Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, and the Czech Republic

December 3rd, 2011 | by: nick | Comments Off

The draw has been set for next summer’s UEFA Euro 2012 and Greece are in Group A with Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. At first glance, it is a blessing that Greece avoided Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands but a twist of fate can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone (like Euro 2004). This group appears to be the weakest of the entire tournament and Greece have a very good chance to progress. The other spot will likely be fought between Russia and the Czech Republic. Fernando Santos was quoted today by goal.com saying “It is a very open group and I believe that all teams have a 25% chance of progressing to the next round. In theory it’s a good draw for us, but we need to prove it on the pitch,”. His remark appears to be somewhat accurate as we take a look at the sides Greece will face

Russia
For the third straight Euro, Greece and Russia will be meeting in the same group. The teams met in 2004 and 2008 with Russia emerging victorious both times. Russia have qualified for three European championships since the collapse of the Soviet Union. At Euro 96, they were in Group C with Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic but performed poorly as they managed only one point from a draw and two losses. Russia failed to qualify for Euro 2000, but returned in 2004 and two early defeats to Spain and Portugal coupled a victory over Greece confirmed elimination. After the 1996 and 2004 disappointments, a Guus Hiddink led Russia out of Group D after a loss to Spain was followed by victories over Greece and Sweden. The quarterfinals made Russia the surprise package of the tournament along with Turkey, with a 3-1 defeat over the Netherlands. A semi-final defeat to Spain left Russia with an accomplished third place finish.

Poland
Much like in 2004, Greece will be playing the co-hosts on the first day tournament. With Poland being arguably the weakest team in the group, the home side will be hoping to impress their home crowd. Greece and Poland have a short history of facing each other with only three matches in the last decade. The most recent result was a 0-0 draw in March of this year, which was a mediocre performance for both teams. Poland did not have to go through the qualification stage this year as co-hosts but qualified for their first Euro four years ago. Their debut turned out to be a disappointment as they lost to Germany and Croatia before drawing with Austria.

Czech Republic
The Czechs come into this group having faced Greece in the semifinals of Euro 2004. With the record of Czechoslovakia included, they come into the group with a solid pedigree. Having won the tournament in 1976 and reached the last four in 1960 and 1980, the post 1993 records are modest. In 1996, after defeating Italy in the group stages, the Czechs defeated strong a Portugal side before overtaking France on penalties. They pushed Germany to the limit in the final before narrowly going succumbing to a golden goal scored by Oliver Bierhoff. Following a group stage exit in 2000, 2004 turned out to be a swan song as they defeated the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark to reach the semi-finals only to be stopped by a Traianos Dellas header at the death of extra time. 2008 ended in disappointment as Turkey shot them down with late goals in a 3-2 defeat on the last match day of the group stage.

Group A Match Schedule

June 8, 2012
POL – GRE Warsaw
RUS – CZE Wrocław

June 12, 2012
GRE – CZE Wrocław
POL – RUS Warsaw

June 16, 2012
CZE – POL Wrocław
GRE – RUS Warsaw