In the last of my four posts on the Euro 2012 Group Stage, we have England, France, Ukraine, and Sweden in Group D. England and France have always been known for disappointment at the international stage, Ukraine has a home crowd to impress, and Sweden carries plenty of momentum into the finals.
We begin with grand old England. No nation's national team creates the headlines quite like England does. From the sacking of Fabio Capello over the winter, to the search for and eventual appointment of Roy Hodgson as boss for Euro, John Terry's loss of the captaincy, and all the way to Wayne Rooney's two game ban to open the tournament, English football has been sort of a soap opera of late.
Without Rooney, the burden to score falls mainly on his Manchester United teammate Ashley Young and his skill down the wing will be important to set up Andy Carrol. After the many follies with goalkeeping during the last World Cup, there should be a huge spotlight on goalkeeper Joe Hart. Youth could end up playing a role for the Three Lions, as young Arsenal starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain figures could see some time after starting against the French.
Speaking of the French, they have a lot to prove after being non-existent at the World Cup two years ago and in Euro 2008 before that. France is a nation with all the talent in the world, but literally nothing to show for it. They changed managers during qualifying for this year's European finals, and hope that can wend some of the dissent within the squad.
Their leading striker is Karim Benzema. The Real Madrid front man has improved greatly while playing for the Spanish champions. He is supported on the outside by Chelsea's Florent Malouda and the technically gifted Samir Nasri of Manchester City. Patrice Evra and Phillipe Mexes provide stability in back. France really has no excuse for not qualifying for the quarterfinals this year, what with their draw this year.
Ukraine faces a much more uphill battle than their Polish co-hosts. They got an opening round win against the Swedes, but still have to face the likes of England and France. They qualified for their first Euro solely because they were hosts. No way they make it without that virtue.
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk of Bayern Munich is the team's leader and standout player. Look for him to do the bulk of the work in the middle of the pitch. Former AC Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko, now with Dynamo Kiev, will receive Tymoshchuck's feeds in striker position. The experienced forward is Ukraine's biggest offensive threat. Overall, Poland's chances with the home crowd are better.
The Swedes were downed in stunning fashion in the opening game against Ukraine, which will likely be a major setback in any attempt at advancement. I would have picked them to finish third before the defeat. Sweden still have the potential to knock off England or France in a shocker.
Despite doing better in qualifying without him, AC Milan attacker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is Sweden's top player. Kim Kallstrom will be the leader in the midfield, he has a larger responsibility in transition with Sweden abandoning the 4-4-2 formation. The loss to Ukraine really hurts Sweden's chances of advancement, but and upset of one of the big guys will still put them through.
This group, while still fairly predictable, holds the possibility for an upset. Ukraine's win sets up a couple crucial matches with England and France. The draw between the two large sides puts pressure on them to win out the group, if they can.
Predicted order of finish:
England
France
Sweden
Ukraine
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