Euro 2012: Semi-Finals Predictions

Portgual Vs. Spain:

Though the reigning champions Spain will go into the first semi-final as big favourites to win and progress to a third straight final in major tournament football, their opponents and next-door neighbours Portugal are arguably in better form and will be keen to get one over on their more celebrated neighbours.

This international ‘derby-match’ makes for a mouth-watering semi-final clash at the Euros

It isn’t as if ‘getting one over’ on Spain is Portugal’s only huge incentive to take this run further either, they are also hugely driven by their failure to capitalise on their run to the final on home turf in 2004 and to some extent are still embarrassed by their loss to huge underdogs Greece in that final and they are more than keen to try and erase such bitter memories with an incredible rise to prominence at this tournament.

If Portugal were to defeat Spain and then whoever would be lying in wait in the final then the Portugese will have landed the trophy in the most spectacular of fashions having come through the ‘group of death’ defeating Denmark and Holland along the way and then having defeated rivals Spain and then either one of footballing super-powers Germany or Italy in the final.

Typically, to win a major tournament you have to have overcome some serious opposition along but with their quarter-final draw aside, if Portugal were to win the tournament come Sunday evening then they would surely have had one of the more amazing runs ever seen in a European Championships.

Portugal will need to keep their dreams in check though for now, as they must try and do what nobody has done since France in 2006 and find a way to get the better of Spain in the knockout stages of a major competition.

Spain have been on the receiving end of a wave of criticism in this tournament for their perceived negativity in not selecting an ‘out-and-out’ striker  in half of their games but their record stands up against any criticism and scepticism as they have won three out of their four matches and drawn with fellow semi-finalists Italy.

Arguably their most criticised performance was their quarter-final showing against France but the facts are that they won the game 2-0 against very strong opposition and that they hardly ever looked even remotely troubled throughout. People have begun to turn against Spain as they do with many sides that are successful over a long period of time, as success does grate on some and any complaints about Spain’s strategy at this tournament and also the lack of excitement for the neutrals in a couple of their matches is just grown out of bitterness.

It is very hard indeed to justifiably have a pop at Spain and Vicente Del Bosque’s preferred tactics as they have once again found themselves unbeatable up to this point of the tournament. However, if Portugal harbor real hopes of becoming the first team since France to get the better of Spain in a major tournament then they would do well to follow in the footsteps of Croatia who may have ended up losing to Spain but along the way they caused some major concerns for their more celebrated opponents and could really have won the game had they made the most of their chances.

I think Portugal are actually quite well set up to cause Spain some issues and I think that inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo they will draw the game 1-1 in normal time. If this predicted score is to materialise then I will back Portugal to win either in extra-time or on penalties even if just to make this score prediction a little more ballsy.

 

Italy Vs. Germany:

The second of the semi-finals is set to be a very intriguing game indeed and in the wake of Germany’s performance against Greece in the quarter-finals which was full of attacking intent and ambition, their coach Joachim Loew now has some very tough selections to make in his side to face an Italian team who are likely to pose a greater threat and greater defensive resistance than Greece were capable of.

Pirlo’s ‘Panenka’ spot-kick capped a wonderful night’s work against England both for him as an individual and for Italy as a whole

Arguably the toughest of Loew’s decisions regarding his line-up for the semi-finals will be whether he can find a place for the very impressive Marco Reus. Reus was behind much of Germany’s best play against the Greeks and he got his name on the score-sheet in emphatic style and may well have played his way in Loew’s thinking ahead of the Italy clash, as this individual performance was arguably more impressive than any other by one of Loew’s usual first-choice trio of attacking midfielders Thomas Mueller, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil thus far in this tournament.

It seems a formality that Mario Gomez will come back in for Miroslav Klose as the lone striker and Germany will be heavily reliant upon Gomez to prove himself just as clinical this time around as he was in the opening two games of the tournament, which saw him score three goals having had possession of the ball for just 22 seconds throughout these two matches. This conversion rate was staggering and it proved many of Gomez’s doubters very wrong indeed and now Germany will hope he can return to the side in similar goal-scoring fashion.

Germany’s opponents Italy may not have frightened the life out of any potential opposition at this tournament with their failure to score over 120 minutes of football against England who they had on the back-foot for much of Sunday night but they did play well and they will be hugely encouraged by Andrea Pirlo’s glorious exhibition of passing football and one of Mario Balotelli’s more persistent, determined and perhaps most importantly mature performances in an Italian shirt.

