Euro 2012: Goals To Be Achieved
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa has ended, and all the teams now line-up for the next major tournament. The Euro 2012 would be held jointly in Ukraine and Poland, and while both these teams would automatically qualify for the tournament, others will have to work their way to the final positions for the tournament, as the qualification campaigns have already started.
The most important thing for all teams is to put behind all the bad memories and troubles they faced during the World Cup. There is nothing that can be done, as the past cannot be changed; however, there is still a lot to play for in the future. Therefore, all the teams would try to move a step ahead from their past, learning from their mistakes along the way. The major goal, right now, would be to earn a qualification position, but many teams would be thinking ahead and preparing for the eventual success.
The teams that desperately need a spot in the finals of Euro 2012 include Scotland, Czech Republic, Russia, Ireland, Turkey, Sweden, Croatia and England. England qualified for the World Cup in South Africa, but they were unable to make it to the last Euro, as they were outplayed by Croatia in their group. Thus, the major aim of manager Fabio Capello is to win as much as he can, in order to make sure of his team’s presence in the finals. The rest of the teams failed to qualify in the World Cup this year. Although some of teams, including Turkey, Sweden and Czech Republic, are often present, they were replaced by some new European faces. Therefore, this time they would be hoping to get their spot back in a major tournament.
Croatia and Russia were the surprise performers of the last Euro Cup. Russia was the team that beat the runners-up of the World Cup, the Netherlands. Both teams showed quality of attacking football, and after the Euro many of their players made it into some big European clubs. However, everything went downhill from there on, as they could not repeat their success in the World Cup. Hence, both these teams would be hungry for their spot once again.
Scotland and Ireland have a lot of their players playing in the English Premier League. However, these players have failed to shine for their national sides, despite earning a name for themselves while playing for their respective clubs. Thus, all these players are focusing on attaining a qualification for their national side.
Apart from England, a lot of other big teams have their prestige and reputation at stake. These teams include France and Italy, both former World and European Champions. Italy and France are the big names of football, with a lot of history. Both these teams played in the final of the 2006 World Cup, but both were eliminated in the first (World Cup) round in South Africa. These giants are moving downhill, and need to do something drastic to restore their prestige. However, transformations do not come overnight, so these teams are working hard to retain their glory. Italy did win their first qualification fixture, but France lost their first match. Both teams have a tough road ahead, so their main focus would be to attain a spot in the finals, for now.
The three European teams who are under no pressure are Germany, Netherlands and the current World and European Champions, Spain. Unless something extraordinary happens, these teams are sure to get their spot in the finals. Unlike other teams, they would be looking for a title in Euro 2012. Germany took a younger side to South Africa, which proved to be a great success for them. Spain and Netherlands saw each other in the final of the tournament, and it took extra time to decide the match between them. Currently, these teams have the best players of Europe in their squad, so naturally they are feeling good about their chances.
There is still a lot of time left before the final tournament is played in June 2012. A lot of things can change before the final showdown, so every manager would be optimistic about his team’s chances. However, there is no doubt that other teams would have to work very hard in order to compete with the likes of Germany, Netherlands and especially Spain.
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