Poland and Ukraine will have the pleasure to host the 14th edition of the European Championship where only 16 national teams will be present. June 8th of 2012 is still a little bit far away, but due to the tight schedule that each country has between their local league and international competitions †which involve FIFA and UEFA as well †the only solution to deal with it is by planning ahead. This is the reason why the 14th edition of this European Championship will kick-off their qualifying matches this month, with 51 nations competing for one of the 14 seats available. So far the only two countries qualified are Poland and Ukraine, as they automatically enter the competition due to their role as hosts. With them, the Euro 2012 completes its 16 contestants. This will be the third time that an European Championship is co-hosted †in 2000 Belgium and the Netherlands were the first ones, and eight years later Austria and Switzerland had their chance †and it will also be the last edition where only 16 teams participate, since for the next competition in 2016 the number of nations will be increased to 24. Until then, only the first place from each of the nine groups, along with the best of those finishing in second will directly qualify. The last four participants will come out from the playoff games disputed between the remaining teams that ended in second place. The past edition in 2008 was won by Spain, a title that put an end to 44 years of frustration after their last and only championship, and it also served as a confirmation that this great generation of Spanish players was a step above the rest. In the final held in Viena, they were able to defeat the Germans 1 to 0 thanks to Fernando Torres’ goal, after an assists from Xavi, who was named the best player of the tournament. The current champions will not only have to defend their title, but also their prestige, after becoming world champions this year in South Africa, during FIFA’s World Cup. Spain will be in Group I along with Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, and Liechtenstein. Their first rival is Liechtenstein, whom they will visit on Friday the 3rd, and the players are aware that after their success, great things will be expected from them. Sergio Busquets is one of the players that have wanted to calm things a little bit, stating that: â€we are not the best ones now, nor believe that we are invincibleâ€. He thinks that in the world of football people always tend to take things for a fact after an important title is achieved. The Euro 2012 is a great chance for those teams that didn’t have a good performance in the past World Cup and want to get that displeasure off their backs. Countries like Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Portugal have one more chance to do things better and regain the support and sympathy from their fans. Here is the conformation of the rest of the groups: Group A †Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Group B †Russia, Slovakia, Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, and Andorra. Group C †Estonia, Italy, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, and Faroe Islands. Group D †France, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, and Luxembourg. Group E †Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Moldova, and San Marino. Group F †Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, and Malta. Group G †England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, and Montenegro. Group F †Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, and Iceland.
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