Photo: Jutarnji
Croatia get Spain, Italy and Ireland at Euro 2012
The EURO 2012 Draw has concluded and Croatia has been grouped with world champions Spain, 2006 World Cup champions Italy and an Ireland side that qualified through the playoffs. It will be a tough group, but it could have been worse. Group B is where all eyes will be as this year’s ‘Group of Death’ is composed of Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark. Croatia avoided that mess and have more good news to celebrate over. Yes, Croatia will play defending Euro champions Spain, but they will play last in Group C. That means the game could be pointless for Spain if they win their first two games against Italy and Ireland, as they would be qualified for the quarterfinals already.
RELIVE THE EURO 2012 DRAW
CROATIA-ITALY FROM WORLD CUP 2002
it will be hard to accept if we don’t advance, it hurt the heart not making the last world cup but we are a quality team with obvious world class players and our coach has his heart in the right place- Vatreni, ajde napred!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say I was very pessimistic after the 2-0 away loss to Greece. I thought we would have a tough time beating Turkey across two legs. Sometimes though you have to look at the bigger picture. Yes Croatia had two losses in qualification but one was a very late mental breakdown against Georgia and I personally fault Lovren for both Greek goals that sunk us. Outside of those two losses we played some sound football where our biggest problem on occasion was defending, never creating chances (other than the Greece matches). We can only be disappointed if we embarass ourselves and if you follow Croatian soccer you know it is very short on embarassment. (England 5-1 being the one embarassment that stands out) By nature we are extremely critical of our performance in soccer and it works in our favour.
Mandzukic scored today (12/03/11) for Wolfburg; he’s looking like another potential stud at the Euros.
Miraculously beat italy and ireland, dude hrvati are so pessimistic, listen it wont take a miracle to beat these two teams, we’ve beat them before, we can beat them again, we just need to play well. We are a quality team.
@ Mihovil
Not that I’m anit-Dinamo, but what is with all this press (ESPN, BCC, etc.) claiming Milan Badelj is our ‘player to watch’? Milan won’t get a minute of play in Poland, unless we miraculously beat Italy and Ireland in our first two games. Then I could see Bilic playing some of the bench players/youngsters (Badelj, Vrsaljko, Jajalo, Kalinic, etc.) vs. Spain. Otherwise, Badelj won’t get a second of playing of time, barring a string of injuries to our midfield.
If they want to look at ‘players to watch’ they need to give Vida, Lovren and Perisic some love. Could even include Rakitic too, since he’s only 23 and this will be only his 2nd major tournament.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15896599.stm
@Johnny Grbic
Good! We need more lawyers in this world. The middle class is getting away with too much.
I wasn’t saying I like the kit I posted, just pointing it out
I was hoping to skip out on group C and jump into Group D with England and France. However, I would still rather take group C over group B or A. Group B is the group of death, while group A is the group of mush. If Croatia were to advance to the quarters from that group, I wouldnt care.
This group is definitely doable. Like Ziva istina said “no shame if we dont advance from this group.”
On a good day, Croatia can beat anyone in this group. On a bad day, Croatia can lose to anyone in this group. At this point, every point is extra for Croatia. With a little luck and a “good day” Croatia is in the quarters.
The schedule couldn’t have worked out better for us. We need at least a tie against Ireland on opening day.
Ideal situation after 2 games is:
Spain 6
Croatia 4
Italy 1
Ireland 0
Spain will want a win, but they wont jack up the score in their final match. Ireland has a chance to squeak out a tie/win against Italy. Trapatoni knows Italian football, No pressure on Ireland, huge pressure on Italy. All we have to worry about is that Spain don’t bomb on us.
Croatian odds dropped from 33-1 to 40-1.
England odds went up from 11-1 to 7-1
Italy is 14-1.
Bottom line, we need a win and draw in our first two games to advance. Not impossible at all.
This was 30 minutes before the draw even happened:
https://twitter.com/#!/FourFourTom/status/142657660553146368
Tough group. But not impossible to advance.
The first game more often than not usually sets the tone for which direction the team is heading in the tournament, and in my opinion i would rather we face ireland first up than either spain or italia.
Ireland are by no means pushovers, and will be eager to proove themselves on the big stage, but they were one of the weaker teams from pot 4 and my preference from that pot.
