Euro 2012 draw

from uefa.com

CALENDAR
UEFA EURO 2012 event calendar
Date Event
18/04/2007 Announcement of EURO hosts
14/12/2009 Logo and slogan launch
07/02/2010 Qualifying draw in Warsaw
08/06/2010 Two years to EURO kick-off
03, 04, 07/09/2010 EURO qualifying matches
08, 09, 12/10/2010 EURO qualifying matches
25, 26, 29/03/2011 EURO qualifying matches
03, 04, 07/06/2011 EURO qualifying matches
02, 03, 06/09/2011 EURO qualifying matches
07, 08, 11/10/2011 EURO qualifying matches
11, 12/11/2011 EURO qualifying play-offs
15/11/2011 EURO qualifying play-offs
08/06/2012 EURO kicks off in Warsaw


Have i got this wrong or are games now on fri,sat or tue as oppossesd to sat and wed previously

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Originally Posted by Acornvilla

yep we could easily come second with a points total of 22-25 or so and probably be the best runner up

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As 3rd seeds, 25 points for us would guarantee winning the group.
Not a group that whets the appetite, no Italy Spain or Portugal, no England, just a long grind ahead of getting results.

Even if we were first seeds in the group, having Slovakia and Russia would still look reasonable. A sort of a one size fits all group.

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Originally Posted by rfkimble

from uefa.com

CALENDAR
UEFA EURO 2012 event calendar
Date Event
18/04/2007 Announcement of EURO hosts
14/12/2009 Logo and slogan launch
07/02/2010 Qualifying draw in Warsaw
08/06/2010 Two years to EURO kick-off
03, 04, 07/09/2010 EURO qualifying matches
08, 09, 12/10/2010 EURO qualifying matches
25, 26, 29/03/2011 EURO qualifying matches
03, 04, 07/06/2011 EURO qualifying matches
02, 03, 06/09/2011 EURO qualifying matches
07, 08, 11/10/2011 EURO qualifying matches
11, 12/11/2011 EURO qualifying play-offs
15/11/2011 EURO qualifying play-offs
08/06/2012 EURO kicks off in Warsaw


Have i got this wrong or are games now on fri,sat or tue as oppossesd to sat and wed previously

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This is Platinis plan to appease the big European clubs, while at the same time giving TV companies greater scope in their coverage.I like the idea, as from a fans perspective, games won't clash as much,and even offers the possibility of going to 2 games in one trip, eg SLOVAKIA V ROI in Bratislava on the Friday, Germany v Turkey in Munich onthe Saturday.Anorak territory I know....

I'd be well up for the Friday games where the lads have been together for the best part of the week at that stage. Although would mean another day off work for away games.

Not macedonia - nooooo!!!!!!

Happy enough with the draw - certainly could have been a lot worse.

Really hoping we go all out for topping the group.

Macedonia trouble me but can't have it all our own way.

Without assuming anything - I just couldn't face another play off at this stage. Second place still allows the possibility of being drawn against a France or Portugal - as we know from bitter experience.

Lets just save ourselves all of the heartache and pursue first with no major drama's for once!!!

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Originally Posted by Wolfie

Macedonia trouble me but can't have it all our own way.

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Macedonia is solid team.They have tough defense and Pandev in attack,who is capable to upset any defense.Rest of the team is nothing special.All in all,nothing for you to worry to much.You have nice chance of winning group.Good luck!
Can anyone tell me something more about Wales?We did beat them in friendly half year ago,but maybe they have some secret weapon;)?

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Originally Posted by Montenegrin

Macedonia is solid team.They have tough defense and Pandev in attack,who is capable to upset any defense.Rest of the team is nothing special.All in all,nothing for you to worry to much.You have nice chance of winning group.Good luck!
Can anyone tell me something more about Wales?We did beat them in friendly half year ago,but maybe they have some secret weapon;)?