Italy are under no illusions about the task lying ahead of them if they are serious about winning the Euros and they know they will have to be more clinical if they are to have any chance of doing so but there were many more positives than negatives to come out of their quarter-final performance and consequentially they will head into the Germany game with greater self-confidence.

I think that Italy will find it hard to adapt to being fronted up to when it comes to possession and in terms of territorial domination in this semi-final clash after the dominance they experienced in their game against England and what I think will hurt them the most is that Andrea Pirlo in particular is far more unlikely to have a huge say in this game as Germany are better equipped to deal with the significant threat which he poses.

I think Germany will win the game 2-1 and I still have them down as my favourites to win the tournament as I have throughout the entirety of the competition.

Euro 2012: Quarter-Final 4

England Vs. Italy:

The last of the quarter-finals at the Euros pits England against an Italian side that have been trying their utmost to gain the upper hand in the psychological battle going into Sunday night’s game with their suggestions that ‘England are the new Italy’.

In a game which is set to be a battle of two organised outfits, Rooney and Pirlo will carry the heavy burden of being the ‘difference makers’

These remarks and suggestions of copycat tactics on one hand send out the message that the Italians are flattered by England’s ‘aspirations’ to take on board their style of play and that to have ‘followers’ of their methods is empowering and on the other hand attempts to belittle England by suggesting that they needed to copy the Italians in order to further themselves.

There is certainly more than a hint of a dig in the messages coming out of the Italian camp about England but when it comes down to it they will know that they are up against a team who are not merely an organised unit but rather a team on the up, a team that are as settled and as happy as they have been in quite some time and ultimately a team that can carry a significant threat.

England are unlikely to have taken too much heed of the Italian’s efforts to ruffle their feathers given their recent run of results and they too will go into this quarter-final match with real hope as well as a great deal of respect for their opponents.

Respect aside though, England will realise that this Italian side isn’t the strongest that they have ever brought into a major tournament and that they have nothing to fear going into the match, plenty to take care of and much to plan for but ultimately this Italian squad don’t possess the defensive qualities or midfield tenacity of many of their previous squads for major tournaments and England should go into this match believing that they can hurt the Italians.

If you look at each individual position across the field, in all honesty it would be hard to identify many Italian players that would make it into England’s starting line-up and this in itself should motivate England to prove they aren’t the ‘new Italy’ but perhaps that they can be a better version.

To pick between Gianluigi Buffon or Joe Hart in goal would be a tough call, you would probably have to find a place in England’s line-up for Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi and Claudio Marchisio would have a chance of making it in but the only other player who would almost certainly make it into England’s team is Mario Balotelli who would get the nod ahead of Danny Welbeck.

So, England should go into this match confident that they can get a result and I have a feeling that they will whether it be by hook or by crook. I think that the game will end 1-1 after ninety minutes and that England will take the game either in extra time or in a penalty shoot-out and if this were to happen then England would face-off against Germany in what would be an epic semi-final clash that would stir memories of England’s shoot-out heartbreak from Euro 96 at Wembley.

Euro 2012: Quarter-Final 1 Prediction

Portugal Vs. Czech Republic:

In the first of the quarter-finals we have two sides that it would be fair to say weren’t fancied by most in terms of their chances of progression to this stage, however, both sides have overcome losing their first games of the tournament with Portugal finishing second in ‘the group of death’ and the Czech Republic topping Group A in spite of a crushing 4-1 defeat to the now eliminated Russians in their opening fixture.

In their final group game against the Dutch Ronaldo’s performance for Portugal was arguably the best individual performance of the tournament so far

Since this opening day confidence knock the Czech Republic side have recovered their position valiantly and though their squad isn’t blessed with tremendous depth or individual quality, they have found a way to win games and that has been no easy feat when you consider the sides they have beaten in their last two games. First, they had to beat Greece who so famously mastered the art of punching above their weight and winning games they shouldn’t have and then having conquered the former champions they had to muster a result against Poland in their own backyard.

These two wins demonstrated admirable and impressive resilience and a surprising ability to be clinical when match-deciding chances came their way, however, I simply can’t see any way that they can beat Portugal who have better options than the Czechs in arguably every single position on the field.

