wanting to try secure Holland this years Euros. The Dutch defence looks fairly good, with Ron Vlaar and John Heitinga looking to keep the attackers at bay. The Dutch also have a good selection of keepers, but Maarten Sketelenburg gets the nod from me for the number one jersey. Tim Krul has had a very impressive season for Newcastle and I think he'll become Dutch number one in a few years, and also in contention is Swansea's keeper Michel Vorm, who in my opinion has been the signing of the season in the Premier League this season, a highly under-rated keeper. The Dutch have the quality to win the competition but I think will fall at the Semi-Final stage this time round.
Player To Watch - Robin Van Persie
Prediction - Semi-Finalists
Portugal
 |
Ronaldo is a world class player, who has bags of ability
and will be looking to showcase this once more in
Poland/Ukraine |
The Portuguese head to Euro 2012 in a very tough group and disappointed in their friendly matches not lighting up the world at all, and expectation is they will fail, just hopefully not embarrass the nation in the process, but I think they have enough quality to avoid being the bottom team in the group but the Portugal v Denmark game will be the one which decides who will finish bottom of the pile, as I can't see either beating or taking points from the Germans or the Dutch. Despite their poor form the Portuguese have a few talented players such as, world class attacking man, Christiano Ronaldo who will be the key player if the Portuguese have any hope of going through the group stages of the Euros. Other interesting players to look at Joao Moutinho who is a highly talented midfielder in my eyes, and will look to attack from midfield where possible, Ricardo Quaresma is a talented winger and will probably be down one of the wings along with Ronaldo putting crosses into the box and making attacking runs at the fullbacks, my final midfield man watch will be for Miguel Veloso, he will be likely the man who adds that bit of strength and grit to the midfield, the former Sporting man is a talented midfielder of the Portuguese line-up. The Portuguese seem to have alot of talented midfielders but lack in other areas of the field. The key striker I feel for them this time round is Helder Postiga. Pepe is the big name in defence for the Portuguse and will be the man who will be crucial in stopping the attacking waves of the Dutch and the Germans, but I think they will prove too much for the Real Madrid man. The Portuguese have just enough talent to pip the Danes and take 3rd spot, still going home early, but least not having the mark of coming last to their names.
Player To Watch - Christiano Ronaldo
Prediction - Group Stages (3rd)
This completes part 2 of 4 of my previews of Euro 2012, coming tomorrow is my review of group C. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.
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