Group B

Underdogs Denmark stun wasteful Dutch

Kharkiv: Netherlands suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Denmark at Metalist Stadium on Saturday to kick-start their Euro 2012 campaign in dreadful fashion. Despite fashioning a slew of chances almost straight from kickoff, the tournament favourites were extremely poor in front of goal, and their profligacy was punished by a fine finish from Michael Krohn Dehli after 24 minutes. The Dutch were similarly wasteful during the second-half, their performance epitomized...  

Champions of Europe: Group of death kicks-off

Netherlands will take on Dennmark and Portugal will take mighty Germans in Group B encounters. ...

Ronaldo is Portugal's only threat: Maradona

Diego Maradona has asserted his belief that Portugal will struggle to make an impact at this summer's European Championship. Paulo Bento's men will face Germany on Saturday, while the Netherlands will take on Denmark in the other Group B fixture. Nonetheless, the Al Wasl boss is tipping the Seleccao to crash out at the first hurdle, pointing out that Cristiano Ronaldo is their only player who can make the difference....  

Nani may miss Portugal game with Germany

Lviv, Ukraine: Portugal winger Nani is struggling to shake off an injury to his right foot and may miss his country's opening Euro 2012 game against Germany, coach Paulo Bento said on Friday. Nani, one of his team's major talents, was hurt during a 3-1 defeat against Turkey in a friendly game last Saturday. He sustained an injury to the same foot for his club Manchester United in January and...  

Champions of Europe: Cream of Europe to compete

CNN-IBN panel of experts analyses the teams and other factors ahead of the upcoming Euro 2012 opener. ...

Euro 2012: Let the beautiful game begin

The Euro 2012 will kick off on Friday, with 16 nations battling for the most prestigious European football trophy. ...

Ronaldo key as Portugal gear up for German test

Gdansk: Some coaches would consider it unwise to select an untested defender to mark Cristiano Ronaldo, probably Europe's premier forward. Germany coach Joachim Loew appears, however, to be contemplating exactly such an option when his team begins its European Championship campaign against Portugal and its star player on Saturday. Loew insisted on Thursday he had not yet made up his mind but spent a lot of time praising Lars Bender,...  

Dutch complain of racism ahead of their opener

Poland: Netherlands captain Mark van Bommel has claimed that Thursday's open training session was marred by racist chants aimed at Oranje's black players. Around 25,000 people came to watch Bert van Marwijk's men in action as they prepare for Euro 2012, but it has been reported that a small contingent of those present directed their attention to members of the Dutch squad. On the instructions of the AC Milan midfielder,...  

Netherlands all revved up ahead of opener

Kolobrzeg, Poland: Anything but a victory over Denmark would be a minor disaster for Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and their Netherlands team-mates on Saturday. They all know the deal: As runners-up in the 2010 World Cup, they can't claim success this time around unless they return to Amsterdam with the European Championship trophy. Failing to beat the Danes in their first Group B match would complicate things to say...  

Euro 2012 refs to stop games if any racial abuse

Warsaw: UEFA president Michel Platini promised that referees will stop European Championship matches if players suffer abuse from fans, as questions on racism in Poland and Ukraine dominated a news conference on Wednesday to launch the tournament. Platini said UEFA has empowered referees to "temporarily stop the game and finally cancel the game if this racism keeps rearing its head." Concern was fueled by a British television program last week...  

Spain or Portugal will win Euro: Ronaldo

Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo believes that Spain are the favourites to win Euro 2012, but he is also confident of Portugal's chances in Poland and Ukraine. The Real Madrid forward hailed the reigning European champions as he thinks they have enough quality to cope with the absence of some key players, before adding that Vicente del Bosque would be able to field two teams that could fight for the title. "If...  

Platini plea for players to entertain at Euros

Warsaw: Now, finally, UEFA President Michel Platini wants the players to take center stage when the European Championship kicks off on Friday. Football has almost been ignored during a turbulent five years for Poland and Ukraine as they sought to vindicate UEFA's decision to take its showpiece 16-nation tournament to eastern Europe. Now the former France great, who captained and coached his country, wants the teams to seize the headlines....  

Germany better than in 2010 World Cup: Neuer

Gdansk: Germany are a better team with more depth and maturity than they had at the 2010 World Cup where they finished third, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said on Wednesday. With the Germans eager to ease some of the pressure as one of the tournament favourites with victory in their opening Euro 2012 Group B game against Portugal on Saturday, Neuer said a good start would put them on track for...  

Five managers to watch at Euro 2012

A low-down on the top minds who will be scheming their way to winning the European Championships. Joachim Low " Germany The German coach has been given assurances about his job, no matter what happens at Euro 2012, but knowing the way 'Jogi' works, he will be focused solely on the title. This is, after all, the man who gambled at the 2010 World Cup by opting for youth over...  

Capsules of past European Championships

London: Capsules on each of the previous 13 European Championship tournaments: France 1960 The Soviet Union scored the first goal in the qualifying tournament for the inaugural European Championship, and then won the maiden title about two years later at Parc des Princes in Paris. Seventeen teams entered the qualifying tournament, which was called the European Nations Cup. After Czechoslovakia eliminated Ireland in a two-leg playoff, the Soviets beat visiting...  

A glance at the 16 teams at Euro 2012

Warsaw: A brief glance at the 16 teams that have qualified for the European Championship: Group A Poland Euro 2012 Schedule: vs. Greece, June 8; vs. Russia, June 12; vs. Czech Republic, June 16. How the team qualified: Co-host. Euro 2008 Result: First Round. Best Result: First Round (2008). FIFA Ranking: 65th. Coach: Franciszek Smuda (Poland). Top Players: Jakub Blaszczykowski, Robert Lewandowski, Wojciech Szczesny. Greece Euro 2012 Schedule: vs. Poland,...  

A look at the 8 stadiums to be used for Euro 2012

Warsaw: A brief look at the eight stadiums to be used for the European Championship: Warsaw, National Stadium The National Stadium in Warsaw will host the opening match of the Euro 2012 tournament, when Poland plays Greece on June 8. The stadium was built on the site of the Tenth Anniversary Stadium, which hosted football matches and other sporting events from 1955 until the 1980s. The old stadium was partly...  

B stands for Best in Euro 2012 group stage

Brussels: Quite simply, a tougher group has not been assembled in the opening round of a tournament since FIFA started its world rankings two decades ago. Not in Europe, and not around the world. With Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark, four of the world's top 10 teams have been clustered together by the luck of the draw. And with the Germans, the Dutch and the Portuguese, it has three...