Though I don’t expect the Czechs to just lie down and take a beating, I think that this quarter-final tie will be fairly reminiscent of the events of the Czechs opening game against Russia. In the Russia match the Czechs battled hard throughout and at times they even brought the fight to their opposition on the offensive but eventually the superior quality of the Russian side told and they bagged a couple of late goals to underline their dominance.

I am going for a 3-1 win to Portugal and though I expect them to once again be heavily reliant upon their skipper Cristiano Ronaldo, who was at his unstoppable best against the Dutch in Portugal’s final group game, I hope to see the likes of Nani and Helder Postiga and perhaps even midfielders Joao Moutinho and Raul Meireles start to contribute more meaningfully to the goals tally.

Euro 2012: Day 11 Predictions

Croatia Vs. Spain:

This fixture places the top two teams in Group C against one another and if either side wins the match then they will top the group and face the runners-up in Group D in the quarter-finals.

Torres found his best form against Ireland and will be hoping to keep it up against Croatia tonight

Up to this point Croatia have surpassed the expectations of many and they have been well worth the four points which they have gained so far in the group stages. Their opening  3-1 win against Ireland was clinical and then they followed this result with a strong second half fight-back against Italy to earn themselves what could prove to be a crucial point.

They will again have to dig deep if they are to get anything out of their match against Spain and given their  opponents’ suffocating style of possession-play Croatia are likely to have to be even more clinical than they have been already in their opening two games. The key to Croatia getting a win or a draw will be the solidity and stubbornness of their defensive play and the link play between star player Luka Modric and their two impressively clinical front-men Mario Mandzukic and Nikica Jelavic.

Having struggled to break down a stubborn Italian side in their opening game, Spain will have been buoyed by their thumping of Ireland four days ago. Vicente Del Bosque decided to ditch the ‘4-6-0’ formation from their opening fixture and opted for a recognised front man in the form of Fernando Torres. He then had to do little more than sit back and reap the rewards of his decision as Torres bagged himself a couple of confidence boosting goals in an emphatic victory, which sees them head into the last game of Group C as the favourites to win the group.

They may be the favourites to win the match and win the group but Spain will have to be very wary of the threat which Croatia have posed to the other sides in Group C and this match is unlikely to be anywhere near as comfortable as the other night against Ireland. I’m going for a 2-1 win for Spain with Torres to add to his goals tally for the tournament.

 

Italy Vs. Ireland:

Up to this point Ireland have failed to do themselves justice at the Euros and as old and stubborn as he may be, Giovanni Trapattoni will surely be left ruing his side’s missed opportunity to announce their return to tournament football with real gusto. Two games and two unimpressive losses is a record which Ireland will be determined to nip in the bud and they will be very eager to put things right by at least going home with a point courtesy of their final group game tonight.

Ireland have disappointed thus far and Italy will be confident of inflicting another defeat upon them

Their opponents today are Italy who will be fairly satisfied with their first two games of the tournament in spite of only having picked up two points. Their opening day draw against Spain will have been of particular satisfaction as they matched ‘the world’s best side’ for long periods of the match and as well as negating much of the threat of their much-vaunted opposition they also created some very decent chances of their own and could even have won the game had they been a little more clinical. Their second game of the group stages will have been have been less pleasing, as a win would have put them in contention to win the group and they failed to push on from what was a very impressive first half performance against the Croats and ended up with another 1-1 draw.

This record of having led both of their matches but having failed to win a game so far in the tournament will be a real concern for Cesare Prandelli and his Italian side but they know that they must win against Ireland tonight  if they are to have any chance of progressing to the last eight and I think they will do so. I think Italy will win the game 3-1.

Euro 2012: Day 10 Predictions

Germany Vs. Denmark:

Mario Gomez has been the star of Group B so far with three goals in two games

With Germany looking as steely, as focused and as clinical as they have done in their opening two games it is hard to see them slipping up against a decent Danish side. The motivation for Germany to win or at least get a point out of their final group game is clearly the possibility of securing the top place in the group which means they should theoretically be handed a more favourable quarter-final draw.

Denmark’s motivation is certainly greater than that of the Germans in that they are playing for their survival in the competition and they know that even just a point could be enough for them to advance from the ‘Group of Death’ having gone into the tournament as the clear underdogs to do so.

I think Denmark won’t lack motivation or determination against a very good German side but I think they will be found lacking in the final third against the likes of German centre-back Mats Hummels who has been brilliant in their opening two games. I expect Germany to keep a clean sheet and win the game 2-0 thereby maintaining their 100% record in Group B.

