Euro 2012: Group B, a threeway with added bacon

Group B is the so called 'group of death' as it has 3 sides that are favourites to at least reach the semi finals in Germany, Portugal and Holland with Euro 1992 winners Denmark added into the mix as well. The fact one of those sides has to leave before the knock out stages isn't a blow to the tournament as it makes Group B the most competitive group of all to qualify from and some entertaining matches are in store.

Denmark
  Manager Morton Olsen has been at the helm of the Danish squad now for 12 years (in that time England have had 7) and continues to impress in getting Denmark to major tournaments. A fairly experienced has been selected for Denmark except in goal where back up goalkeeper Stephan Anderson who plays in France for Evian (4 of the team selected play for Evian) has only played 10 times for his country, Manchester United's Anders Lindergaard has been first choice but only has 5 caps and third choice is Kasper Schmeichel (son of the legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel) who has yet to make an appearance.
Denmark play a 4-3-3 formation, it's tried and tested for them and gets them overacheiving. Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner will be relied upon to get the goals and his ratio of 18 in 48 games suggests he can be a threat. Midfield see's the experience of Christian Poulsen and Thomas Kahlenberg who have almost 130 caps between them and provide the basis of the team play around them.
  Key player - Christian Eriksen, the Ajax midfielder is only 20 and already has played 23 games for Denmark, likened to Danish great Michael Laudrup, at the 2010 World Cup he was the youngest player though only made 2 brief substitute appearances and will be more of a key player in this tournament for the Danes.
  Prediction - Denmark are in the hardest group of all and will look to not lose all three games with maybe gaining a creditable draw against either Portugal, Germany or Spain but ultimately should finish bottom of the group and they won't get to sizzle like their bacon.

 Germany

Scarily, since the 2010 World Cup, Germany's style of play ha become MORE possession based as they look to control games through midfield and can quickly change positions around up front and if veteren Lazio striker Miroslav Klose is back fully fit and in form then Germany are potential champions. In recent games manager Joachim Lowe has slightly altered the dynamics of the style of play to make them less predictable to beat and should be that bit better than at the World Cup two years ago where they finished third. With players like Philipp Lahm, Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Germans will be entertaining to watch and hard to beat.

  Key player - Mesut Ozil, the Real Madrid attacking midfielder exploded onto the global stage in South Africa at the World Cup two years ago and now with two more years experience, he is an integral part of the German team. He has already ammassed 33 caps and scored 8 goals for is country and should add to that over the next few weeks and he looks a bit like a bug.

  Prediction - Germany will AT LEAST expect to get to the quarter-finals and avoiding injuries and suspensions, they could win the tournament


Holland
  Holland play with two defensive midfielders which may seem unorthodox but has seen them succeed and get to the World Cup final two years ago. Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder's form is vastly improved going into this tournament and with fellow attackers Arjen Robben (Yeah ok, Robben is good, but let's face it, he's no Batman) and Robin Van Persie Holland are considered contenders to win this summer. One issue however is the formation means they play a lone striker which will be Van Persie where Klass-Jan Huntelaar has been in great form since regaining his confidence after moving to Schalke and always looks a danger in scoring.
   Key player - Robin Van Persie, the Arsenal striker scored 30 goals in last season's Premier League and won the Player Of The Year award in England as well, he has been in scintillating form and has almost every club after him right now should contract talks with Arsenal not work out (Details of Arsenal's contract offer to Robin van Persie have been leaked. He's to be offered £130,000-a-week wages, a £5mil signing on fee and a chiropractor to help his back from carrying the rest of the team all season)
   Prediction - It's between Holland and Portugal to get out of the group presuming Germany will and the game between the two will most likely decide it.


Portugal

 Portugal have slowly changed over the past year and a half under coach Paulo Bento, they now move the ball more fluidly and attack with a lot more ease, the key to this has simply been making Cristiano Ronaldo happy and adapting a formation around him. Portugal have a lot of experience going into this tournament and could be real dark horse contenders in winning the trophy. Goalkeeping is their weakness though it's not to say they don't have quality in youngster Rui Patricio though the 24 year old Sporting Lisbon player has only 11 games to his name. With the likes of Real Madrid's Pepe and Fabio Contrao in defence, Chelsea's Raul Meirelles and Nani from Manchester United providing attacking option from midfielder and arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo (he was bowled over by his player of the year award. Even though slow-motion replays showed that it clearly never touched him), leading the attack, Portugal will do well in this tournament....if they get out of the group.

  Key player - Cristiano Ronaldo, the most expensive footballer of all time when Real Madrid paid £80m for his services from Manchester United, he has scored and outrageous 112 goals in 102 league games. Ronaldo  loves the limelight and it will be shining directly on him this summer, can he finally live up to his billing for Portugal?