Italy, some of you think that this italian side is not as strong as some of the italian sides of the past and they are on a decline. I agree that they are not as impressive on paper as some previous italian national sides, but i do not think they are regressing. They were at rock bottom at last years world cup, finishing under new zealand, there can only be one way for them now, and that is up. Plus its highly unlikely we see two sub-standard tournaments in a row from them.
Spain was definitely not my preference from pot 1, but i have always wondered how we would fair against the world champions, and what better way to find that out than playing them in a competiteve tournament.
we got the worst team from pot 1, the second worst team from group 2 (england isn’t really in form and they play really crappy in big tourney’s. ill think Ireland is a stug team.
does someone know how i can translate ://www.index.hr/sport/ in English or dutch.
or some other Croatian news site?
Im happy with the group. I would rather play the big teams rather the lower ranked ones…. makes everything much more exciting.
It also gives the boys a chance to prove themselves.
Even though it doesn’t mean much, check out our records
Spain 1-1-2 (win-draw-loss)
Italy 3-2-0
Ireland 1-3-2
We can do this, Bring it on i say!!!
That freaking commentator on the highlights of that friendly calling us picnic shirts. Ajde u know where
Trust me the wops fear us. No matter what we do people still think Croatia is an under dog team and I think the big boys dint give us the respect.
Like a few have said Ireland will be a huge test We take 3 points and we will have our confidence from last euro fully restored
To that commentator… Fear the checkers cause we’re coming bitch!
@ TheGoldenChild
Just a voice in the wilderness.
Thanks, I hope to post more frequently.
Just a small nugget to add my post, I would like to see Jelavic play against Ireland. Now I’m not sure but I’m guessing he must have scored a few of his goals against Irska’s backline in the SPL.
@Toni
Whoever you are, good writing style. Usually when I see a block of text like that, I skip it. Take notes peeps.
I believe Spain will be approching the end of their cycle and I don’t see them winning the third big trophy in a row. Their recent results (loss against Italy and draw against Costarica in friendlies) may indicate they are on a downward slope. Also, some of their key players (Xavi, Puyol, Villa) are not very young anymore. So I think we might have a good result against them.
Italy thay everybody seems to be dismissing, in my opinion will be the tougher opponent and may go very far this time. They are the toughest when everybody is dismissing them.
Let’s hope Ireland will not pull a nasty surprise out of their hat as we all count on three points from there.
All in all the second most difficult group and not an easy draw.
I like our chances of finishing 2nd. We have a great record against Italy and I think somehow we will show up to beat them for game 2. Most important task is to come away from the Ireland game with 3 points. Somehow I feel we will play down to their level as we always do with subpar teams. Luckily we have the height advantage over our alcoholic counterparts, I would definitely start Mandzukic and Jelavic against them; chances one of them score on a set piece or cross seem high to me.
For Spain, well, I don’t expect to beat them, but I won’t count out the chance. It is the final match of the group stage and if Spain plays like Spain plays, they will have 6 points going into the match. Given this, Del Bosque might not play his usual starting 11 (fingers crossed) and we could squeak away with, dare I say, 1 or 3 points at the very least. Then again, Spain’s entire 25 man roster is deep and filled with quality, so chances are slim. Regardless, playing Spain will be a big match for us and we should remember that we are fortunate to play against one of the best national teams in years. Going to be a great tournament and filled with the best quality in Europe as it’s the last Euro Tournament before they expand to 24 teams.
Eh Hrvati,
Listen up,
This is a very good draw for Croatia. I’ll take it up team by team below:
Ireland: I don’t prefer facing them first but we are the better squad. I don’t think Cro will come out flat against the Irish like they did against the Swiss back in 2004 or struggle like they did against Austria in 2008. I see 3 points.
Italy: This is the matchup I hoped for and the one Bilic did too as when he saw the ball capsule open up with Italy’s name in it he winked at the camera and smirked. I get what he was thinking. Yes Italy was unbeaten in qualifying with 8 W and 2 D but they were handed a default win against the Serbs and beat the Faroe Islands by only 1 goal. Look over their results and see they are marked by how unimpressive they are. They have regressed as has their domestic league. Balotelli is talented but I don’t fear him. Looking back at old results might not seem relevant but I like to see what our team was like then and the opponents and how they compare to today. In WC 2002 Cro was not very strong on paper but beat a very strong Italy. Today’s Cro is strong, period and Italy is not very strong. This is an extremely winnable match and that’s all there is to say.