 

Holland Vs. Portugal:

Going into their final group game Holland, who were one of the pre-tournament favourites, are very lucky to still have a chance to progress to the quarter-finals after a couple of lacklustre performances en-route to defeats against Denmark and Germany.

If, for instance, Denmark had held on for a couple more minutes against Portugal and got themselves a  2-2 draw then they would be on four points and Holland would have already been assured of elimination but as it stands they still do have some hope to cling  to in their final game of the group stages.

In this final group game Holland will have to try and overwhelm a Portugese side who have actually been pretty decent up to now. In their opening game against Germany they weren’t really outclassed or really outplayed, they just lacked a little bit of extra composure which Germany’s Mario Gomez demonstrated with his winning header and then in their second game they got the better of and scored three goals against a Danish side who were so impressive in defence against the Dutch and it could even have been more than three had Cristiano Ronaldo had his shooting boots on.

If the Dutch beat Portugal by two or more goals in tonight’s game then they could well advance to the last eight of the competition having managed to accrue just three points from their total of three group matches. I think they will win and will make it an exciting night of football but I think they will be limited to a winning margin of just one goal. I’m going for 2-1 Holland.

Euro 2012: Day 8 Predictions

France Vs Ukraine:

In the opening game France were undoubtedly the side dictating the play against England but they did seem to lack real drive and creative ability in the middle of the park. This is a problem which needs to be sorted very quickly if they are to fulfil their ambitions at this tournament, as the likes of Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema were forced to drop deep on too many occasions which meant that the French struggled to make real inroads into the heart of the English defence in spite of their possessional and territorial superiority.

Andriy Shevchenko re-captured some of the old magic against Sweden and will need to be even more clinical against the French

It is arguable that the Ukranian defence will present greater openings for the French to take advantage of than England afforded them  but still the French must focus on using the ball more effectively and supplying their more dangerous players with greater opportunities to harm the opposition.

France’s opponents on Friday are the co-hosts Ukraine who pulled off one of the results of the first round when they defeated Sweden by two goals to one in Kiev. Inspired by their ageing talisman Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine managed to fight back from a goal behind and in doing so proved that they may well do better than people expected them to.

In addition to Shevchenko it was Ukraine’s young attacking midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko that caught the eye for the co-hosts  in their opening victory. He looked strong, full of energy and technically very sound when crossing from wide positions. If the Ukraine are to push for qualification to the latter stages of the competition then he will surely be key to their hopes and France and England must both be wary of the threat that he poses.

Even though I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the co-hosts in the opening game they did seem constantly troubled by the presence of Sweden’s real world-class talent Zlatan Ibrahimovic and I think they will struggle to keep the French at bay as they possess more than just one major attacking threat. I think France will win this game 3-1 and will put themselves in a very decent position in the group.

England Vs. Sweden:

Whilst England will be fairly pleased with their first performance of the Euros, today’s opponents Sweden will be more than a little irritated with their own progress to date.

If England do opt for two front-men then Carroll and Welbeck could cause the Swedish back four some real problems

The Swedes performance in the 2-1 loss to the Ukraine was very disappointing and it is of no real surprise that there are rumours circling of division in the camp in the wake of such a disorganised outing against a side who they will feel they should have beaten.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic for long periods of the game seemed the only player in the Sweden side capable of causing any damage at all but even he was a little wasteful at times and at the back their experienced campaigners Olof Mellberg and Andreas Granqvist appeared as if they had under-estimated and were ill-prepared for the threat posed by Andriy Shevchenko in terms of his movement and his aerial ability.

It is this lack of defensive organisation which will excite England the most going into the second game of the tournament as their side is likely to be packed with players capable of causing the Swedish defence a lot of problems in the air.

It sounds as if England are going to opt for two front men in this game with Andy Carroll expected to take the place of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain whose likely omission will mean that Ashley Young will switch to a wider role on the left. I for one think that this switch in formation is a sensible one going into the game against Sweden given their apparent weaknesses in defence and if Ashley Young and James Milner can provide decent service from the wings then Danny Welbeck and Carroll should have plenty to feed off of.

I think England will win the game 2-0 and will sit joint top of Group D with France come the end of today.

Euro 2012: Day 7 Predictions

Italy Vs.Croatia:

Both of the sides involved in the first of Thursday’s matches will be very pleased with how they acquitted themselves in their opening fixtures of Euro 2012.