  Prediction - If Portugal can get out of the group then they could go all the way to the final, no-one will want to face them, especially if Ronaldo is on form.

Euro 2012, new stars set to shine

With the 2012 European Championships due to start today, it's a chance for young players to shine, players that have established themselves at their clubs and are just finding their feet at international level. Traditionally, the Euros have been a platform for younger players to make a name for themselves and here I look at 7 players who could be household names after the tournament ends in three weeks

Danny Welbeck
Manchester United and England
21 year old centre forward
International games/goals: 5/1
Welbeck came through the youth ranks at Manchester United and after loan spells at Preston North End and Sunderland, last season was his first full senior season with the Premier League runner ups. Keeping out the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez he went on to make 30 appearances and score 9 goals in that time, mainly while partnering his England colleague Wayne Rooney. Making his international debut in March 2011 he has played 5 games for England to date, scoring his only goal in his last game against Belgium. Oddly, with Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two games, Welbeck will look to replace the man he partners at club level.

Jodi Alba
Valencia and Spain
23 year old left sided defender/midfielder
International games/goal: 4/0
Having been an ever present in the Valencia team since 2009, Alba is now getting recognition at international level, with Capdevilla not in the squad (he was starting left back when Spain won Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010), Alba is an exciting prospect to watch who could well move on to another club after this tournament (both Manchester United and Barcelona are reportedly interested), this is one exciting left back who could really make his mark over the next few weeks

Rui Patricio
Sporting Lisbon and Portugal
24 year old goalkeeper
International games/goals: 11/0
Having made his debut for Sporting in 2006, he has played almost 150 games for his club and is looking to cement himself as his countries no. 1. Having started the last 5 games for Portugal, it does seem manager Paulo Bento will stick with him and at just 24, this is the first tournament of potentially many that will feature Rui Patricio. If Portugal are to do well then he will have to perform though with the likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Nani in the team, the weight of a nation isn't on his shoulders, Portugal could be a very dangerous team in this tournament and one to watch.

Mario Gotze
Borussia Dortmund and Germany
20 year old attacking midfielder
International games/goals: 14/2
Germany are favourites to win the tournament just behind Spain and scarily, they have selected only one player over 30 so they will nly get better over the next few years. Gotze is a product of the Dortmund youth academy, making his first team debut in 2009 and making 25 appearances for them last season where he was part of the league and cup winning side.  Ironically making his debut in November 2010 with Andre Schurrle, both players simultaneously became the first players born in the re-unified Germany to represent their country. In less than 2 years Gotze has scored 2 goals in his 14 international games and is ready to take the world by storm, having already allegedly turned down a transfer to Arsenal, Dortmund may have to work hard to keep one of the best young players in the world right now after Euro 2012.

Christian Eriksen
Ajax and Denmark
20 year old midfielder
International games/goals: 22/2
The youngest player at the World Cup in 2010 and has spent the last 2 years having a rising influence on that Danish squad. In February 2011 after a match against England, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand both praised the midfielders performance. Having become a main part of the Ajax team over the past 2 and a half years and winning league titles, this is a tournament set up for Eriksen to make a name for himself and the 20 year old WILL start for a country that has nothing to lose, this Danish wonderkid has already attracted the attention of some of Europe's other major sides.

Alan Dzagoev
CSKA Moscow and Russia
21 year old attacking midfielder
International games/goals: 20/4
By the time the World Cup heads to Russia in 2018, Dzagoev should be the figurehead head of the Russian side and potentially the face of the tournament. Making his debut for CSKA Moscow in 2008, Dzagoev has been an ever-present for his club ever since and already won the Russian cup 3 times. When he made his debut for Russia in October 2008 he became the youngest ever outfield player for Russia and gone on to score 4 goals in 20 games for the Soviets. This set piece specialist has already attracted attention from clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham and is someone who is a diligent hard worker and can achieve whatever he wants to achieve.

Yann M'Vila
Rennes and France
21 year old defensive midfielder
International games/goals: 19/1
As of writing M'Vila was still in the French squad though had taken a knock in the weekend fixture against Serbia. Losing M'Vila would be a blow to French coach Laurent Blanc and disrupt his plans, that's how good this young defensive midfielder is for his country. Having played 130 games for his club Rennes since 2009, in August 2010 he won his first cap for France and has become a mainstay of a rejuvenated France squad that spectacularly imploded at the last World Cup. Strongly linked with a move to Arsenal, opposition sides won't enjoy coming up against the tough tackling Frenchman who will look to restore some national pride.