Euro 2012 Team Previews: Spain Still The Favorites

One - Zero.

One - Zero.

Croatia could pull a surprise and make a deep run at Euro 2012. They could also fall flat on their faces. Nobody really knows what to make of the checkered Croats in Poland/Ukraine, and that is half the fun.

But four years is a long time. Croatia may be ranked eighth in the world, but that is from the never-reliable FIFA rankings and the team has a host of problems that they didn’t have four years ago. For one, Kovak retired, leaving them with a hole in the midfield. Olic is also missing from the team, although his absence is due to injury, and that defense that performed so admirably four years ago is now older and much slower.

Beyond Lewandowski (someone who should be seriously considered for the Golden Boot), only Kuba has a decent scoring record, with 6 goals last season for Dortmund and 9 goals in 51 games for Poland. Thus, when Poland attack, Kuba will usually try to influence the game, either by combining with Obraniak and setting up crossing opportunities, or through getting into decent scoring positions. A further crossing threat on the right hand side will be through the virtual wingback, Piszczek, which could allow for some devastatingly effective combinations between Piszczek, Obraniak and Kuba on the right hand side.

The two defensive midfielders will shield a very deep-lying defence; neither French born Damien Perquis nor his likely partners Marcin Wasilewski or Aradiusz Glowacki are particularly quick off the mark, but all are rather strong in the air, making them good penalty box defenders, and thus much more adept to defending deeply. At left back, Jakub Wawrzyniak could be the only Ekstraklasa representative if Murawski doesn’t start; unlike Murawski, Wawrzyniak has very little experience outside of Poland, so, between his relative inexperience and Piszczek’s desire to push forward, opposing teams may find joy down Poland’s flanks.

Michal Bílek took an aging squad through much of the qualification matches, a squad which won just half their matches, scoring just 12 goals in the eight games played. And then came the infamous Scotland match, in which Jan Rezek blatantly dived to earn a last minute penalty, converted by Michal Kadlec to earn a point for the Czechs. Bílek used a mixture of experienced and inexperienced players in that squad, with fine results overshadowed by that dive.

Then there are the players that only those with expertise in the Czech domestic league will likely have heard of. Bílek raided Viktoria Plzeň when selecting players, choosing five from the club which finished in third place this season. The most impressive of these Czech-based players is already on his way up: Wolfsburg signed Václav Pilař in January, but left him on loan in the country to continue preparing for the tournament. Pilař just might be the one to lift the Czechs further in the tournament, tearing up the left flank or cutting inside to take a shot.

Like he does for Real Madrid, Ronaldo will play on the left side of an attacking formation, regularly cutting in onto his right foot to look for shooting opportunities. Portugal, however, does not have a player like Mesut Özil to play off of when he drifts inside. Portugal don’t play with a No. 10, mostly because they don’t have one. The quality of their midfield doesn’t compare favorably with any of the other teams in Group B, through no fault of any of the players on the roster or manager Paulo Bento. Portugal simply isn’t producing playmakers or destroyers.

Most three-man midfields in the world are made up of three different kinds of players that compliment each other. There’s no right or wrong way to put together a midfield, as long as the midfield is put together with players who have varied skill sets, or at the very least, skill sets that fit the specific system of the team. Some teams have a deep-lying playmaker, an energy guy and a goal-scoring attacking midfielder. Some teams play with a destroyer, a technical link-up player and an advanced playmaker.

Besides the invisible sucking hole in midfield that could occur, the system used against Russia relied too much on a weak defence. De Rossi is a destroyer, sure, but for the most part, the defence was left to the back four (or two, at times). There was very little link-up play between the defence and the midfield, allowing Russia to slip in and grab possession. If Italy continues to use two fullbacks that are fairly useless at defending, it might be wise to swap out Montolivo for a midfielder who can execute a tackle every once in awhile.

Andrea Pirlo. The playmaker may have just turned 33, and his face might give the impression that he’s two decades older, but his right foot certainly doesn’t know that it’s meant to have aged. After AC Milan introduced a new policy of only offering one-year contracts to players over the age of thirty, Juventus snapped up Pirlo -- and the scudetto. Sure, it wasn’t just the midfield architect that took the Old Lady to the top, but Pirlo played a significant role in helping capture the title. Just three goals in Serie A, it was his assists that were most vital, his 13 the top in the league.

Russia have their fair share of solid young players coming through the ranks, but Euro 2012 will be more about their veteran players. The oldest and most experienced among their ranks are likely to get one more cycle to make it on the world stage following Euro 2012, but this will be one of the last times this core of Russian players is together. Most of the team’s big names are in their late 20s, and manager Dick Advocaat is leaving the team at the conclusion of the tournament.

Arshavin is the team’s biggest name and the three-man Zenit St. Petersburg contingent in midfield could make or break the Russians, but Alan Dzagoev is beginning to emerge as their star. The CSKA Moscow No. 10 plays as a left forward who cuts inside in Russia’s 4-3-3, and he will be the team’s key creative outlet. The 21-year-old is coming off the best season of his career for his club team and he’s finally made the transition from being a promising youngster to being a great professional. With 20 international caps and three seasons of Champions League football to his name, he now has the experience that he’ll be expected to play a massive role for Russia.

On the last Match of the Day of the season, the advertisement for this year’s Euro 2012 for England was that “expectations have never been lower.” For once, Match of the Day seems to be right. Usually, the English media goes into an international competition with guns blazing; “England will surely win it” claim most pundits. This summer, though, there isn’t that feeling (although, if England were to play very well against a solid Belgium side, there may be more excitement). The manager who led England through qualifying, and to a highly impressive 1-0 victory against Spain, Fabio Capello, is gone.

Hodgson’s side will be organized and will look to deny opponents space. They should be able to defend well enough to get out of the group and perhaps make a run; the problem will be scoring from open play; England cannot rely exclusively on set pieces.

*How good would a Yugoslavia national team be right now? It’s a shame we don’t get to see it.

They won 2-0.

Not too much has changed since Greece won Euro 2004. They have the same kinds of players and they play the same style of football. They have a good mix of youth and experience, they’re very organized at the back, and they’re fairly technically adept for a team that doesn’t play pretty passing football. The only thing that’s changed is that they’re not surprising anyone.

Greece failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, but Euro 2012 marks the third consecutive major finals and the fourth out of five that the nation has qualified for. Most of their team is based domestically and the players who are based outside of Greece do not play for European powers, but they remain competitive regardless. Every international manager that might come across Greece is now familiar enough with the team that they’re not going to make a miracle run to a European title, but they’re a good enough team that they won’t be a walkover for anyone. A defensive -- and some would say very negative -- 4-3-3 is not a gimmick tactic. It’s tough to break down.