Poland vs Greece Preview Euro 2012 June 8th
The European Soccer Championships (EURO 2012) will kick off on June 8th with a Group A game between Poland and Greece at the National Stadium in Warsaw. Poland qualified for the tournament automatically as it’s a host nation along with Ukraine, while Greece topped Group F in the qualifying competition with 24 points from seven wins and three draws in 10 games.
Greece is generally regarded as one of the weaker teams in the world even though they’ve been ranked as high as eighth by FIFA. They’ve qualified for the World Cup just twice, back in 1994 and again in 2010. They didn’t play well in either of those tournaments, losing all three games in 1994 to place deal last and winning one and losing two in 2010 to place 25th out of 32 teams.
However, they’ve had quite a bit more success when it comes to Europe. They have qualified four three times now, 1980, 2004, 2008, and 2012. They surprised most experts in 2004 by winning the tournament in Portugal and beating the host nation twice along the way. However, they couldn’t hold onto their title and lost all three games in 2008, again finishing in last place in a major tournament.
This would lead most people to believe that Greece’s win in 2004 was just a case of a team getting hot art the right moment, and that could be true. However, they went unbeaten in the qualifying round for Euro 2012 and allowed just five goals in 10 games while scoring 14. They may not score a lot of goals, but they certainly don’t let many in either.
Poland can surprise at home
Poland will have the advantage of the home crowd and that could be a big factor. Poland has a rich football history and has produced some excellent teams in the past. They’ve played in seven World Cups and came in third place in 1974 and 1982. However, they’ve only made the European Championships once, which was in 2008 and they place 14th in the 16-team event with a draw and two losses. The nation did win a gold medal in Olympic football in 1972 and silver medals in 1976 and 1992.
Poland has won six, drawn four and lost three in their last 10 games up until Nov. 15, 2011, including a 0-0 away draw in Greece in March. They also met in August of 2009 with Poland winning 2-0 at home. Greece lost their first game after the qualification stages ended with a 3-1 home loss to Romania on Nov. 15th.
Poland vs Greece Predictions
As the first game of the tournament, this will be a BIG game to start your Euro 2012 betting. Both of these teams can compete with anybody on their best days, but can be less than mediocre on off days. Poland should be pumped for this game, since it’s the tournament opener at home and should come out of it with all three points.
Early on, sportsbook William Hill had the odds of a Poland win listed at 23/10 with a Greece win at 2/1 and a draw at 21/10.
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