Euro 2012 – Group B Preview

Continuing our coverage of the groups of 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, we preview Group B – the group of death

 

Moving ahead with our series of Euro 2012 group previews, we now preview the group billed as the ‘group of death’ in this year’s tournament – Group B. This group contains four teams with big names and reputation and pedigree in the tournament. There are three former champions which are similar to Group A but this group have teams which are regarded as the ‘big’ ones of Europe. Germany, who have lifted the trophy on three occasions and are the most successful team in the history of the tournament; Netherlands,  the runners up from the previous World Cup who were champions in 1988 and Denmark, the surprising champions from 1992. Also in the group are Portugal who haven’t yet managed to win the tournament, but were beaten finalists in 2004. There is a history between all the teams in the group, especially Germany and Netherlands with World Cup 1974, Euro 1988, World Cup 1990, Euro 1992 and Euro 2004 matches. The teams even played in a friendly recently, with Germany running out 3-0 victors. Portugal and Denmark were in the same Euro 2012 qualifying group with the Danes coming out on top and relegating Portugal to a play-off match to qualify. All in all, the stage is set for an intriguing tussle.

 Netherlands

Resume: Champions 1988. Semi Finals 1976, 1992, 2000 and 2004. Quarter Finals 1996 and 2008

Road to the finals: Qualifying Group E Winner. P-10 W-9 D-0 L-1 GF-37 GA-8 GD-+29

The Dutch have been very impressive in their qualifying matches, with an all win record till the last game against Sweden. After the World Cup final defeat to Spain the team have made some adjustments in the defence but have retained the attacking flair that they always possessed. The retention of Bert Van Marwijk as manager has been a good sign for a team which used to change managers quite often. Van Merwijk generally plays with the 4-2-3-1 formation. The first choice goalkeeper, Maarten Stekelenburg of Roma has been in decent form for his club in Serie A. Van Merwijk will have a pleasant  excess of riches in naming the reserve goalkeeper as both Michel Vorm of Swansea City and Tim Krul of Newcastle United have been outstanding for their respective clubs. The centre of defence has a settled look with Joris Mathijsen of Malaga and John Heitinga of Everton, with Hedwig Maduro of Valencia as cover. Gregory van der Wiel of Ajax and Khalid Boulahrouz of VfB Stuttgart will be vying for the left back position. Erik Pieters of PSV and Vurnon Anita of Ajax are the choices for right back but both are a bit inexperienced.  The midfield is very strong with Nigel de Jong of Manchester City and the team captain Mark Van Bommel of Milan doing the anchoring job in front of the defence. The creative midfielder in the middle will be Wesley Sneijder of Inter who was one of the best players in the last World Cup. Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich is now back to full fitness and will start on the right wing and switch to the left when required. Dirk Kuyt of Liverpool has also played on the right wing but would probably be played as a substitute. The left side midfielder is likely to be Rafael Van der Vaart of Tottenham with Ibrahim Afellay of Barcelona as second choice. Robin Van Persie of Arsenal, who has been in outstanding form last year, has also played on the left wing although it is likely that he will start as the forward. The team has an able substitute in Klaas Jan-Huntelaar of Schalke, for the forward position.

The Dutch are a strong team and one of the favourites with the strength and depth of their squad. Their only concern is that they are in the toughest group which will test their credentials to the fullest. The mid-field and frontline are very strong. The defence is a bit lacking in pace at the centre. They start their Euro campaign against Denmark, which will be a difficult match. All their matches are at Kharkov which should help them. The second match against archrivals Germany will be the key to their fortunes in the tournament. Portugal has been a bogey team for the Dutch in the recent times and they would like to change that. Van Marwijk has to carry the burden of an expectant nation who will not be satisfied unless their team lifts the trophy. They should progress even after being placed in the group of death.

