fuelledbypassion
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2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
UEFA U-21 Championship 2011 will be the 18th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship. The final tournament will be hosted by Denmark between 11 and 25 June 2011.
The Participants:
Tournament outsiders Belarus finished second in Group 10 to Scotland in one of the weakest qualifying groups. They progress to the finals courtesy of an impressive turn around in the playoffs, overcoming a first leg deficit of two goals with a 3-2 win over a talented Italy outfit.
The Czech Republic blitzed a tough Group 5, topping the group without defeat. They dispatched England's eventual group winners, Greece, with incredible ease in a 5-0 aggregate demolition. They also conceded the fewest goals (4) in qualifying.
Denmark qualify as tournament hosts.
England struggled through qualification with a second placed finish to an unexpected Greek side in Group 9. They scraped past Group 1 winners, Romania, with a 2-1 aggregate playoff victory, yet enter the competition as second favourites.
Tournament dark horses, Iceland, were the top scorers in qualification, despite being drawn alongside Germany and the Czech Republic in the group stages. Finishing as runners up in Group 5, they eliminated Germany before dominating Scotland in a 4-2 aggregate playoff win.
Spain finished below Holland in a two horse race for Group 4, but found another gear in a playoff encounter with Croatia, smashing their opponents in a 5-1 aggregate victory in what was billed as a tough fixture. Their immensely talented squad is seen as the one to beat this year.
Switzerland cruised though Group 2 despite losing twice, with only Turkey as serious competition. They dispatched Sweden in style with a 5-1 aggregate win to reach the finals.
Ukraine were handed a tough draw alongside France and Belgium, but ultimately emerged victorious, topping Group 8 as the two sides failed to reach the playoffs. They then battled bravely to beat heavy hitters Holland on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate score.
The Groups:
The Dangermen:
(GROUP A: Eriksson, Shaqiri, Sigurdsson, Sivakov)
(GROUP B: Kozak, Sturridge, Thiago, Yarmolenko)
The Odds:
Outright Winners:
Spain - 6/5
England - 9/4
Czech Republic - 7/2
Ukraine - 13/2
Spain - 6/5
England - 9/4
Czech Republic - 7/2
Ukraine - 13/2
Top Scorer:
Bojan (Spa) - 13/2
Sturridge (Eng) - 8/1
Adrian (Spa) - 9/1
Pekhart (Cze) - 11/1
Bojan (Spa) - 13/2
Sturridge (Eng) - 8/1
Adrian (Spa) - 9/1
Pekhart (Cze) - 11/1
Just thought I would make this for those of us that are watching the tournament, to comment on any of the games that don't warrant their own thread. Maybe we will see some of the foreign stars on show here in the Premiership come the end of summer!
---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------
For those of you that aren't aware, Belarus beat Iceland 2-0 in the opening fixture, and hosts Denmark are currently playing Switzerland with Eriksson and Shaqiri both starting
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