France, unbeaten in 17 games, will pose the biggest threat but Fabio Capello's side will hope to beat Ukraine and Sweden
The days are gone when hopes for England soared at international tournaments but Euro 2012 offers at least a measure of reassurance for Fabio Capello and his squad in the group phase. France, the opponents in England's opening game, certainly pose a threat, but co-hosts Ukraine are relatively untried of late given the absence of competitive football.
If all goes to form, England could ease their way into the knockout stage and will anticipate stepping closer to that phase with a victory over Sweden at least. France appear to be the most intriguing of rivals. They are on a run of 17 matches undefeated. That steadiness is remarkable after the outcry over their unhappy experience at the 2010 World Cup.
They had come last in their group in South Africa and, with a single point, had one of the worst records in the tournament. The removal of Raymond Domenech as manager was assured but the damage went further than that. Laurent Blanc filled the vacancy and punished the members of the World Cup squad for their allegedly unprofessional behaviour by dropping all of them for the next match.
The game in question was just a friendly that was lost to Norway but a message had been delivered. In addition to that rebuke, Blanc aimed for revival by, in particular, recalling some players of North African descent such as Samir Nasri, now of Manchester City, as well as Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa, who had joined Newcastle United initially on loan in August 2010.
Blanc displayed a measure of boldness in his actions but also had to show fortitude after seeing his men slide to a 1-0 defeat against Belarus in Paris. Nasri had been perceived as unreliable in the past but the manager was disposed to put some faith in a player once thought of as a potentially disruptive influence. No one could have pictured him in those terms when he converted the penalty against Bosnia and Herzegovina that secured the berth at the finals.
It would seem that Blanc may have derived a long-term benefit from the tumult he inherited. There was a mandate for change and he had no cause to bow to reputation. In a smaller way, there is an echo of Capello's reaction to the tribulations of the World Cup. He, too, treated the woe as a reason to change. Both countries will expect to stride forward at the finals.
All the same, the hopes of Sweden and Ukraine will not have sunk too much. Ukraine, for instance, should not suffer from an excess of expectation by their countrymen since they are placed 55th in Fifa's world rankings. Only their co-hosts Poland, at 66th in the world, are of lower standing at the tournament.
The unknown element, as in the case of Poland, lies in the feats that can be achieved by well supported sides at home for one potentially life-changing summer. That interpretation has still to be offset by the reality that they lack daunting footballers.
The Poland manager, Andrzej Szarmach, was part of the memorable squad of the 1970s, along with Wlodzimierz Lubanski, Kazimierz Deyna and Grzegorz Lato. Lato, now president of the Polish football federation, is embroiled in accusations of financial impropriety over the purchase of land for its new headquarters.
All in all, it will take immense amounts of adrenalin-generated conviction to hoist Poland or Ukraine to greatness.
Ukraine have never come through the qualifiers for a European Championship. They did get to quarter-finals of World Cup in 2006, where they were eliminated by Italy, the winners of that tournament.
Oleg Blokhin is now in his second stint as manager, having taken up the post again in April. The squad are almost entirely drawn from Ukrainian clubs but Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, at least, is on the books of Bayern Munich.
England have suffered for far too long to suppose that an easy road lies before them. Even so, the draw has extended an invitation to Capello's team. The opportunity to make an impact on Euro 2012 is in their own hands.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/dec/02/england-euro-2012-knockout-stage
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