Spain: I like this match too. I always thought if Cro made it to the semis in 2008 that we could have saw Germany off again and have faced the Spaniards. I wondered how we would have looked against them. Now we can all see. I like our physicality and intellect; of course with the Spanish speed kills, but there are ways Cro can disrupt them. If Bilic draws up the right plan this is another match where anything is possible.
To summarize:
Cro’s chances of progression are good. I liked what I saw in the playoffs and am looking forward to what Bilic tries out in the lineup in friendlies leading up to Euro 2012. If we stay healthy I see Corluka, Modric, Olic, Srna, Vida, Rakitic, even Pranjic, having terrific games. If Perisic can become a consistent player for Dortmund and if Jelavic finds a scoring touch in friendlies, look out.
@Wallace
Can’t believe you got 50-1 odds for us before the Turkey game! I like your betting style dude! I can see it all unfolding now… The quarters could be epic if we get France or England!
Cant stand the fact the Greeks got an easy group. I’ll be routing hardest against them!
Also, I can see the Irish getting a result against Italy because of Trapattoni. He’s coached a lot of the current Italian squad.
I really do think the Italians fear our team. We can play as technically well as they do, and we’re just physically stronger than them. Also they don’t seem that fast to me which would be a big threat to our slow CB’s. They’re kind of like a big brother that you can kick the shit out of, and both of you know it!
The knockout stages are definitely there for the taking if we play to our potential!
@Ante
You guys should have like every other week do a podcast and take in calls to be in. That would be really awesome. My friend John Canton does that with his UFC once in a while for 2 hours on a radio show and it works perfect. If you guys did like a show about the national team and soccer in general, every other week. You would be over HUGE!!!!! Just need to make sure you hit the record button when you do it.
@JP,
Thanks! We’re gonna be doing more of this stuff. Phone-ins and being live. I think you guys will like it. Podcasts with or without video, but I like that its live.
i dont why but the irish are the only ones that worry me! they have such a stingy defence if we draw or lose to them we’re done!!! the spics and wops dont want no part of us
IvicA,
I remember that game too but that was pure luck. No way Kovac could ever make that pass to Suker in the 94th minute again.
@Ante
no worries at all, overall, i thought the webcast was really cool. it’s a really smart idea!
i guess the only suggestion would be to have a few more laptops/devices handy (if possible) to ease the interaction with those who are tuning in (presuming that’s your goal…).
otherwise, for a live first run, you guys did amazingly well!
Why does everyone here keep saying that we’ve never beaten Ireland?
Am I the only one old enough to remember the 1-0 Suker winner back in ’99?
If we can take out Ireland in that first game, it will be interesting. Italy does not have a good record against Ireland. Add in Trapattoni, and Italy could potentially lose points to the Irish. Then again, Italy are probably the most likely to gain points off of Spain.
This could be a messy group with points being split amongst all four teams.
@ conner that’s a joke right looks like a handball jertsey a bad one at that …..
It’s comical that they give the hosts a “top seed.”
And especially so when there are two hosts (both of them sub-par), and only four groups.
WOOT DREAM GROUP! IM CHEERING!
@Ante B
haha lol!
Croatia and Italy played each other during NDH. Are you cereally telling us that those two matches have any bearing on our NEXT game with them? Be cereal.
In other news. ESPN pick us and Spain through to the quarters and they have ‘rising star Milan Badelj’ and Modric being the difference. Too bad Badelj won’t see a minute of time in Poland haha
@Ziva
Are you always this deluded? I’ve just entered the conversation here, but it’s obvious that you’re what the Mexican’s might call a “Chilango” …
To ask you once again… is there no reason at all that Croatia is undefeated against Italy… 5+ games is some pretty solid data is it not?
spain won all their games in the WC by a solitary goal. This is not what defined as world domination. barcelona and madrid are the best teams in the world at the moment -only because they have a big cheque book. Naturally all the hype is biased towards spain. Just goes to show all sheep just follow the herd.
By the way possession is not the sole formula for winning a football game!!!
@ Ante
i run a class blog for my students using wordpress.com.
on it, there’s a feature to personalize your image using gravatar.com so thats the image that accompanies my name when i post new info on the blog.
i was updating our blog today (therefore logged into wordpress) and decided to post on here…..i guess the image followed me here.
purely accidental but glad it happened….looks cool!
glad that those who wished for cro to flame out in qualifying and not be a part of it all didn’t get their wish. we’re at the dance and we got a chance to make some noise!!
