UEFA Euro 2012: Poling Greek For Opener

Kiev

Friday saw an important milestone made on the way to next summer’s UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, with the official draw made at the Palace of Culture and Arts in Kiev (Ukraine). As expected, the ceremony threw up some intriguing match-ups which will have fans across Europe (and the World) ensuring that their diaries are clear for those dates.

It has been well-known for a while now that co-hosts Poland are due to play the opening match on 8 June in Warsaw, but their Group A opponents have now been revealed, with a clash against 2004 winners Greece scheduled to follow the opening ceremony. Russia and Czech Republic round out what many pundits are already describing as the easiest group in the tournament.

On the other hand, Group B is the clear frontrunner for the near-compulsory ‘Group of Death’ tag, with Holland taking on Denmark, Germany, and Portugal (all of whom are in the top 11 of the FIFA World Rankings), a tricky foursome which only two can survive.

Second-time qualifiers Ireland will face three more of FIFA’s current Top 10), as they now make preparations to face tournament holders (and current World Champions) Spain, 2006 FIFA World Cup winners Italy, and Croatia in Group C.

Like Poland, co-hosts Ukraine were pre-allocated a spot before the draw, with their Group D completed with Sweden, France, and England. For the latter two, their respective opening match could have shades of 2004 about them as they play each other on 11 June in Donetsk, but will England gain revenge almost 8 years on from their late loss in Portugal?

Now that another key step has been completed, the host nations can now ready their final preparations to welcome the rest of Europe in for a football festival full of exciting potential. The official draw for the tournament, and a full fixture list, can be seen below:

UEFA Euro 2012 – Tournament Draw
Teams listed in order of Status & FIFA World Ranking (Nov ’11)

Group A
POL (h)
RUS
GRE
CZE

Group B
NED
GER
POR
DEN

Group C
ESP (c)
CRO
ITA
IRL

Group D
UKR (h)
ENG
FRA
SWE

UEFA Euro 2012 – Fixture List
Higher-ranked side listed first
All dates in June (unless stated), Times shown as GMT (UTC-01:00) (EEST (UKR) -03:00, CEST (POL) -02:00)

Group Stage
Group A
POL v GRE, Warsaw, 8, 17:00 (opening game)
RUS v CZE, Wroclaw, 8, 19:45
GRE v CZE, Wroclaw, 12, 17:00
POL v RUS, Warsaw, 12, 19:45
POL v CZE, Wroclaw, 16, 19:45
RUS v GRE, Warsaw, 16, 19:45

Group B
NED v DEN, Kharkiv, 9, 17:00
GER v POR, Lviv, 9, 19:45
POR v DEN, Lviv, 13, 17:00
NED v GER, Kharkiv, 13, 19:45
NED v POR, Kharkiv, 17, 19:45
GER v DEN, Lviv, 17, 19:45

Group C
ESP v ITA, Gdansk, 10, 17:00
CRO v ESP, Poznan, 10, 19:45
CRO v ITA, Poznan, 14, 17:00
ESP v IRL, Gdansk, 14, 19:45
ESP v CRO, Gdansk, 18, 19:45
ITA v IRL, Poznan, 18, 19:45

Group D
ENG v FRA, Donetsk, 11, 17:00
UKR v SWE, Kiev, 11, 19:45
ENG v SWE, Kiev, 15, 17:00
UKR v FRA, Donetsk, 15, 19:45
UKR v ENG, Donetsk, 19, 19:45
FRA v SWE, Kiev, 19, 19:45

Knockout Stage
Quarter-Finals
GA1 v GB2, Warsaw, 21, 19:45
GB1 v GA2, Gdansk, 22, 19:45
GC1 v GD2, Donetsk, 23, 19:45
GD1 v GC2, Kiev, 24, 19:45

Semi-Finals
WQ1 v WQ3, Donetsk, 27, 19:45
WQ2 v WQ4, Warsaw, 28, 19:45

Final
WS1 v WS2, Kiev, 1 Jul, 19:45

UEFA Euro 2012 – Official Venues
City – Stadium – Capacity (For Tournament)

UKRAINE:
Kiev – Olympiysky Stadium – 65,720
Donetsk – Donbass Arena – 50,055
Kharkiv – Metalist Stadium – 38,500
Lviv – Arena Lviv – 34,915

POLAND:
Warsaw – National Stadium – 58,145
Poznan – Poznan Municipal Stadium – 42,004
Gdansk – Arena Gdansk – 40,818
Wroclaw – Wroclaw Municipal Stadium – 40,610

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