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All the best in the campaign ahead Montenegrin. I actually feel Wales might surprise a few people, they have a few young players coming through like Ramsey at Arsenal who look like they are going to be top players. Bellamy is a top player for Wales as well. Overall I reckon ye have a good chance of getting 3/4 points off them. Defensively they are not the best.

Of course we'll be cheering you on versus England. We have alot of experience of the Swiss in the recent past. Proved very stubborn opponents for us on numerous occasions. They always seem to perform much better than you would expect, plus a damn good manager in charge.

yeah watch out for the Swiss, they will also get a whole raft of suspect decisions....

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Originally Posted by Montenegrin

Macedonia is solid team.They have tough defense and Pandev in attack,who is capable to upset any defense.Rest of the team is nothing special.All in all,nothing for you to worry to much.You have nice chance of winning group.Good luck!
Can anyone tell me something more about Wales?We did beat them in friendly half year ago,but maybe they have some secret weapon;)?

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Wales have some decent young players so are improving. However you must have a very good chance of beating them in Podgorica.

Wales have been somewhat underperforming in the last 2 campaigns. They could come good but they still have the same manager. If they show some signs of struggling in the first 2 games, the knives will certainly be out in Toshack's direction.
Even though Montenegro should be aiming for at least a 3rd spot, there is not the same pressure on them as there is on Wales.
A victory over England in Podgorica would indeed receive more than a few cheers here.

Montenegrin, greetings from Swansea, Wales. I was hoping we avoided you as you are the best of the fifth seeds. Our team is pretty young with some very good players and they have decent international experience having played together from a very young age as part of John Toshack's (our manager) rebuilding plan. When we played you in the 2-1 defeat last year we had a lot of injuries, so it wasn't entirely a representative team. Our best players including Bellamy, Davies, Ramsey and Bale were I think all missing. But most of us feel the game in Montenegro will be tough and I'd take a draw there certainly, although we expect to win in Wales.

Our biggest problems are defensively, we don't concede a lot of goals but that is because we often play five defenders. As individuals all our defenders have their weaknesses although some of them like Collins are quite talented and skilful players.

I'd like to think we could finish 2nd in the group, but our last campaign was very poor and we need to improve on that. I think any of the four teams besides England could finish 2nd.

I think Ireland's group is OK. You must be pleased to have avoided the best of the top seeds. Slovakia are eminently beatable and Russia are great to watch but sometimes don't have the killer touch. I think you could win the group, although 2nd or 3rd is more likely. I saw Scotland-Macedonia in the last campaign and they are much like any Eastern European team, technically good but vulnerable defensively.

I think it is a winnable group for us. Slovakia will no doubt have a WC hangover and Russia will be lost if Hiddink goes, so all bodes well for Trap so far. Even if we can't top the group I think the chance of coming away as best runner up and avoiding play-off hell is a reasonable goal. The top teams are by no means unbeatable away from home and I think we should be expecting a minimum of two points away to Russia and Slovakia, as long as we don't do a Macedonia in, eh, Macedonia we should be comfortable enough

I could have handled a world cup hangover.

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Originally Posted by sixesandsevens

I think it is a winnable group for us. Slovakia will no doubt have a WC hangover and Russia will be lost if Hiddink goes, so all bodes well for Trap so far. Even if we can't top the group I think the chance of coming away as best runner up and avoiding play-off hell is a reasonable goal. The top teams are by no means unbeatable away from home and I think we should be expecting a minimum of two points away to Russia and Slovakia, as long as we don't do a Macedonia in, eh, Macedonia we should be comfortable enough

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I would normally be looking for us to attain second place and the playoff, particularly as we are third seeds. However, not with this group. We dont have a real top team like Spain, Italy, Holland in our group who we'd do well to take two points off. This is a group where we should be confident of doing very well and beatin the first seeds at home. We dont want playoffs again. After the progress of last year I really think we are in a position to push on and top this group.