Croatia Vs. Italy 2006 Friendly.
First team to beat Italy AFTER they won the world cup.
Croatia was looking really good at this time. This was when Eduardo was on the rise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqywNYO-VfA
Great, another guy who think we will beat Italy because we beat them in 2002 when the currect players of the Italian national teams were 14, 15 and 16 years old.
Extremly lucky to win the WC??????????
What WC were you watching. With the exception of Chile, every team they played against in the WC changed their typical style of play. Go re-watch the semifinal against Germany. Going into that game Germany was playing some great soccer. But they played a different style in that match. Why??? Because Spain can play keep away and does not give up the ball.
Historically footballs biggest chokers???????? Not this group of players for Spain. Those guys never played on any of the teams that were labeled as chokers.
@ Conor
Gotta second Lebo on that one lol
Once again those dirty greeks have drawn an easy group. When will their luck run out. Truly horrible team.
As for spain, sick of hearing how mighty they are. seems like everyone confuses them for barcelona. Historically footballs biggest chokers and extremely lucky to win WC.
As for italy – never beaten us. Nuff said.
7 points for croatia!!!
@Conor
Ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.
@ Ziva
As I mentioned in my previous post, media coverage & past record is a minute factor, when it’s all said and done. I think it may give teams a small boost. I think when we step onto the pitch in June, the NT knows we have a solid record vs. Italy and hopefully some of the players will play with a little added pride in trying to keep that record. Maybe some of the older Italian players will look at it as “Oh crap, Croatia is pretty solid… And they never lost to us… ” (Wishful thinking there haha)
I think that was apparent in our group stage match vs. Germany in 2008. All the players remembered our historic result in ’98 and I think played with a little more pride and ambition. Of course, countless other factors played into that win, but watching that game so many times, I felt like when the players stepped on the pitch they knew they could beat Germany and they did.
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/attachments/kits/174632d1307082714-rate-my-kit-thread-croatia-home.png
I haven’t seen many people dismiss Ireland. This is a tough group with no pushovers, but isn’t this what everyone wanted? I’m glad for the tough group. We get a chance to prove why we are ranked #8. I think every one of out group games will be fun to watch, unless we get another boring game against Ireland that puts us to sleep.
@Armada….valid points, but if I am an italian player i don’t see how Italy’s record against Croatia has any impact going into that game. Especially if that player never lined up against Croatia in an official match. And big deal if the media is mentioning anything. What the media says has no influence on how a team plays or reacts. If you would listen to the Croatian media before the Turkey match one would believe that Bilic has lost control on the team and that is not the case. I have yet to meat one media member or a media outlet that caused a team to win or lose a game.
As someone just posted, we have never beaten Ireland. So, by that same logic that some of you are using for Italy that works in our favor, Ireland should be the favorite going up against us. Right????/
Great draw, I can see us going through!
So knowing our boys, we’ll beat Spain, we’ll beat Italy…and we’ll lose 5-0 to Ireland. jk
BOG I HRVATI!
A lot of people are NOT dismissing Ireland. It has to be a must win game for us, and we know they are not going to sit down and take a beating. A lot of pride coming out of that country, but we have better talent and we should be winning that game. So even though there is more chatter of Italy and Spain, we’re well aware that they are still there.
My profound statement of the day:
Every game is important. We need to get as many points as possible to qualify.
It’s funny how so many of you dismiss Ireland. Hrvatska never beat Ireland. Don’t you recall the recent friendly??
I’m fine with the group, being in Pot 3 you had to expect at least one “top” team and we got it in Spain. Italy will be tough but I prefer them over Germany and England.
They key will be the opener against Ireland. If we win that, then I think chances for the QF are decent, anything less than three points then we will struggle to get out of the group.
For example, if CRO beat Ireland and Spain beat Italy, that will put all the pressure on Italy in the match against Croatia. They will have to attack and we can punish them. In an ideal scenario, we could possibly enter the Spain match already qualified
It all depends on the form and health of the players. This is a group where Croatia does have decent chances to finish 2nd, but equally, judging on previous qualifying performances, its a group where they could get only 1 point
@ Ziva
You make a good point. But lets be real here buddy. Let’s take the Italian NT as an example.