 Head to Head

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

GF

GA

GD

Germany

38

10

14

14

63

75

-12

Portugal

10

1

3

6

5

12

-7

Denmark

28

12

10

6

57

36

+21

Germany 

Resume: Champions 1972, 1980 & 1996 Runner Up: 1976, 1992 & 2008 Semi Finals: 1988

Road to the finals: Qualifying Group A Winner. P-10 W-10 D-0 L-0 GF-34 GA-7 GD-+27

The most successful team in the history of Euro with three championship wins and three runner up finishes qualified with a 100% all win record and was very impressive in all their matches.  Joachim Löw, who took over after 2006, has moulded a great team which has a blend of experience and youth. They are termed as favourites with Spain with the bookmakers predicting a repeat of the last final. Löw uses the 4-2-3-1 formation. In goal they have Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich with Rene Adler of Leverkusen, and Tim Wiese of Bremen as backup. The centre of defence has been a bit of a problem in recent years, with the poor form of Per Mertesacker for Arsenal. Holger Badstuber of Bayern and Arne Friedrich would have been first choice in the centre of defence but a long term injury to the latter has meant the inclusion of Mats Hummels of Dortmund and Benedikt Höwedes of Schalke as backup. Captain Philipp Lahm is one of the best full backs in the world and he has played both on the left and right back positions. He should play on the left back with Jerome Boateng of Bayern Munich in the right back. Christian Träsch of Wolfsburg was sensational in the left back position against Brazil in a friendly earlier this year, so there is adequate back up. The midfield is pretty strong with Bastien Schweinsteiger of Bayern and Sammy Khedira of Real Madrid in the anchoring role. A broken collar bone to Schweinsteiger had kept him out of the game for two months and Toni Kroos had ably shouldered his responsibility for the Bayern team and can do so for the national team as well. The creative midfielder role of Germany has many good players with Mesut Özil of Real Madrid as the first choice. However there are good replacements in Mario Götze of Dortmund – the German Messi, and Marco Reus of Monchengladbach. In the wings, Thomas Muller of Bayern on the righ and Lukas Podolski of Koln on the left should be the starters. They have an able replacement in André Schürrle of Leverkusen who has been in outstanding form last year. The forward line again has two options in Mario Gomez of Bayern and Miroslav Klose of Lazio who have both been in great form for their clubs. Cacau of Stuttgart can fill in the substitute’s role.

The German team is very strong with a pedigree of performances in big tournaments.  The first match against Portugal will be a good test for the Germans but the match against the Dutch will be the key. The good thing about this team is that they have more than one player in each position and a lot of the players are from the same club, Bayern Munich so their mutual understanding is very good. The only problem is that their central defenders are a bit inexperienced and may be put under pressure as was the case in the last World Cup semi-final against Spain. The midfield which was also outplayed in that match has gained a lot of experience and will definitely be stronger. They should be favourites to progress out of this group and reach the final, as anything less would mean a failure for them.

 Head to Head

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

GF

GA

GD

Netherlands

38

14

14

10

75

63

+12

Portugal

16

8

5

3

24

16

+8

Denmark

25

14

3

8

51

35

+16

Portugal 

Resume: Runner Up: 2004. Semi Finals: 1984 and 2000. Quarter Finals: 1996 and 2008

Road to the finals: Qualifying Group H Runner Up. P-6 W-5 D-1 L-2 GF-21 GA-12 GD-+9

Playoff vs Bosnia Herzegovina 6-2 Aggregate (0-0, 6-2)

