Sunday, November 13, 2011

Euro 2012 Playoffs

So the group stages of the Euro 2012 Qualifying are over and here are the automatic qualifiers:

Poland (Host)
Ukraine (Host)
Germany (Winner Group A)
Russia (Winner Group B)
Italy (Winner Group C)
France (Winner Group D)
Netherlands (Winner Group E)
Sweden (Group E Runner Up)
Greece (Winner Group F)
England (Winner Group G)
Denmark (Winner Group H)
Spain (Winner Group I)

There are 8 teams duking it out for the final spots and here are the aggregate's.

Portugal 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina (2nd Leg @ Portugal)
Croatia 3-0 Turkey (2nd Leg @ Croatia)
Czech Republic 2-0 Montenegro (2nd Leg @ Montenegro)
Republic of Ireland 4-0 Estonia (2nd Leg @ Republic of Ireland)

It seems certain that Croatia and Ireland will advance, especially since they are at home in the final leg. Czech Republic will have to be careful, being away at a dangerous Montenegro team with Roma striker Mirko Vucinic and a young, talented Manchester City defender in Stefan Savic. I do believe though, that Czech Republic will advance. I expect a 1-0 win from Montenegro, making the aggregate 2-1 in favor of the Czech Republic. Portugal I also think will advance. Their offense (essentially Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani) is too good for Bosnia-Herzegovina. I expect a 2-0 win for Portugal.

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