You don’t think in the lead up to our game vs Italy, the Italian won’t be constantly mentioning Croatia’s record vs. Italy? You don’t think the Italian media won’t be whispering that this Italian team isn’t as dominant as past squads? And you don’t think the Italian players will hear this?
I’m not saying this alone can turn the tide of the game, but it will give us a minute mental edge. Granted, they might blow us out 3-0 too, but don’t think players forget about past results, even if they didn’t play in them or weren’t part of the NT.
@ AllenOutraged
“Group A is a disgrace to soccer”
WTF are you talking about dude? Just cause the group has no ‘big time’ teams? Group A should be one of the funnest groups to keep an eye on. I can see any 4 of those teams qualifying. I feel as though Russia and Greece are both overrated. I don’t see that much of a gap in quality between the Czechs, Greeks and Russians. Shit, Poland could get hot even and sneak into the 2nd place spot and advance.
I just hope the Greeks go 3 and out hahaha
Compared to what some of the yahoos post, it is profound.
We have people making predictions based on how we played against a team 10 years ago.
Also, you can’t advance AND not advance. You can only advance OR not advance.
Ziva Istina: “We may advace and we may not.”
How profound.
Lol. Great username. I approve.
Ziva Istina: “This is not an easy group. We may advace and we may not. No shame either way.”
How could there be “shame” if we advance?
@ Joe,
How did you make the Croatian flag as your icon?
@ JP,
Yes, we are in Poland. I assumed the right side of the draw was with Ukraine and left with Poland, but I was incorrect. Apologize for that.
Speaking of the stream, I’d like everyone’s input from it since it was our first time. How were the audio levels, conversation etc? We’d like to do more live stuff and involve our viewers more and more. Please let me know.
-Ante Kvartuc
I wanted a hard group, just like I wanted to draw Turkey for the playoff round. For Europe, you have to play the best to win, might as well start early…….I already gave Vegas my bet
I would rather play Spain last. By that game, Spain will have pretty much locked up the group.
Sorry guys, my phone really blew it. I had 15 minutes of footage then it went crazy and lost all my information restarting. I really need to buy a camera, screw this.
As for groups, well I’m excited. It could have been better but it could have been worse. It’s kind of like the playoff draw which turned out to be great. I’m very happy their was no Germany in our group. That would have been deadly. Italy isn’t that great and can be defeated. Also happy that Croatia didn’t draw France. Ireland can be defeated, they don’t impress me one bit.
Group A is a disgrace to soccer. Hopefully Russia destroys all them because they have quality. Anyone but Greece to go through even though I never liked the Czechs. Poland going through would be epic.
Group B is a scary group, thank god Croatia isn’t that. Holland and Germany as a combo is down right brutal. Portugal will be a tough out there too along with Denmark. Whoever wins that group will earn it big time.
Group D is a fun group. It depends if England and France show up and show their true quality. Sweden can’t be ignored they are a threat. Ukraine not so much.
Euro Cup 2012 will be unpredictable like me and Denis agreed on.
Oh my god we are so dead!!!!
1-0 vs. ROI
2-1 vs. Italy (Late Olic winner – I feel it already)
0-2 vs. Spain
should get us into the quarters? no?
greece in group A are you f’n serious? how many easy draws in a row can they get? they must be the luckiest team on the planet.
Croatia are dead men walking. Sorry to say that but they are, no way out of this one man. Spain and italy to cruise to quaters.
We’ll draw Spain, beat Italy and Ireland.
Ante B has spoken.
Wow we are in the all Catholic group!!!!
I like our draw remninds me kinda of the draw we had in 98 two easy teams then a power house what was it jamaica, japan the argentina I’m shure people will differ but iI think we got two teams we can beat than a powerhouse in Spain overall GOOD DRAW
Remember this, you need my truth. Afterall, you responded to me……
I also realize that the last time we played Italy in a meaningful game was in 2002. Not many players left on both teams from that game.
If people are going to use that logic as why we will beat Italy, than all I can say is that they are wrong.
We might beat Italy, but it has nothing to do with our past history with them.
We get up for that game because they are a big name team and our style has matched up well against them in the past. But, our wins have been tight against them.
This is not an easy group. We may advace and we may not. No shame either way.
@Ziva
Have you thought to yourself why it is that we’ve never lost to Italy…?
If I were to translate your handle into English it might be something like this:
Surface truth or Shallow truth.
I guess some truth is better than none 🙂
All things being equal, we should beat Ireland. But, past results against Italy mean nothing. Different Italy team from the last time we played them.
