UEFA Euro 2012

Some of football's finest compete for the 14th European Championship title

Europe’s most high profile continental competition, the UEFA Euro 2012, kicks-off at the National Stadium in Warsaw on Friday 8 June 2012. 

Sixteen teams – the number will increase in the next tournament – will battle it out in four different groups over the course of three weeks to become the reigning champion of the 14th UEFA European Football Championship. The winning team gets an automatic entry to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, hosted by Brazil.

So, choose your colours, place your bets and suit-up to support your favourite team in their quest to the top. We've created a good overview of places to watch EURO 2012 games in and around Cape Town.

The opening ceremony, due to start 20 minutes before the opening game between Greece and Poland, promises to be a fitting curtain-raiser for the football frenzy set to take over first-time hosts Poland and Ukraine. 

Match fixtures 2012 UEFA Soccer Championship:

All match times are Central European Time (CET) / GMT +1 hour / 

Friday 8 June 2012
#1: POL v GRE, 18.00CET, Warsaw
#2: RUS v CZE, 20.45CET, Wroclaw

Saturday 9 June 2012
#3: NED v DEN, 18.00CET, Kharkiv
#4: GER v POR, 20.45CET, Lviv

Sunday 10 June 2012
#5: ESP v ITA, 18.00CET, Gdansk
#6: IRL v CRO, 20.45CET, Poznan

Monday 11 June 2012
#7: FRA v ENG, 18.00CET, Donetsk
#8: UKR v SWE, 20.45CET, Kyiv

Tuesday 12 June 2012
#9: GRE v CZE, 18.00CET, Wroclaw
#10: POL v RUS, 20.45CET, Warsaw

Wednesday 13 June 2012
#11: DEN v POR, 18.00CET, Lviv
#12: NED v GER, 20.45CET, Kharkiv

Thursday 14 June 2012
#13: ITA v CRO, 18.00CET, Poznan
#14: ESP v IRL, 20.45CET, Gdansk

Friday 15 June 2012
#15: SWE v ENG, 20.45CET, Kyiv
#16: UKR v FRA, 18.00CET, Donetsk

Saturday 16 June 2012
#17: CZE v POL, 20.45CET, Wroclaw
#18: GRE v RUS, 20.45CET, Warsaw

Sunday 17 June 2012
#19: POR v NED, 20.45CET, Kharkiv
#20: DEN v GER, 20.45CET, Lviv

Monday 18 June 2012
#21: CRO v ESP, 20.45CET, Gdansk
#22: ITA v IRL, 20.45CET, Poznan

Tuesday 19 June 2012
#23: ENG v UKR, 20.45CET, Donetsk
#24: SWE v FRA, 20.45CET, Kyiv

Thursday 21 June 2012
#25: 1A v 2B, 20.45CET, Warsaw

Friday 22 June 2012
#26: 1B v 2A, 20.45CET, Gdansk

Saturday 23 June 2012
#27: 1C v 2D, 20.45CET, Donetsk

Sunday 24 June 2012
#28: 1D v 2C, 20.45CET, Kyiv

Wednesday 27 June 2012
#29: W#25 v W#27, 20.45CET, Donetsk

Thursday 28 June 2012
#30: W#26 v W#28, 20.45CET, Warsaw

Sunday 1 July 2012 - The Final
#31: W#29 v W#30, 20.45CET, Kyiv

First round predictions 

Predicting winners for the first round of matches is a lengthy and in-depth process. All kinds of statistics and factors are taken into consideration, and even after the most tedious deliberation the truism still remains: any team can beat any other team on any given day.

For starters though, Greece and Russia are predicted to walk away successors in the first day’s matches. Let’s hope Greece brings a more positive and memorable performance to the tournament than their dismal display at Euro 2008 and the World Cup 2010.

Otherwise, it’s no surprise that Netherlands is on the favourites list; the Oranje’s stellar performance in the World Cup 2010 nearly saw them taking the title. Germany too, are predicted to win against Portugal on Saturday 9 June 2012, and thus will be the top contenders in a difficult bracket.  Additionally, England and Ukraine are favourites for their Sunday matches against France and Sweden, respectively.

Spain, the reigning champions, defeated Germany 1-0 in the finals in 2008 and are only the second nation to win all of their group stage fixtures and win the championship itself. They face off with Italy, on Sunday 10 June 2012, and are favoured to emerge at the top of their bracket.

Overall, the odds are with Spain, Germany and Netherlands as the top three teams to win the tournament, whereas Ireland, Sweden and Denmark are predicted to finish toward the bottom of the ranking. Regardless of the predictions though, this contest is sure to be as riveting and “gees”-inducing as any football tournament can be.

UEFA.com has a player browser for you to follow your favourite players or to see who’s trending on Twitter.

UEFA 2012 Trivia

• The Netherlands’ has the most experienced team.
• Germany and Croatia have the tallest players. 
• Greece has the oldest player at this year’s tournament, goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias. 
• Netherlands’ defender, Jetro Willems, is the youngest player who, if he makes an appearance, will become the youngest player to ever take to the field.

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The battle lines have been drawn and the “gees” is high! Check out our top footy spots in and around Cape Town as well as the easy-to-follow tournament map on the official UEFA.com site and find the times of when Super Sport are screening all the games on SuperSport.com.

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Use our events section for an up-to-date overview of sporty happenings in Cape Town and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.