Our EURO 2012 Group Predictions

[jbyrne]

Seedings for Euro 2012

Pot 1: Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine.
Pot 2: Germany, Italy, England, Russia.
Pot 3: Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Sweden.
Pot 4: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland

obviously no skill involved but with the draw only days away any predictions?
I have a feeling for...

Poland
Italy
Croatia
Ireland

[CraftyToePoke]

I have a feeling England are on the cards for us, followed by a famous victory, but after that is anyones guess.

[Bayern Munchies]

Hopefully....
Poland
Italy/England
Greece
Ireland

What i'd hate to get
Spain
Germany
Portugal

[pineapple stu]

Why would you try predict something that's completely random?

[Bayern Munchies]

Why would you try predict something that's completely random?

Bit of fun? Becuase if you get it right you've a strong chance of winning the lotto next week?

I didn't predict what we got in any case, only what i'd like/hate to get.

[pineapple stu]

I didn't predict what we got in any case, only what i'd like/hate to get.
I saw that, don't worry. Kudos!

Hard to disagree much with your groups either.

[DannyInvincible]

I'm pretty certain we'll get one of 64 possibilities. I'd put my house on it.

[Sullivinho]

Having consulted the ghosts of Nostradamus, Paul the Octopus and Gene Roddenberry, I can reveal we'll be right up against it no matter the draw. I think the Czechs and ourselves have the joint longest odds to win the thing and that's a fair reflection. Fully agree with Bayern Munchies' best/worst scenarios though. Spain and Germany with two to qualify? Good Lord.

¡Viva la Underdóg!

[pineapple stu]

I'd put my house on it.
Not exactly a massive bet in this day and age in fairness.

[Bayern Munchies]

Lads...bit of optimism...we're going to do a greece on it and win the hing out ;)

In all seriousness though no matter who we play I can't see any team embarrassing us. I think we'll go there and be probably one of the worst teams to watch in terms of footballing quality but I also think we'll go there and be one of the hardest teams to break down and could knick a surprise result against one of the bigger sides in the group.

I really can't wait for the tournament to start though...I'm only old enough to remember the 2002 World Cup but the buzz even back then as a young fella was incredible.

[IsMiseSean]

I'm not bothered who we get... Just glad to be back in a major tournament!!

[tommy_c12000]

It will be Holland, Russia and Portugal

[Bungle]

Tis like picking your lottery numbers but I am about 2% sure that we'll get Ukraine, Germany and Greece! That potentially might not be the worst group.

I think we could draw with Ukraine and beat Greece. We wouldn't stand a chance against Germany but at least it might be a group where 4 points could see you through.

In all seriousness, outside of Spain, Germany and Holland, if I were a neutral betting on matches, I would not be sticking too much on teams beating Ireland. Yeah, we're probably one of the poorest teams on paper, but we have some very good pros and a wily old fox as a manager, with a team that will die for each other.

[Yard of Pace]

We were also torn asunder twice by Russia. Unless we get the best draw possible I'm not looking forward to any of these games. We could be easily embarrassed.

[DeLorean]

That 3-2 defeat and 0-0 draw against the Russians was severely embarrassing alright. I didn't leave the house for about a week after both.

[IsMiseSean]

Pointless information....

Playing FM2012 yesterday we got drawn with Ukraine, Russia, Italy (which isn't possible).
But you'll be happy to know we got to the QF only to be beaten by Sweden.

[Yard of Pace]

That 3-2 defeat and 0-0 draw against the Russians was severely embarrassing alright. I didn't leave the house for about a week after both.

I'm guessing sarcasm here. If that wasn't the most outclassed you've seen an Irish team in the last 20 years then you have your head in the sand. Gives me no pleasure to say it but we were completely torn apart. This team has to majorly improve before next summer. We can do that, though.

[SwanVsDalton]

If that wasn't the most outclassed you've seen an Irish team in the last 20 years then you have your head in the sand.

Really? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5416464.stm) Are (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2003/oct/13/match.sport3) you (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2IVSOTAmog) sure? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRnLXrbQ8rU)

[DeLorean]

I'm guessing sarcasm here. If that wasn't the most outclassed you've seen an Irish team in the last 20 years then you have your head in the sand. Gives me no pleasure to say it but we were completely torn apart. This team has to majorly improve before next summer. We can do that, though.

I wouldn't disagree with the fact that we were well beaten, destroyed even, twice. Qualification has given us the opportunity to play against Europe's best, that's the whole point of qualifying. I'm loving every minute of it and will enjoy the build-up no matter who looms on the horizon. Of course there's every chance we'll come up short, possibly even badly short at times, but I don't think we can really get "embarrassed" from here on in. Not looking forward to the matches because we might get badly beaten is alien to me, that's not to say it won't be disappointing, or even depressing, if it does happen.

[Bayern Munchies]

Cant believe someone isn't looking forward to the Euro's. Even if we get the hardest group possible I can't wait for it, we've not quailfied for one in 10 years and that was much too long to be absent.