As for Spain….hoping we dont need a results against them to advance.
I’m not as pleased as everyone about playing the Irish first and Spain last. I could see a hopeful Ireland coming out hard in that first game and it ending up in a 0-0 draw. I’d rather play Spain first, and the icebreaker match with Italy last.
I could easily see this Euro2012 being almost identical to our Euro2004 run.
Euro2004
Drew 0-0 to a worse but hardworking Swiss side
Drew 2-2 to a France team that we outplayed
Lost 4-2 to an England squad that was simply much better than us
Euro2012
Draw to a worse but hardworking Ireland side
Draw against an Italy team that we will probably outplay
Lose to a Spain team that is simply the better team
@Ziva
Yes, you’re right, we are playing in Poland… Gdansk and Poznan (Posen and Danzig)… either way it works for us… I was taking Ante’s word for it about Ukraine from the stream…
Our group and match schedule is nothing to complain about. Do all the calculations you want but we should beat ireland and italy. They are both low scoring teams that do not scare us.
Playing Spain first half our team would probably get yellows and even if you get a draw out of it you still need results for the next two matches.
I like our chances as long as everyone stays healthy.
FWIW our 3 group games will be in Poland, and if we move on we’d play in Ukraine. I was hoping for a comfort advantage for some of our guys playing in the Ukrainian league but not so much
Playing Spain first would be horrible, id rather play em last.
Group A would’ve been torture for us. Greece and Poland would park the bus infront of goal.
O’Haravic, King of the Iratians!…haha.
Playing in Ukraine and Poland is practically home territory. The area around ODESA on the north Black Sea shore is also known as ‘White Croatia’. In the early 1900’s U.S. census, over 100,000 people identified themselves as ‘White Croatians’ – who traced their ancestory from Eastern Poland; I believe most of these people were from Texas, and I believe there are still Eastern Poles who identify themselves as ‘White Croats’. Also, their is a theory that the ancient city of Atlantis (birth place of the Aryans?) was in the Black Sea basin, before the land bridge where Istanbul is, broke, and the Meditarranean poured in, to create the Black Sea. Ah, the circle of life, back again.
playing spain last is horrible
if it comes down that we need to points at the end you want to be playing spain for those 3 points?
you think they will play easily just because they wont their first two and qualified
ma daj
BOGiHRVATI
Im glad we are not in Group A…. no pressure on us with Italy and Spain, we play better as the underdogs…. Bring it!!!!
ahhhhhhhh, we are not in the Ukraine. We would not play in the Ukraine until the knockout phase.
Well we got a nice exciting group and we should go through.
Game schedule couldnt be better, we beat ireland and italy and the game against spain shouldn’t matter.
Group A – Boring group that will be low scoring and painful to watch. Looks easy on paper but id rather play ireland and italy and have qualification sealed then be in this group which should see all 4 teams being alive going into the last game in group play.
Group B – Good thing we didnt get stuck here. Denmark was the toughest team from pot 4 and these are can’t miss games.
Our group – well we got a good match schedule, hopefully everyone stays fit and we should have a go.
Group D – Interesting group that should be entertaining.
Overall after the draw we are winners since we avoided the group of death. We have an exciting group where we should be able to pickup points and make it into the knockout stages.
Watch Trappatoni and the Irish take points from Italy… It’s highly unlikely that Spain wins a second consecutive Euro, it’s time for their luck to run out… remember the Swiss beat them last WC… This doesn’t mean that they won’t get through the group stage, but much stranger things have happened before. If our team is on form we have nothing to be scared of at all in this group, and we’ll be motivated that’s for sure. Being in the Ukraine is good for us too.
As tough as our draw is, it isnt even the group of death. The Dutch, Germans, Portuguese, and Danish have it worse.
Frustrating in that Croatia should of been able to leapfrog Russia for pot 2, which would of put us in Group A and the Russians in Group C.
Oh well. Group will be tough but I still believe Croatia has a decent chance to advance. Got to set the tone for the tournament in the first game!
Wow, the four worst teams in the tournament all in Group A.
@ Nepoznat
if we think on pessmistic side….if italy lost to spain and croatia beats ireland..then italy will be highly motivated to beat croatia later on….
I see Croatia and Italy going 1-1-1, with it coming down to goal differential.
Italy have never beaten Croatia in a competitive match
Spain have never beaten Italy in regulation time in 6 matches.
