Euro 2012 | This much we know | 2nd Round Summary

Group A

Russia are the only team in this group to have a positive goal difference, which is a fair refection of their dominance so far.  They have to play Greece, who have been woeful in their two games thus far, and who are not going to qualify.

The czech Republic and Poland play each other, and Poland need to win this match, or else the Czech Republic and Russia will go into the quarter finals.

Group B

The so-called "group of death" has seen the death of the Netherlands.  Their shock defeat, caused entirely by profligacy of their strikers (they have had 46 goal attempts producing 1 goal over 2 games).  This has left Germany leading this group.

Germany play Denmark next, in a game which Denmark must obtain a result better than Portugal, and Portugal play the Netherlands. As these matches are played concurrently, Germany must also get at least a point from this game.

Group C

Spain are, as expected, top of this group.  The surprise is that Croatia are second, thanks to an unexpected draw with Italy and a defeat of Ireland.

By a mathematical quirk, if Spain and Croatia manage to score a 2-2 draw (or any higher score draw) then the Italians match with Ireland will be a dead rubber.

On the assumption that Italy beat Ireland, they will qualify if Spain or Croatia win.  So the chances are that Italy and Spain will qualify from this group.

Group D

The next matches in Group D will show us how good England are compared to the others in the group.  England have to play Ukraine, for whom it will be a home match.  England will need to ensure that they get a point at the very least.  If England lose, they will need to hope that France lose also.

Euro2012 | Denmark v Portugal Preview | Betting Tip

After shocking The Netherlands in their first match of the tournament, Denmark are reporting no injuries for their next match against Portugal.  Denmark are developing a habit of defeating teams which are, on paper at least, better; having already beaten Portugal three times in the previous four occasions the two teams have met.

Portugal are also injury free.  Following their much criticised defensive performance against Germany; a match which they lost,will need to win this encounter.  Their coach, Paulo Bento, said to reporters;

"There are no favourites tomorrow.  Of course, Denmark are better placed, but we'll give 100%, and having beaten them before, we can beat them again."

Betfair have other ideas.  The betting exchange has Portugal at 1.94 (20/21), and they are, man-for-man, the better team.


Betting Tip


[The following tip is for fun only.  Gamble responsibly (if at all) and only gamble money you can afford to lose.]


My advice for this game would be to lay Portugal with the intention of backing them for higher odds soon after the game starts.

Game Preview: Netherlands v Denmark 09-06-12

So, let's have a go at previewing a match.


The so-called "Group of Death"kicks off today and the first match is Netherlands v Denmark.


Injuries and Suspensions


Netherlands are nailed on favourites for this.  Betfair have them at 1.79 (4/5 for traditionalists) at the time of writing, but rising.  They will be missing Mathijsen with a hamstring injury, but should still brush Denmark aside.


Denmark, on the other hand, will have to replace midfielder Niki Zimling (probably with Christian Poulsen according to FourFourTwo.com).


The Story So Far


The Netherlands scored more goals than any other team in their qualification campaign, but this includes 16 goals scored against San Marino.They also fired 6 goals against Northern Ireland in a recent friendly.
They have only made seven changes to their 2010 World Cup Final squad.


Denmark, while no push-over, can be expected to sit back and soak up the pressure and hope that Christian Eriksen, one of Europe's most sought-after young midfielders, is able to supply quality service to Nicklas Bendtner.  They didn't exactly set the world on fire in their qualifiers, scoring only 15 goals in total, and are unlikely to qualify from his group, however well organised they are.