Di Natale’s finish was sublime and he may well start against Croatia

Italy dealt well with Spain’s unusual ‘4-6-0′ formation for the first hour of the game and looked consistently threatening on the break with Balotelli and Cassano both spurning decent opportunities before second half substitute Antonio Di Natale popped up with a delightful finish to give them a surprise lead.

Unfortunately for Italy the lead wasn’t theirs for long as Spain hit back quickly through Cesc Fabregas’ equaliser but ultimately the Italians will be fairly pleased with the draw and with how they dealt with Spain’s unexpected formation and typically constant threat in and around the box.

Croatia will also be in good spirits heading into the Italy clash as they were at their clinical best against an Irish side who are often very difficult to break down. Croatia manager Slaven Bilic set his team up in a positive fashion and knowing that Ireland would play on the back foot seemed to grasp the fact that his team would need to make the most of any opportunities that came their way and his players

Mandzukic was the two goal hero Croatia in their opener

delivered.

The game between these two sides is arguably the most pivotal of the entire group stage as many believe it will decide who qualifies from the group along with tournament favourites Spain. However, if Croatia win and Spain fail to beat Ireland in the second of Thursday’s matches then Croatia will already be through as group winners.

Italy will be pleased with their point against Spain and will back themselves to beat Ireland so a draw on Thursday wouldn’t be an awful result and I think that is what the outcome will be, I’m going for a 1-1 draw.

Spain Vs. Ireland:

Ireland and their fans may well just be happy to be in the Euros as many are suggesting but they will still be feeling a little flat after a disappointing defeat in their opening game of the tournament.

The Ireland manager has been put under great media pressure to start James McClean against Spain

Spain on the other hand certainly have more lofty ambitions about the tournament as a whole and though they may view Italy as their greatest challengers in Group C I think they too will be left a little underwhelmed by their opening day performance and result.

Time will tell of course whether Spain’s point against the Italians was actually a very good point in the context of the group but with the players that Spain have at their disposal they would surely have hoped they could start building some momentum with a win right from the off. The second round of group fixtures though provides Spain with the perfect opportunity to kick-start the defence of their European crown against an Irish side who looked a little lacklustre at this level in the opening round of fixtures.

Fabregas was probably the most advanced player in Spain’s surprise ‘4-6-0’ formation

The reason Ireland’s performance was so disappointing was that not only did they try and play defensive minded football as everyone had expected them to, but their display at times crept beyond this and into the realms of negativity and damage limitation. Within the context of major tournament football they simply appeared a little shell-shocked.

Sadly for Ireland I simply can’t see how they are going to drastically improve on Sunday’s showing and avoid being eliminated from the tournament on Thursday and I expect Spain to win comfortably. I’m going for the reigning champions to win 3-0 but if they play with an ‘out-and-out striker’ then they could even win by more.

Euro 2012: Day 6 Predictions

Denmark Vs. Portugal:

The two teams involved in the first game of the second round round of fixtures in Group B will go into the match with very contrasting emotions following their first results of the group stages.

Ronaldo will be hoping to fire Portugal to their first points of Euro 2012

Denmark head into the match riding the crest of a wave having sent shockwaves through the tournament with a surprise 1-0 win against a much fancied Dutch side. I had predicted a very open game between Denmark and Holland with the Dutch coming out on top in spite of my accompanying prediction that the Dutch might be end up falling at the first hurdle and being eliminated in the opening round of the Euros.

On one hand I may be proved correct in that Holland are now right up against it in their bid to progress to the latter stages of the competition but on the other I got things very wrong indeed. The game did indeed begin in fairly open and fluent fashion with Holland on top but after Denmark took the lead against the run of play it became a story of Danish doggedness and Dutch frustration and stuttering.

They may have lost out in nearly all of the statistic categories but Denmark deserved their win for their clinically finished goal from Michael Krohn-Delhi and the admirable determination and execution of their defensive plans.

In stark contrast to the jubilation amongst the Danish fans, the Portugese players and fans will be left deflated following their 1-0 loss to Germany and the reason for their upset isn’t really down to a poor performance but more out of frustration that they couldn’t finish off a decent night’s work.

Of course, Germany are a very good side and Portugal were the underdogs going into the match so one might think a narrow defeat wasn’t a poor result but in truth Germany seemed a little lacking and Portugal for the most part completely negated any threat that their opponents posed. Also, after Germany managed to break the deadlock Portugal came back strongly with a much more offensive approach and in the end probably should have got themselves a point with Silvestre Varela wasting the best of their late opportunities.