Our group could have been a lot worse, or a lot better.
italy are looking for revenge against croatia….they lost to croatia twice in friendly and wc 2002…not a good sign though…look at what england has done to croatia after being knocked out by croatia in euro 2008…
Anyway, i hope balotelli not playing….he is too fast for croatian defence…
Ireland has duff keane…fast players as well…
Spain…what else can i say? hope villa and torres’s drop in form continues till euro 2012…but seriously speaking, their defence is weak without puyol and a proper LB…maybe we can spring a surprise if we can contain their midfield with dujmovic modric rakitic in CM…
Group C order:
Spain
Italy
Ireland
Croatia
Croatia games:
6/10 Ireland
6/14 Italy
6/18 Spain
If we win the Group we will play 6/23 vs Group D 2nd Place team (Ukraine, Sweden, France, England)
If we come in 2nd the Group we will play 6/24 vs Group D winner (Ukraine, Sweden, France, England)
Maybe Spain already has the group wrapped up when we play them last and we can steal a point? lol
not bad…..not great but not bad. we can get results from this grouping and advance. ireland and italy are solid defensively but not teams we should be intimidated by. spain are damn good and that will be a tough game but i like our chances overall……it will be tough but interesting
if we had group a, our heads would have been too big thinking we would win the group and thats exactly the type of group that would see us flame out in the group stage!!
i say bring em on!
Key for us is to get max pts vs Irish in the first fixture. Can’t have the 0-0 crap like against the Swiss in Euro 04. Then we put the pressure on Italy. Hopefully, Spain may rest a couple of guys if they have the group under control by the time they place us.
@Nepoznat – When we play Ireland, I just hope to see a good game and I take whatever team escapes that match… But at the same time, I cheer for Croatia a little more. They are more fun to watch and will make it farther in the tournament. GOnna be an awesome game either way. Ireland will be motivated to prove themselves in this group and Croatia needs to take them seriously. Can’t wait for this match. Gotta break out the CroIrish jersey.
IM TALKING ABOUT ITALY – PERSONALLY, I HATE THEM AS MUCH AS SERBIA
WEST*
First game is on a Sunday against Ireland….June 10
June 14 – italy
June 18 – Spain
One positive: if we manage to get out of the group stage, we would play a team from group D in the quarters…none of those teams is especially scary. Thank goodness we got Italy instead of Germany, or we would be toast already. Group B is brutal.
Our group is fine, it all comes down to the Italy game… Spain will probably beat everyone, and Ireland will probably lose to everyone..
Didn’t want to get the top team, Spain, but we did… Italy was a better draw than Germany/England but worse than Russia. It’s on the tougher side but could be worse
@ O’Haravic, which team will you be routing for when we play Ireland??
@ARMADA87, every team in our group are to the West.
Remember Italy was out at group stage South Africa2010!
Hrvatska will go thru knock-out stage with Spain I think.
I knew we’d get Italy, had a feeling the whole way. Two horse race for second, could be better but could be MUCH worse.
A shame to see Greece and England get off easy, though.
Hrvatska, Italy, Ireland, Spain.
Tough
YES!! TIME TO BEAT OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE EAST AGAIN! AJJJJJMO!
Well, at least we avoided group B with Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Denmark
Group A, Poland Greece Czech and Russia.
No easy way out now
The group of life.
Spain, great. If we get Germany, we may as well not even show up.
Crap. Spain
Thanks for casting!
I’m watching your stream from Tokyo.
Hoping Croatia draw easiest group like GroupA!
@Denis Svircic, I already got Croatia at 50-1, cuz I took em before the Turkey playoff.
Thank you guys ! Glad to help!
You crazy bastards with your crazy web cam….when do your clothes come off ??!!!
You crazy bastard with your crazy web cam….when do your clothes come off ??!!!
Why do they need to make this so Gay?
C’mon Platini with this singing and dancing bullshit….pick the teams, let’s go.
Flyin Aces in da house!
I’m watching from Cleveland. You’re all crazy: Poland, Russia, Ireland. No Germany and no Espana.
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/news/newsid=1725423.html
Wow what an awful choice for the halftime show.
UKRAINE
ITALY
IRELAND
Join the chat on Ustream if you can
Avoid Spain/Germany and Spain/Holland combo please !!!!
You guys know that’s copyright infringement, I wouldn’t show ESPN on like that… just saying because I’m a law student.