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Originally Posted by Cymro

Montenegrin, greetings from Swansea, Wales. I was hoping we avoided you as you are the best of the fifth seeds. Our team is pretty young with some very good players and they have decent international experience having played together from a very young age as part of John Toshack's (our manager) rebuilding plan. When we played you in the 2-1 defeat last year we had a lot of injuries, so it wasn't entirely a representative team. Our best players including Bellamy, Davies, Ramsey and Bale were I think all missing. But most of us feel the game in Montenegro will be tough and I'd take a draw there certainly, although we expect to win in Wales.

Our biggest problems are defensively, we don't concede a lot of goals but that is because we often play five defenders. As individuals all our defenders have their weaknesses although some of them like Collins are quite talented and skilful players.

I'd like to think we could finish 2nd in the group, but our last campaign was very poor and we need to improve on that. I think any of the four teams besides England could finish 2nd.

I think Ireland's group is OK. You must be pleased to have avoided the best of the top seeds. Slovakia are eminently beatable and Russia are great to watch but sometimes don't have the killer touch. I think you could win the group, although 2nd or 3rd is more likely. I saw Scotland-Macedonia in the last campaign and they are much like any Eastern European team, technically good but vulnerable defensively.

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Hi there :-).
We also played without Vucinic,Basa and couple more very important players as well,so I guess it shows nothing.We now have new coach Zlatko Kranjcar-Croatian who led Croatia to the WC 2006. without defeat,but was eliminated in group stage in Germany.He said that he is sure we will fight for second place,but I guess they all say that.Bulgaria is definetly beatable for any team in group,but Switzerland puzzles me.They have very good team on paper.England is...well two classes above everyone in this group.Ho would you like in first two matches?Schedule is very important.I would like Bulgaria away and then Wales home.England last two games if possible :-).Looking forward to our matches!
I will eat my keyboard if Ireland does not finish first or strong second in this group.
p.s. Can you point me to some Welch forum where you discuss EURO 2012qualifications?

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Originally Posted by elroy

I would normally be looking for us to attain second place and the playoff, particularly as we are third seeds. However, not with this group. We dont have a real top team like Spain, Italy, Holland in our group who we'd do well to take two points off. This is a group where we should be confident of doing very well and beatin the first seeds at home. We dont want playoffs again. After the progress of last year I really think we are in a position to push on and top this group.

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I'd completely agree, but we do possess a rare skill of making a mess of things when we're in easy groups.

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Originally Posted by Montenegrin

Hi there :-).
We also played without Vucinic,Basa and couple more very important players as well,so I guess it shows nothing.We now have new coach Zlatko Kranjcar-Croatian who led Croatia to the WC 2006. without defeat,but was eliminated in group stage in Germany.He said that he is sure we will fight for second place,but I guess they all say that.Bulgaria is definetly beatable for any team in group,but Switzerland puzzles me.They have very good team on paper.England is...well two classes above everyone in this group.Ho would you like in first two matches?Schedule is very important.I would like Bulgaria away and then Wales home.England last two games if possible :-).Looking forward to our matches!

p.s. Can you point me to some Welch forum where you discuss EURO 2012qualifications?

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A good Welsh forum is www.dragonsoccer.co.uk . That is the best one for discussing the national team. (You will notice at the moment there is a thread entitled 'Wales to finish bottom' - that shows how confident we are!)

In the first two matches I'd like to play the Montenegro away game and then Bulgaria away. At the beginning of the group teams will be more concerned with not losing than with winning, and I think if we could get draws in both games it would be a great result. I also want us to have England in the later games, but we will all have to make concessions in the negotiations.

It's desperate times for some Wales' fans, especially when shelter at the last resort is refused.
"Thinking positive isn't going to help us."

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Originally Posted by geysir

It's desperate times for some Wales' fans, especially when shelter at the last resort is refused.
"Thinking positive isn't going to help us."

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We werent a million miles off that ourselves towards the end of the Stan era. Makes you wonder how people can criticise trap so much when we've come so far so quickly.