There is less than 12 hours to begin the world’s one of the most exciting tournament euro Cup 2012 where all 16 qualified European giants will fight for the cup.
www.anantasports.com is bringing the profiles of all the participating team to its readers and here it is Russia.

Russia is taking part in the tournaments under the guidance of coach
Dick Advocaat. Dick Advocaat’s Side have qualified for the tournaments topping the qualifying Group B ahead of Ireland Slovekia and Armenia.They only assured themselves of automatic qualification on the penultimate matchday with a 1-0 win away at Slovakia.
 The modern Russian national team played its first international fixture against Mexico in 1992. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, it is considered by FIFA to be the natural successor to the U.S.S.R. team, even though many of the former U.S.S.R.s best known players were actually from the Ukraine, for example, seven of the Soviet starting eleven in the final of Euro 88 were Ukrainian.
Russian Football team for Euro 2012
Russia as the U.S.S.R., qualified for seven World Cup Finals, their best run in the competition proper took them to fourth place in 1966 in England. The U.S.S.R. fared slightly better in European competition reaching the final tournament on six occasions (as the C.I.S. in 1992), winning the European Nations Cup, as it was then known
Russia had an excellent 2008 tournament reaching the semi-finals before eventually losing to Spain 3-0. Russia are drawn in Group A along with the hosts Poland, Czech Republic and Greece who won Euro 2004. So they have what is arguably the easiest group. Russia dominated their qualifying campaign with only one defeat in ten games.

    They bested Ireland and other tough sides like Armenia and Slovakia. Once again though Russia avoided the really big teams and so they are relatively untried against world class opposition in a really meaningful game. Russia look favourites to qualify from this group but this is where their run of facing weaker sides will end because they will surely face a top side in the quarter-finals and beyond. Do not expect Russiato win Euro 2012 but they will be dangerous opponents for any team.
Coach Dick Advocaat
Regardless of his team's showing at Euro 2012, Russiacoach Dick Advocaat faces inevitable comparisons with his predecessor Guus Hiddink.
Advocaat succeeded his Dutch compatriot, who steered Russiato the Euro 2008 semi-finals for their best showing in 20 years, following their failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Unlike his charming predecessor, who was adored by Russian fans and media alike, Advocaat has faced severe criticism throughout the qualifying campaign.
Russian Coach Dick Advocaat


Captain Andrey Arshavin
The enigmatic Arshavin's form seems to have rebounded to an extent having returned to Zenit on loan from Arsenal in January after a spell during which his standards slipped from his 2008 annus mirabilis, when he won the Uefa Cup with the St. Petersburg side and imposed himself on the international consciousness with his performances at Euro 2008.

Russiacan look bereft of inspiration at times but Arshavin is the man to whom they will turn for creativity in attack. His form and attitude have shown signs of improving in recent months, just in time for him to make another impression at a European Championship.
Russian Captain Andrey Arshavin
Player to watch:
Alan Dzagoev - One of Russia's top scorers in the qualifiers with four goals, the 22-year-old playmaker with CSKS Moscow is considered one of his country's top prospects. He could be the breakout star of this tournament.
Russian Player Alan Dzagoev

Jersy :
Brand: Adidas
 Home Jersey: Red with white and blue diagonal stripes
Away Jersey: White with blue and red diagonal stripes
Russian Home and Away Jersy


How Russia qualified for Euro 2012: Russia qualifed for euro 2012 after topping the Group B points table before Ireland( which qualify after play off), Armenia and Slovakia


 Russian Squad for Euro 2012:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St. Petersburg), Anton Shunin (Dinamo Moscow)

Defenders: Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Alexei Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Dinamo Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi), Roman Sharonov (Rubin Kazan), Kirill Nababkin (CSKA Moscow)

Midfielders: Igor Denisov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dinamo Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow)

Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St.Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart), Alan Dzagoyev (CSKA Moscow), Marat Izmailov, (Sporting), Alexander Kokorin (Dinamo Moscow)

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 There is less than 12 hours to begin the world’s one of the most exciting tournament euro Cup 2012 where all 16 qualified European giants will fight for the cup.
www.anantasports.com is bringing the profiles of all the participating team to its readers and here it is Poland.