I can't see any team hammering us...yeah they might embarrass us in terms of possession had and chances but at the end of the day that doesn't matter jack sh1t if you don't go on and win the game. You say we were embarrassed by the Russians in Russia but we still managed to get a point out of it didn't we? We manage to do that against some of the better opponents and beat the 3rd seed in the group and we've a huge chance of qualyfing for the knockout stage.

Like I said earlier in the thread we'll probably be one of the worst teams to watch but one of the hardest to break down and i know which i'd rather be against the likes of Spain and that's hard to break down.

[Yard of Pace]

Really? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5416464.stm) Are (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2003/oct/13/match.sport3) you (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2IVSOTAmog) sure? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRnLXrbQ8rU)

I certainly wouldn't have included the Cyprus game, we were woeful that night, something was seriously amiss, and no one can say they were 3 goals better than us. The Suisee game was one of those nights. The 4-2 and the Holland game I'll give you. But the thing is this team is actually going forward to play similar good teams at a championships. In those games we were rightly eliminated. Anyway, sod it, I'm our biggest fan. Fingers crossed for a good draw on Friday.

[SwanVsDalton]

I certainly wouldn't have included the Cyprus game, we were woeful that night, something was seriously amiss, and no one can say they were 3 goals better than us. The Suisee game was one of those nights. The 4-2 and the Holland game I'll give you. But the thing is this team is actually going forward to play similar good teams at a championships. In those games we were rightly eliminated. Anyway, sod it, I'm our biggest fan. Fingers crossed for a good draw on Friday.

Well I suppose if you lost to three to Cyprus, it smacks of being outclassed, although it was an odd night. Certainly think we were outclassed by the Swiss, it was depressingly one-sided. Anyway we've had some of those nights before and we've had some good one's too - get a decent draw and play smart, tournament football, and we'll do OK. Bring it on I say!

[swinfordfc]

Poland, England and Greece

[Real ale Madrid]

If we do get Spain, Germany and Portugal , 4 points might be enough to get us out of that group, given our ability to play above ourselves on certain occasions. By the same token, if we draw our "ideal" group of Poland, Italy and Greece, and if for example Poland live up to thier ranking then 6 points may not get us out of that group!

I'm very much in the I don't care who we get camp. Anything can happen in these tournaments - I'd be more concerned that we go there with a full team and as few injuries as possible to our big game players.

But as seen as we are guessing - I'll go for Spain, England and Croatia.

[DannyInvincible]

There's a rumour going round that we can't be drawn with England in the group as Sepp Blatter fears any tension between the two sets of supporters may lead to rioting. Sounds like a load of absolute balderdash. Where does this type of nonsense originate?

[Crosby87]

I'm guessing sarcasm here. If that wasn't the most outclassed you've seen an Irish team in the last 20 years then you have your head in the sand.
The game is not going to be in Moscow, Yardy, if we get USSR in the Euros. And still, how can it be the most outclassed in the last 20 years if we didn't lose? Compare it to Cyprus.
Then again I do like the beach so I may join DeLorean in the sand.

[born2bwild]

Hope we get Portugal so Richard D can kick Ronaldo in the bollock$.

[Supreme feet]

The game is not going to be in Moscow, Yardy, if we get USSR in the Euros. And still, how can it be the most outclassed in the last 20 years if we didn't lose? Compare it to Cyprus.
Then again I do like the beach so I may join DeLorean in the sand.

I don't think we're going to get the USSR in the finals. Unless this happens...

http://deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/simpson-tide1.png?w=512&h=384

[Crosby87]

People keep correcting me on that. Every day it gets closer to the USSR. That's my point.

[Yard of Pace]

The game is not going to be in Moscow, Yardy, if we get USSR in the Euros. And still, how can it be the most outclassed in the last 20 years if we didn't lose? Compare it to Cyprus.
Then again I do like the beach so I may join DeLorean in the sand.

We didn't lose because Shay and Dunne had games which defied belief! Come on, you know we should have been hammered. Carl O'Malley has a good blogpost on Trap's record on the IT website today. And the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics would do the same to us no matter where the game is played. Sure Poland and Ukraine used to be their home territory anyhow ;-)
Also, I think any mention of games played in the Stan era should be banned. That period was a huge, horrible blip presided over by a completely incompetent novice.

[BonnieShels]

Just heard that Spain and Netherlands are to be drawn first and then Pot 4.

[Closed Account]

The draw will start with Pot 1 in order to fill position one in Groups B and C. The draw will continue with Pot 4, from which a team will be allocated to each group consecutively, from Group A to Group D. This procedure will then be repeated for Pot 3 and finally for Pot 2.

The position of each team within its group (2, 3 or 4) will also be determined during the draw.

[Yard of Pace]

What time is the draw on lads? It's usually the morning, right?

[tetsujin1979]

my prediction: Poland, England. Portugal, Ireland


What time is the draw on lads? It's usually the morning, right?coverage starting at 5:30pm Irish time on RTE 2

[youngirish]

Why would you try predict something that's completely random?