So, there were several things for Portugal to be pleased with in their opening game but ultimately they were on the wrong end of the result and perhaps they are left ruing the fact that they left it so late to try and cause the German defence some problems.

In tomorrow’s game I think Portugal will try to play more offensively and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nelson Oliveira start in place of Helder Postiga in the wake of an impressive cameo against Germany. I think Portugal will win the game 2-0 and take themselves level on points with Denmark and in doing so they could blow the group wide open.

Germany Vs. Holland:

When the draw was made for the Euros this game looked like the pick of the group matches. Not only does it see two of the pre-tournament favourites face-off at an early stage but it also renews one of European football’s most famous and most heated rivalries.

The Dutch-German rivalry is one of the biggest in international football but hopefully their won’t be any incidents as unsavoury as this…

Gone are the days of Frank Rijkaard spitting in Rudi Voller’s mullet but the memories of such moments and the memories of some fine games of football still live on and how Germany would love to be the team that defeats the Dutch and in doing so effectively knock them out of the tournament in the very first round.

In the opening games of Group B both Germany and Holland were under-par but the important difference between their respective opening results were that Germany took home three points against a decent Portugese side and Holland failed to take anything from their match against a Denmark side who many thought would end up propping up the rest of the teams in the ‘Group of Death’.

Both sides will head into this one with a point to prove, Germany in terms of upping their performance level and Holland in terms of the desperate need to get at very least one point on the board and I think it will be a 1-1 draw. Hopefully this game will prove to be as much of a spectacle as previous encounters between these two great footballing nations.

Euro 2012: Day 4 Predictions

 

England Vs. France:

 

England and France have arguably been two of the most frustrating sides in tournament football over the past ten years as England have consistently under-performed and France have failed to maintain an extended period of dominance in the wake of their back-to-back World Cup and Euros wins in 1998 and 2000.

France appear to have a more fluid and attacking set-up to England so it will be interesting to see who prospers on Monday night

 

This time around both sides head into the tournament with perhaps a little less expectation weighing them down and both will hope that this can work in their favour.

 

France have come to Poland and Ukraine with a fairly fresh looking and youthful squad and some are tipping them as dark horses to sneak a way through to the latter stages of the tournament. I think their squad is indeed full of interest and the fact that they have opted for just two out-and-out strikers in their set-up suggests that they will go for one up top and play with a trio of attacking midfielders each with a license to roam in behind Karim Benzema. This modern approach could serve the French well and I expect them to top the group.

 

England may also have a slightly less familiar look to their squad than in recent tournaments but it seems that they will opt for a far more old-fashioned and rigid formation and structure. The major hiccup in England’s preparations has arguably been the two game suspension hanging over star man Wayne Rooney’s head, as it is difficult to see them scoring a great deal of goals and playing with the attacking imagination required to beat a team like France when he is absent.

 

Having said that though, I think England’s defensively minded set-up will see them get a 1-1 draw against the French which wouldn’t be a bad result for either side in the context of the group.

 

Sweden Vs. Ukraine:

The second match of Group D may not sound like a cracking game on paper but the fact that co-hosts Ukraine will be making their European Championships bow in elaborate fashion provides the game with plenty of intrigue. Also, the performance of Sweden could be very interesting to keep an eye on as a win for them in particular would cause some major concerns for either England or France if they were to lose out in their head-to-head on Monday evening.

Co-hosts Ukraine aren’t fancied by many in the group stages

Sweden have a stronger squad at their disposal than their opponents tonight but Ukraine will surely find some inspiration from their home following and the co-hosts could well prove to be very difficult to break down. Crucial to their hopes of shocking the rest of Europe and qualifying for the quarter-finals is holding midfelder Anatoliy Tymoschuk who reads the game very well and is very capable when it comes to breaking up the oppositions play.

Whether or not Ukraine are as dogged as expected, if Sweden play to their potential and the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic can contribute strongly then they should win this game and they should maintain hope that they can outdo either one of England or France in the group stages as a whole.

I think that Ukraine will try and play mainly very defensive and abrasive football and will succeed for the most-part in keeping Sweden at bay on the night but I think the Swedes will make a breakthrough at some point and will begin their campaign with a narrow and hard-earned 1-0 win.