   As one of the two host nations, Polandautomatically qualified for Euro 2012.Poland is taking part in the tournaments under the guidance of coach
Franciszek Smuda. Franciszek Smuda's side have only lost two of their last 10 games, to reputable opponents Italy and France, both of whom fielded strong sides. Preparation for Euro 2012 has been a mixed bag for Poland, who have played in several stadia across the country ahead of the tournament next summer. Though the host are ranked lowest among all the participating Nations they are looking to promote at least in the knoch out stage of the tournament.
Polish Football Team

Despite competing in six World Cups, Poland have only once before qualified for the European Championships.

This year's co-hosts failed to go beyond the group stages at Euro 2008 in Austriaand Switzerland, despite topping their group in qualifying.

The Poles failed to win any of their three Group B games, suffering defeats to Germanyand Croatia, and drawing with Austria, meaning they finished bottom on goal difference with one of the worst records in the tournament.

As one of the hosts of Euro 2012, Poland will perhaps fancy their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages, a feat which both Austria and Switzerland failed to achieve four years ago.

Coach Franciszek Smuda
 Former defender who spent the majority of his career playing in Poland and the USA, Smuda replaced Leo Beenhakker in October 2009 after the Dutchman failed to guide the team into the 2010 World Cup.

Smuda has a wealth of managerial experience, having coached in Germanyand Turkeybefore returning to his homeland with Widzew Lodz.
The 63-year-old won the Polish Cup with Lech Poznan and joined Zaglebie Lubin in August 2009, only to become national team coach just weeks later.
Poland Football team coach Franciszek Smuda


Captain Jakub Blasczykowski
Part of the Bundesliga-winning Borussia Dortmund side for the past two seasons, Blaszczykowski has made well over 100 appearances for the club since joining them in 2007.

Having earned 50 caps for his country, Blaszczykowski was given the captain's armband in November 2010 by Smuda and was named the Polish Footballer of the Year the same year, having previously been handed the same honour in 2008. However he didn’t play previous edition of Euro due to hamstring Injury.
Poland Coach Jakub Blasckowski in yellow Jersy


Player to watch: Robert  Lewandowski
At 23, the striker is one of the youngest players in Poland's Euro 2012 squad, but already has 40 caps and 13 goals for his country and is likely to become one of Poland's all-time top scorers in the near future.

If Lewandowski can carry his good form into the European Championship, the co-hosts will have some real firepower at their disposal in the tournament.
Poland Player Robert Lewandowski


How the Qualify:
Poland are qualified for the tournaments as the co host of the tournaments but here are the Latest match results played by the Poland.

Mar 25, 2011: Lithuania 2-0 Poland
Mar 29, 2011: Greece 0-0 Poland
Jun 5, 2011: Poland 2-1 Argentina
Jun 9, 2011: Poland 0-1 France
Aug 10, 2011: Poland 1-0 Georgia
Sep 2, 2011: Poland 1-1 Mexico
Sep 6, 2011: Poland 2-2 Germany
Oct 7, 2011: South Korea 2-2 Poland
Oct 11, 2011: Belarus 0-2 Poland
Nov 11, 2011: Poland 0-2 Italy
Nov 15, 2011: Poland 2-1 Hungary
Dec 16, 2011: Poland 1-0 BiH
Feb 29, 2012: Poland 0-0 Portugal
May 22, 2012: Poland 1-0 Latvia
May 26, 2012: Poland 1-0 Slovakia


Jersy for Poland Team:
Brand: Nike
Home Jersey: White with red rectangle
Away Jersey: Red with white rectangle
Poland Home and away Jersy



Poland Suad for Euro 2012:


Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal), Przemysław Tyton (PSV Eindhoven), Grzegorz Sandomierski (Genk).

Defenders: Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Sebastian Boenisch (Werder), Marcin Kaminski (Lech Poznan), Damien Perquis (Sochaux), Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia), Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech).

Midfielders: Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Dariusz Dudka (Auxerre), Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor), Adam Matuszczyk (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Adrian Mierzejewski (Trabzonspor), Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan), Eugen Polanski (Mainz), Ludovic Obraniak (Bordeaux), Maciej Rybus (Terek), Rafal Wolski (Legia).

Forwards: Paweł Brozek (Glasgow Celtic), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Sobiech (Hannover).

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There is less than 48 hours for the beginning of the world’s one of the most exciting sporting event Euro 2012.Here we are providing the details about participating team of the tournaments.


