England under pressure in Group G
England will be under pressure to win Group G of the 2012 European Championship qualifiers, which will not be an easy task in the evenly contested group.
Facing Bulgaria, Switzerland, Montenegro and Wales, no easy games await Fabio Capello's men.
Yet following his team's disappointing exit in the round of 16 at this year's World Cup, Capello will be expected to win the group and qualify directly to the tournament.
Capello was criticized for not including enough young prospects in his squad after England's lacklustre World Cup performance.
With David James and Ledley King overlooked for the first two qualifying games against Bulgaria and Switzerland, and Jamie Carragher retiring for good from international football, a younger team may emerge during ahead of the 2012 tournament.
Manchester City's James Milner and Tom Huddlestone of Tottenham are among the younger players in Capello's new squad, while Theo Walcott's four goals in three league games for Arsenal this season saw him regain his place after being excluded from the World Cup squad.
If Walcott's form remains intact with the national team and if stars Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney vastly improve on their World Cup performances, England should have little trouble winning the group.
Bulgaria and Wales seek to pounce on talented squads
England play their first game at home against Bulgaria on 3 September.
Stanimir Stoilov's team will be without Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov, who has retired from international football, but still carry plenty of talent in their ranks.
Captain Stiliyan Petrov and Martin Petrov have both made their presence felt in the Premier League, where they play for Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers respectively.
Parma striker Valeri Bojinov, formerly of Manchester City, has 7 goals in 32 appearances for his country and will be instrumental in the Bulgarian attack.
Wales will look to challenge Bulgaria for second place in the group. The Welsh team is full of Premier League players, with Tottenham's Gareth Bale and Bolton's Sam Ricketts among them.
For goals, Wales will be looking to maverick striker Craig Bellamy, who recently left Manchester City for Cardiff City. The Welsh team have not qualified for the European Championships since 1976.
Montenegro and Switzerland complete even grouping
Zlatko Kranjcar's Montenegro team could pose a threat to Wales when they meet on 3 September.
Fiorentina's playmaker Stevan Jovetic has been ruled out for Montenegro, but the team can count on the striking ability of Roma's Mirko Vucinic and attacking creativity of Sporting Lisbon midfielder Simon Vukcevic.
Vukcevic has scored 11 goals in 53 appearances for Sporting since joining the club ahead of the 2007-2008 season.
Switzerland are the final team in the evenly contested group. Having qualified for the 2004 European Championship and featured in 2008 as hosts, Ottmar Hizfeld's men will be eager to make another appearance in 2012.
Switzerland featured at this year's World Cup, where they defeated Spain and lost to Chile before drawing Honduras in the final game and leaving the tournament after the group stages.
Led by captain Alexander Frei of FC Basel and Chievo Verona's Gelson Fernandes, Switzerland could cause more upsets in the qualifiers. The team faces England in Basel on 7 September.
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