Euro 2012: Three Odds-on Favorites and Two Darkhorses

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at Internationaled.org

Published: October 12, 2011

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Almost 40 months have passed since Fernando Torres, the in-form scourge of Europe at the time, fired Spain past Germany in a narrow 1-0 final to close the 2008 European Championships.

Much has changed since then. But as the saying goes, just as much has, inevitably, remained the same. Four years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, after all.

Spain and Germany both booked automatic passage to next summer's championships, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, with superlative ease.

The '08 winners cruised through Group I, where their sternest competition came from a surprising Scotland team who, despite starting brightly, petered out by the close, finishing a disappointing third.

Spain had racked up 26 goals and conceded only five during their sterling run, which finished Tuesday with a 3-0 home victory over the Tartan Army.

For those who love an upset, or at least the hint of one—last December's chilly thriller between Spain and Scotland is worth a watch.

Germany made no mistake during their campaign, either, coasting to a perfect 10 wins in 10 matches, scoring 34 goals along the way.

The Netherlands, runners-up in World Cup 2010, were losers Tuesday in what was a meaningless final match of qualifying at the Rasunda Stadion in Sweden.

The Dutch had sealed their direct passage to Euro '12 on the backs of nine consecutive victories in Group E, playing some delectable collective football along the way.

Their rollicking 5-3 victory over Hungary in Budapest last spring teemed with goals. While it would be remiss to neglect to mention the 11-0 thrashing of San Marino a month ago, considering Finland beat the perennial minnows of European football 8-0, that scoreline's luster becomes a couple shades more corroded.

England and France are both back in the fold, having earned direct qualification, although in far less-convincing fashion. Still, it's good to...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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