With the completion of Tuesday's Euro 2012 playoff qualifiers, the four pots are set for next month's finals draw, and there's a pretty solid chance that we could see some stacked groups in the summer.
Co-hosts Poland and Ukraine occupying two of the four spots in the top pot, with defending Euro (and World Cup) champion Spain joining them. The rest of the teams were seeded based on their UEFA coefficient, meaning that World Cup runner-up Netherlands grabbed the other spot in the first pot, and other perennial powers were forced into lower positions. The much-anticipated draw is slated for Dec. 2 in Kiev, Ukraine.
Here are the four pots that will determine the groups:
POT 1 – Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine
POT 2 – England, Italy, Germany, Russia
POT 3 – Croatia, Greece, Sweden, Portugal
POT 4 – France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland
Which team from the last two pots do you think has the best chance at making a deep run? What Group of Death are you pulling for?
Share your thoughts below.
This is also the last year with just 16 teams, as the 2016 tournament will have 24 teams. Germany won’t be in danger of being Pot 2 again unless they deserve.
Denmark is better than that. UKR-RUS-GRE-IRE would be much easier 😛
in the winter
In the case of: Spain, Germany, Greece and Ireland, I wonder if the germans would freely give away two goals during the first 10 minutes only to demand three back over the last 80… 😉
thats awesome, i just laughed out loud
The best group would definitely be Spain, Italy, Greece and Ireland. Winner gets a bailout from the ECB
This made me laugh out loud at the office, good work!
Mmmmmmm… I love lobster.
Or Qatar
Germany to win the tournament over Denmark in the final
with Spain and Poland going out in the semi-finals.
AGREED times 10
I agree with you regarding Spain and Germany, but it would be difficult for Greece and Ukraine to flop because the expectations for these teams are quite low. England, on the other hand, will be hyped up by the British media and is virtually guaranteed to flop.
holy f!
I want that group. Definitely
Possibly the best comment ever to appear on this website.
But would you sleep with a Croatian?
Too bad Portugal and Greece are in the same pot.
well done
I would love to see Portugal end up in the same group as Italy.
I want to see the Group of Debt
Spain
Italy
Greece
Ireland
yeah, they were missing quite a few players. but germany has been tearing people apart for all of 2011. it’ll be a great tourny either way!
For some perverse reason, I’d like to see the Romance countries drawn into the same group–
Spain
Italy
Portugal
France
SPain is going down in the second round. Mark it
I agree with Bryan although Netherlands had a few players missing yesterday Germany moped the floor with them. Germany is my pick to win it all with either England or Netherlands in the final
Denmark will be in the final.
Croatia would have been in pot 2 over Russia had they won on Tuesday. I wonder if they knew that. They had it locked up already and played out a draw against Turkey.
BTW if anyone is wondering how the rankings are figured, its weighted
Euro 2008 (qualifiers and final tournament) – 20%
2010 World Cup (qualifiers and final tournament) –
Euro 2012 (qualifiers) – 40% of total weighting
If that is the group of death it will be the most anticipated 8 group games ever
I would not sleep in Croatia
I would not sleep on Croatia
Germany will pummel everyone. Book it.
the possibility of one group being Spain, Germany, Portugal and France is ridiculous. that would be one hell of a group.
my money is on Germany. they look unstoppable.
um, no, england is not. germany is by far the most in-form team right now.
if you do that, Wayne rooney will crunch your nuts
2016 will be France.
2020 will be either Scandinavia or the Balkans or another Eastern European duo
Is it me or is Klose the best international soccer in the world? Dude plays decent for his clubs, scores a decent amount of goals, but saves his A game for the NT. He is a starter over Mario Gomez, who is 1 of the top 5 strikers in the world right now.
I’m hoping for Portugal and England in the same group, so that we can beat England yet again.
I was really hoping Ireland and France would be drawn into the same group, but that’s impossible now.
That’s my group of death also
Group 1 – Spain Germany Portugal France
Dark horses Ukraine and Ireland
Impossible to pick a winner, but I’ll put my money on Netherlands. They are just stacked at every position. And I think England is in line for a change of luck.
You right lol. Early in the morning need my morning coffee before reading lol. I still feel England is playing the best out of all the teams here. Italy will crash out and so will Portugal.
Looks as if they factored in the Euro 2008 tournament very highly into these pots, with Russia in pot 2 and Croatia in 3.
Hopefully this will be the last time they do the co-hosts. Anytime Germany is pushed to pot 2, something isn’t right.
LMAO, YES!
Spain and Germany are the ones to bet on to win. Though Netherlands is up there with them.
I see England, Greece and Ukraine flopping out.
My dark horse is Denmark. They have a decent starting XI but they play way above that
These are POTS for the draw, not GROUPS. The group draw is in December.
England will probably get Poland, Greece, and Ireland and still get eliminated in the first knockout round.
Pot 2 is the obvious group of death. Its going to come down between Italy and England for the second spot. Right now I would have to lean to England. All the other major countries have easy roads to the next round.
Wow . . .
Group 1 – Spain Germany Portugal France
Group 4 – Ukraine Russia Greece Denmark
Only slightly imbalanced as an example