Greece one of the dark hose of the tournament is playing under the guidance of the Portuguese coach Fernando Santos. Fernando Santos side have been selected in the tournament from relatively weaker qualifying group for Euro 2012 as  Greece recovered from a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Georgia in its opening game to remain unbeaten throughout the campaign and pip Croatia to top spot.


Having qualified for the European Championships just once prior to Euro 2004, Greece, who had already caused a major upset against France in the quarterfinal, stunned the world of football by beating host nation Portugal 1-0 in the final in Lisbon to pull off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition.

The success of 2004 remains the only time Greecehas managed to progress past the group stage, though, with 2008’s campaign in Austria and Switzerland particularly forgettable. Otto Rehhagel’s men scored just one goal and failed to even pick up a point, losing to Sweden, Russia and Spain.

Coach: Fernando Santos
Despite being handed the tough task of replacing Euro 2004-winning boss Rehhagel after the German’s resignation at the end of the 2010 World Cup, Santoshas enjoyed an impressive start to life in international football, remaining unbeaten in his first 17 matches in charge before a 3-1 friendly defeat to Romania.

Unlike predecessor Rehhagel, the experienced Portuguese, who dramatically transformed the fortunes of Greek club PAOK before taking the national team job, has shown he is not afraid to call upon younger players, even handing a debut to 17-year-old Panathinaikos goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino.


Captain :Giorgos  Karagounis
he veteran midfielder - who has fond memories of the European Championships, scoring the opening goal of the tournament against Portugal in 2004 - will be one of the first names on the team sheet for Greece at Euro 2012, having featured in every one of his side’s matches in qualifying.

While regulars of the national team down the years have been unable to hold down their places since Rehhagel’s departure, such as Angelos Charisteas who did not make the Euro 2012 squad, Greece’s second-highest capped player remains a key figure under Santos, who he played for previously at Panathinaikos and Benfica.


Player to Watch for
Vasilis Torosidis has attracted the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs since establishing himself as a regular for both Olympiakos and Greece, with Roma, Liverpooland Bayern Munich all credited with an interest over the last few years.


Although a switch abroad is yet to come to fruition, the Olympiakos defender, who won the 2010 Greek Football Player of the Year award, has already made history for the national team, scoring the winning goal in his side’s 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the World Cup in South Africa - Greece’s first ever victory in the tournament.

How do they Qualify:

Greece's qualifiers

ResultScoreOpposition
D
1-1
Georgia (h)
D
0-0
Croatia (a)
W
1-0
Latvia (h)
W
2-1
Israel (h)
W
1-0
Malta (a)
W
3-1
Malta (h)
W
1-0
Israel (a)
D
1-1
Latvia (a)
W
2-0
Croatia (h)
W
2-1
Georgia (a)

 Greece Jersy:
Greece Home and Away Jersy


Greece Squad for Euro 2012:
Goalkeepers: Costas Chalkias (PAOK), Michalis Sifakis (Aris), Alexandros Tzorvas (Palermo)

Defenders: Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Werder Bremen), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Jose Holebas (Olympiakos), Stelios Malezas (PAOK), Giorgos Tzavelas (Monaco), Yiannis Maniatis (Olympiakos), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Schalke)

Midfielders: Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Costas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Giorgos Fotakis (PAOK), Costas Fortounis (Kaiserslautern), Yiannis Fetfatzidis (Olympiakos), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Grigoris Makos (AEK Athens)

Forwards: Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Dimitris Salpigidis (PAOK), Costas Mitroglou (Atromitos), Nikos Lymberopoulos (AEK Athens), Fanis Gekas (Samsunspor)


Greece Latest Fixture and Result:

Next Fixtures

  • Fri 08 Jun 17:00
    PolandvGreece
  • Tue 12 Jun 17:00
    GreecevCzech Republic
  • Sat 16 Jun 19:45
    GreecevRussia


Latest results

  • Thu 31 May
    Armenia0 - 1Greece
  • Sat 26 May
    Greece1 - 1Slovenia
  • Wed 29 Feb
    Greece1 - 1Belgium
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There is less than 48 hours for the beginning of the world’s one of the most exciting sporting event Euro 2012.Here we are providing the details about participating team of the tournaments.