2 questions:
Which ESPN is showing the draw?
When will the draw actually go down?
I read that there are topless UKR women storming the stage??
BIG UP’S from Toronto ZA DOMSPREMNI =U= kool streem keep it up
Vegas !!!!!! Yes please!!!!!!
This Ukrainian chick hosting the draw is hot.
all the way from oklahoma
i hope we draw germany, they cant beat us. they are scared of us, we’re the team they do not want to draw.
I agree with you Ante
You cannot compare England versus the Ukraine. Period!
German ‘keeper Manuel Neuer wants to play Croatia;
Also I would fancy playing Croatia with Bayern players [Danijel] Pranjić and [Ivica] Olić, but also my buddy and former Schalke player [Ivan] Rakitić.
@Allen,
That is the exact group I want. I really want Italy, can’t stand them and love playing against them.
@Ziva Svircina
Yup, i like your group, my feeling is that’s what we get or something very similar… perhaps with Russia instead of England.
i mean third **
@denis not if we get poland or ukraine and avoid france wont finish in second according to the odds
Bad news Ante and Denis that I can’t be on for chat. Still can do the video but can’t get on computer. Sorry fellas, will do video soon.
you guys are fools for wanting england, they will exlpoit us with the pace just like our last 2 games.
Poland/Ukrain, Italy, Croatia, Czech would be a great group
Spain, Russia, Cro, Denmark, also not too bad
England have fallen quite a bit since they last played us, and England does not have that faith in Capello like they used to (especially after that unimpressive World Cup). Guys like Terry and Ferdinand are older, and they will be without their best player in Rooney for the entire first round.
I would love to draw them and France together, so long as we don’t draw Spain or Netherlands from Pot A. I would want Ukraine due to the Cro connection and the fact they finished ahead of us in WC qualifying (even though they never truly beat us).
Ukraine
England
Croatia
France
Let’s go.
Ukraine, Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia is my dream group. Very weak and Croatia may come in 1st. Ill be doing videos today from where I’m watching it so be ready for some Allen Outraged. I want Ukraine so bad, revenge will be sweet on their home turf.
Roma interested in Carli.
http://football-talk.co.uk/50412/serie-a-giants-preparing-move-for-tottenhams-want-a-way-croatian/
I’ll be happy if we get Italy, their the team I really want.
Vegas odds for EURO 2012 Champ, before the draw:
Croatia +3300
Czech Republic +6600
Denmark +5000
England +1000
France +1400
Germany +300
Greece +6600
Italy +1200
Netherlands +600
Poland +6600
Portugal +1600
Ireland +6600
Russia +2500
Spain +250
Sweden +6600
Ukraine +4000
Funny how Greece is 66-1, while we are 33-1…
going by these odds, we are the 9th best team, meaning that we finish third in the group and miss out on a place in the quarterfinals.
I want:
Ukraine, England, France
I would love to knock England out in the first round…
The French would make for an entertaining game…
Ukraine…. chance for revenge….
I am hoping to avoid Italy, so something tells me:
Spain, Italy, Ireland, Croatia
For those of you wanting the English, let’s all remember what happened to some of our players before we played against them. It could just be a coincidence, but I’m just going to throw that out there.
I want:
Ukraine (avoids Spain/Dutch) and 5 Croatians play there and will have lots to showcase.
England/Italy. We can stick it to the Brits again and have Capello out on our watch. Love watching them bitch in the media! Italians just bother me, especially their soccer. Would love to beat Balotelli and watch him crumble in front of the world.
Ireland/Denmark: I wasn’t happy with the scoreless draw in Dublin. Would like to see how we would fair in a real game. The Danish aren’t bad and could be a dark horse. They made this Euro and the WC. Let’s see what happens. I think France is due after a horrid WC and will show next summer.
However:
Be prepared for the ‘Group of Death’. I feel it.
Ukraine, England or Italy, Croatia, France
I want a mixed group:
Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Czech Republic…why not
I honestly will be ok with any draw except getting Spain/Germany together and I would like to avoid England honestly (although they aren’t that strong, I don’t like their style of play).
I actually wouldn’t mind France from Pot 4, unless the scenario is having Spain/Germany of course. I have small expectations going into this Euro anyway, the win against Turkey I think has blinded fans into thinking we can achieve 2008 success
Netherlands, Russia, Croatia, Denmark