Portugal had to qualify for the finals through a play-off match against Bosnia Herzegovina which was not decided till the second leg. They lost the group leader’s position after a loss against Denmark. Portugal has flattered to deceive in the major tournaments in recent years. The golden generation is gone and the new stars are yet to make the same impact. The Portuguese manager Paolo Bento usually uses a 4-3-3 formation with the variation of 4-1-2-3 in some away matches. Rui Patricio of Sporting Lisbon is the first choice goalkeeper with Eduardo of Benfica as an able replacement.  In the centre of defence, Pepe of Real Madrid should start with Bruno Alves of Zenit. They will miss Ricardo Carvalho who has announced his retirement from international football after problems with the manager. Fábio Coentrão of Real Madrid has been in great form and should start as left back. João Pariera of Sporting Lisbon and José Bosingwa of Chelsea will be vying for the right back position. The three midfield positions are pretty much sealed with Raul Meireles of Liverpool in the central position; João Moutinho of Porto to play on the right side and Miguel Veloso of Genoa on the left side. The front line has also been very regular under Bento with Nani of Manchester United on the right wing and Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of the side on the left wing. They will also switch wings from time to time. Hélder Postiga of Real Zaragoza will start as the centre forward and Nuno Gomes of Braga will come on as a substitute in that position.

Portugal is a good team but they don’t have the quality all over the park in all positions to challenge the big guns of the group, Netherlands and Germany. They have one of the best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo but can he lift his team to punch above their weight – that remains the question. The first match against Germany will be crucial for their chances and if they can manage a draw they could upset the apple cart.

 Head to Head

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

GF

GA

GD

Netherlands

10

6

3

1

12

5

+7

Germany

16

3

5

8

16

24

-8

Denmark

12

7

2

3

26

16

+10

Denmark 

Resume: Winner: 1992. Semi Finals: 1964 and 1984. Quarter Finals: 2004

Road to the finals: Qualifying Group H Winner. P-8 W-6 D-1 L-1 GF-15 GA-6 GD-+9

Denmark is the lowest ranked team in this group of death. However, this does not imply that they are the weakest. In fact they fared better than Portugal in the qualifying stage, topping their group. Morten Olsen, one of the members of the great Danish team of the 1980s, is the manager. He always employs the 4-2-3-1 formation. In goal, the Danes have two excellent goalkeepers in Anders Lindegaard of Manchester United and Thomas Sorensen of Stoke City. In defence, the captain Daniel Agger of Liverpool will partner Simon Kjær of Roma. Lars Jacobsen of København will be the right back and Simon Poulsen of AZ Alkmaar the left back. In the midfield, Christian Poulsen of Evian and Niki Zimling of Brugges will be in the anchoring role. In the attacking midfield role they will have Christian Eriksen of Ajax with the experienced Martin Jorgensen of AGF Aarhus as backup.  The very experienced Dennis Rommedahl of Brondby will play on the left wing. He may have lost the blistering pace he had a few years back but he still is a handful down the left side.  Michael Krohn-Dehli of Brondby will play on the right side. Nicklas Bendtner of Sunderland will be the main striker up front. He has always performed better for his national side than his club sides.

Denmark is a well organised side and they will give a good account of themselves in this difficult group. The first match against the Dutch will be the key to their chances of progression. They will be difficult to beat but the spark of creative play in the central areas of the midfield seems to be absent. If they manage to get through from this group, the tournament will be a success for them.

 Head to Head

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

GF

GA

GD

Netherlands

28

6

10

12

36

57

-21

Germany

25

8

3

14

35

51

-16

Portugal

12

3

2

7

16

26

-10

 

Final Verdict

The final verdict has four categories of teams: 1) Sure-shot which means that the team is the favourite to progress from the group. 2) Likely is the team who is not the total favourite but is the second favourite to qualify. 3) Dark Horse is a team which can reach the quarter-finals but has to overcome similar teams or favourites to do so. 4) Upset means that the team reaching the quarter-finals will be a major surprise. In groups, there might be more than a single team in each category or there might as well occur none in a category.

Sure-shot: Germany

Likely: Netherlands

Dark Horse: Portugal

Upset: Denmark

Kinshuk Biswas

About Kinshuk Biswas

Kinshuk Biswas is an architect by education, a consultant by profession, a quizzer, writer and an absolute football fanatic by choice. Follow him at http://confessionsofastonedmind.blogspot.com