Since when were any FIFA or UEFA draws random?


Try to calculate what draw is likely to make the most money for UEFA and you'll get close to the mark.

Based on this assuption we'll most likely be drawn with either England or Italy. I go for the former.

[pineapple stu]

And still, how can it be the most outclassed in the last 20 years if we didn't lose?
Did you watch the match?

[DannyInvincible]

Getting excited now for tomorrow's show... sorry, draw. Some build-up photos, a video and other standard UEFA razzmatazz here: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2012/draws/index.html

[mypost]

Since when were any FIFA or UEFA draws random?


Try to calculate what draw is likely to make the most money for UEFA and you'll get close to the mark.

Everyone of them. Anything else is a conspiracy theory.

There are 16 decent teams in this tournament. The law of averages suggests there will be at least one Group of Death in it. Probably involving France.

[elroy]

The draw will start with Pot 1 in order to fill position one in Groups B and C. The draw will continue with Pot 4, from which a team will be allocated to each group consecutively, from Group A to Group D. This procedure will then be repeated for Pot 3 and finally fīor Pot 2.

The position of each team within its group (2, 3 or 4) will also be determined during the draw.

Is that not a bit weird, why not just go pot one, then two, three and four. But hey when did FIFA or UEFA make draws simple.

Definitely don't want Germany, spain or Portugal (toughest draw from that pot).
Would love Italy and Poland.

[DannyInvincible]

Is that not a bit weird, why not just go pot one, then two, three and four. But hey when did FIFA or UEFA make draws simple.

Makes perfect sense. They work their way up from the weaker teams who nobody cares about, thus saving the excitement surrounding the teams who really mean business for last. C'mon, how long do you think the modern football fan's attention span is, like?!

[elroy]

Makes perfect sense. They work their way up from the weaker teams who nobody cares about, thus saving the excitement surrounding the teams who really mean business for last. C'mon, how long do you think the modern football fan's attention span is, like?!

Then why not start with pot four!!

Compared to the WC draw, this draw is something else, no mugs included. You'll pretty much wanna watch every game at this tournament.

[mypost]

They are starting with Pot 4, after Spain and Holland have been drawn. Wait a sec will you?

My only gripe with the draw procedure, is the UEFA Secretary doesn't announce the teams or numbers himself. Instead the attendants do it now, some of them don't speak English, or know what they're doing.

[pineapple stu]

Then why not start with pot four!!
Because Pot 1 is already half-drawn. May as well finish it before starting with the rest.

[backstothewall]

Is that not a bit weird, why not just go pot one, then two, three and four. But hey when did FIFA or UEFA make draws simple.

Definitely don't want Germany, spain or Portugal (toughest draw from that pot).
Would love Italy and Poland.

You just answered you're own question. It saves the drama of who gets Germany right until the end.

[TrapAPony]

Holland, Italy, Sweden, Ireland

[SwanVsDalton]

Holland, England, Greece, Ireland. I'm convinced we're getting England, just feels due.

[Predator]

We have played Croatia 6 times and won 3, drawing three, if I'm not mistaken. Wouldn't mind Poland, Italy (already beat those chumps) and Croatia.

[French Toasht]

We have played Croatia 6 times and won 3, drawing three, if I'm not mistaken. Wouldn't mind Poland, Italy (already beat those chumps) and Croatia.

Croatia beat us 1-0 in Euro 2000 qualifiers. An injury time sucker punch from Davor Suker. In fairness I don't think we got out of our half at all in the second half.

http://greenscene.me/2011/08/ireland-v-croatia-match-history/

[DannyInvincible]

Then why not start with pot four!!

Compared to the WC draw, this draw is something else, no mugs included. You'll pretty much wanna watch every game at this tournament.

I was being tongue-in-cheek myself, but I'd imagine the drama-inducing rationale I gave is probably close to UEFA's reasoning.

[DannyInvincible]

Capello is keen to avoid us in the draw: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/dec/01/fabio-capello-england-euro-2012?newsfeed=true


Fabio Capello is anxious to avoid being placed in the same group as the Republic of Ireland in Friday evening's draw for the Euro 2012 finals and has reiterated that it will be his last tournament in charge of England, despite Sir Trevor Brooking hinting that the Italian might stay on.

...

The Republic of Ireland, managed so impressively by Capello's friend and compatriot Giovanni Trapattoni, are in the fourth pot as they prepare for their first major tournament in a decade but would represent awkward opponents.

"I spoke with Giovanni Trapattoni and [his assistant] Marco Tardelli after they got through," Capello said. "They were both really happy. I think it's a real success for Ireland and for this manager. It is a great thing. I hope we are not [drawn against them]. The countries are close and also it would be two Italian managers, so I'd prefer not to be drawn with them. It would be interesting, but I prefer not. We cannot draw Italy as we are in the same pot but this would be the same for me to face another Italian manager."