 One of the strongest team in the tournament Checz republic will be participating in the tournament on the leadership of its coach Michal Bilek. Michal Bilek’s side recovered from a poor start to qualifying to earn its spot at Euro 2012 through the playoffs. The Czech Republichas been a top class European team over the past 16 years. The Czech Republic, which has qualified for the European Championships on every occasion since becoming an independent nation in 1993, came close to causing a major upset at its first tournament in 1996, beating Italy, Portugal and France on the way to losing the final in extra time against Germany at Wembley. The Czech Republicis a relatively new nation on the football scene but as Czechoslovakiathen they achieved great success. This included reaching two World Cup finals and also winning the 1976 European Championships.
Czech republic Team 

Czech Republic qualified for their first World Cup as an independent nation in 2006. Full of high hopes after their success at Euro 2004, the Czechs arrived in the group stages. However, unfortunately for them and their fans, they also departed in the group stages, and said good-bye to, the retiring, Nedved and Poborsky. Group stage elimination at the hands of Turkey was to follow at Euro 2008, and failure to make the World Cup Finals in South Africa 2010 was the first time the Czechs had failed to make the grade since 2002.

Jersy :
Czech Republic Home and Away Jersy

 Coach:
Michal Bilek Aged just 44 when given the difficult task of taking over a side which had failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, many questioned whether Bilek, whose only previous spell in international management had been with the Czech Republic Under-19s, had the experience to guide the national team to Euro 2012.
  But the former Sparta Prague boss, who was appointed following Ivan Hasek's resignation in Oct. 2009, helped his side bounce back from a disappointing start to guide it to Polandand Ukraine, proving he is not afraid to change things along the way, using no fewer than 32 players during qualification.
Czech Republic Coach Michal Bilek


Captain:
Tomas Rosicky ,The experienced midfielder has been a mainstay in the Czech Republic team since making his international debut, featuring in all but one of his side’s fixtures at major tournaments between 2000 and 2006, with injury ruling him out of Euro 2008 and the majority of the qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup.
Captain Tomas Rosicky 

  Rosicky has been unable to recreate his best form for Arsenal since his lengthy absence through injury during the 2008-09 seasons, but he remains a key figure for the national team, having set up six of his side’s 15 goals during qualification for Euro 2012.

Player to watch: 
Petr Cech has earned the nickname “Mr. Perfect” from the Czech media but he will be seeking to leave a better impression at Euro 2012 than he did in the previous edition. Petr Cech has signed a new contract which will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2016.
Petr Cech 

Tomas Pekhart:
With CSKA Moscow’s Tomas Necid having now cemented his place in the national team setup under Bilek, former Tottenham striker Pekhart - the record goalscorer for the Under-21 side - is the next youngster to emerge as one to watch for the future in Czech football.

Despite failing to make the breakthrough in English football earlier in his career, the forward has thrived since leaving White Hart Lane in 2010. He earned himself a move to German club Nuremberg following the Czech Republic Under-21s’ impressive 2011 European Championship campaign, and started both crucial playoff ties against Montenegro after stepping up to the senior side.
Tomas Pekhart


 How they Qualify :
Czech Republicfinished second in their Euro 2012 qualifying group behind Spain.
They then needed to negotiate a play-off against Montenegroto qualify for the finals in Polandand Ukraine.
Since the conclusion of qualifying they have drawn 1-1 away against Ireland.
Check our infographic below for the full list of Czech Republic's qualifiers and recent friendlies.


Records:

FIFA Ranking : 26
ODDS TO WIN 66-1
EURO BEST Runners-up 1996
 Czech Republic Team Squad for Euro 2012:
GOALKEEPERS: 
  Petr Cech (Chelsea) Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Jan Lastuvka (Dnipro)
 DEFENDERS        
Tomas Sivok (Besiktas)  Theodor Gebre Selassie (Slovan Liberec) Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin) Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen)  David Limbersky (Viktoria Plzen)  Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow
 MIDFIELDERS    
Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal)  Petr Jiracek (Wolfsburg)  Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk  Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Plzen)      Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux ) Vaclav Pilar (Viktoria Plzen)   Milan Petrzela (Viktoria Plzen)  Vladimir Darida (Viktoria Plzen)
 FORWARDS    
Milan Baros (Galatasaray) Tomas Pekhart (Nuremberg)  David Lafata (Jablonec)  Jan Rezek (Anorthosis Famagusta  Tomas Necid (CSKA Moscow
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As the Euro 2012 is coming nearer disappointments for Spanish fan is growing as the Spanish Football Federation RFEF has confirmed that the striker David Villa will not be part of their squad for this summer's European Championships. The Barcelona striker has not been able to fully recover from the broken leg that he suffered during the World Club Championship in December.
Villa's absence is a major disappointment for coach Vicente Del Bosque, who had indicated he would give as long as possible for the striker to recover. Few days ago another important member of the team and Captain of world cup winning team Carles Puyol was also out of the tournament.
David Villa will Miss Euro 2012
Villa is the highest goalscorer in the history of the Spanish national team with 51 goals in 82 appearances.
"David Villa will definitely not be on the list for Euro 2012. Villa spoke with the national team doctor this afternoon after the arrival of the team in the Austrian town of Schruns. After not getting in the final practice and development desired, Villa spoke with Del Bosque, who relayed that although it was the player's wish to be with the team in Poland and Ukraine, that his physical state was 'not as good' as would be desirable," confirmed the Spanish FA.
Spanish Hero of World Cup 2010 wil Miss Euro 2012

Del Bosque will name his final squad of 23 players May 27, two days after the final of the Spanish Copa del Rey in Valencia. The Absence of David Villa may not be a serious problem as in Villa's absence means Chelsea forward Fernando Torres has a greater chance of making the squad for the finals.Anyway The bench strength of defending champion is stron so hope these injuries will not affect the winning sprit of the team
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If you had followed the World cup 2012 you may have heard about the Octopus named the Paul which predict 2010 World Cup results of matches. A psychic pig is set to take over Paul the Octopus at the European championships in Ukraine and Poland. Kiev's city government said on Friday it would wheel out the porky tipster to give daily forecasts once the tournament kicks off next month.
"A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football," a statement said. "Every day at 16.00 it will predict the result of the upcoming match." Paul, who has since passed away, shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup after his feeding behaviour was used to correctly predict the winner of each of the Germany's seven matches.
Octopus the Paul 

He also tipped World Cup winners Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final in South Africa from his tank at an aquarium in Oberhausen. Kiev officials said they wanted bring similar excitement to Ukrainians by bringing the telepathic pig to the city's fan zone before matches. 'Psychic' creatures have become the rage since Paul blazed his tentacled trail.
Psychic pig 

A rare two-headed tortoise called Magdalena embarked on a new career as a tipster at last year's ice hockey world championships in Slovakia. Germanydiscovered a cross-eyed opossum called Heidi, who made an appearance on American television earlier this year to predict the Oscar winners. She died last September. The hog will be eager to sniff out the correct result himself to avoid the chop as pork is a staple of the local cuisine.
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Hodgson, who was appointed as England Manager last month to replace Fabio Capello, revealed his full squad as they head into battle in Poland and Ukraine.
The big surprises were the inclusion of Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been handed a surprise call-up for Euro 2012 as Rio Ferdinand was made the big-name casualty in Roy Hodgson's 23-man England squad.
Captain Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard has also been confirmed as captain for the tournament.
Chelsea's John Terry has been included despite being stripped of the captaincy in February .Other players not going include Tottenham's Kyle Walker and Man City's Micah Richards.
Wayne Rooney will travel to Poland and the Ukraine even though he's suspended for the first two games of the Euros.
John Terry

His Man United team-mate Danny Welbeck has also been picked and uncapped Norwich keeper John Ruddy also gets a place.
Speaking about his squad at a press conference at Wembley Hodgson said the decision to leave out Rio Ferdinand was purely a football one.
Roy Hodgson

There had been suggestions that he'd been left out because of a feud with fellow defender John Terry but Hodgson said:
"I respect Rio as a player and as a person and the decision was purely a footballing one."
Hodgson also said Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Phil Jones were included because of their ability to play in several different positions.
England now have two friendly games against Norway and Belgiumbefore their first game of the tournament against France on June 11.
THE SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS
• Robert Green (West Ham United)
• Joe Hart (Manchester City)
• John Ruddy (Norwich City)
DEFENDERS
• Leighton Baines (Everton)
• Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
• Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
• Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
• Phil Jones (Manchester United)
• Joleon Lescott (Manchester City)
• John Terry (Chelsea)
MIDFIELDERS
• Gareth Barry (Manchester City)
• Stewart Downing (Liverpool)
• Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
• Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
• James Milner (Manchester City)
• Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)
• Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
• Ashley Young (Manchester United)
FORWARDS
• Andy Carroll (Liverpool)
• Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
• Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United)
• Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur)

Stand-by: Jack Butland (Birmingham), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (ManCity), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)
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