EURO 2012,- Barring Sweden, who finished as the best runners-up in the Euro 2012 Qualifying stages and were handed an automatic qualification berth, all teams that finished 2nd in their respective groups will now have to face each other in the play-offs in order to secure a place in the EURO 2012 finals. The draw was announced by UEFA on Thursday and it has thrown up some interesting battles.
Perhaps the biggest team that couldn’t qualify automatically were Portugal. They lost to Denmark in their last qualifying match and narrowly edged out Norway for the second place because of their superior goal difference. They now face a Bosnia and Herzegovina side that will look to set things right, after they missed out on the top spot in Group D with France pipping them by a solitary point. Speaking to UEFA’s website, Portuguese head coach Paulo Bento stated, “We know anything is possible and have a lot of respect for Bosnia, they've come very far and no doubt want to go further. Let's look back to our games against them in the World Cup play-offs. We won both 1-0 but know we have to be really careful.
"One of the first things I'll do when I get home is to watch the France-Bosnia game – it will tell me a lot about our opponents. Our belief is still very strong and we're desperate to grab this chance. Everything is in our hands and we have enough quality to go through."
Meanwhile Group A runners-up Turkey will face off against their Group F counterparts Croatia. The two teams had last encountered each other in the Euro 2008 quarter finals, with Turkey getting the better of Croatia on penalties. Croatian coach Slaven Bilic was quoted by UEFA’s website as saying, “We have been waiting and dreaming about getting our revenge for three years. We all remember how we lost that EURO 2008 quarter-final. Yes, Turkey are strong opponents, but we are stronger. It won't be easy. Turkey are probably the toughest opponents we could have had, but I think we have more class; we are the better team and we must win this and reach the EURO.”
In other fixtures, Montenegro, who secured a play-off spot from Group G will go head to head against the Czech Republic, who finished a distant second in Group I behind leaders and incumbent champions Spain. The last play-off encounter will be between Estonia and Republic of Ireland, with the latter being the favourites to come out on top.
The play-off matches will be played over two legs, with the first leg scheduled to be held on the 11th and 12th November and the return leg scheduled for the 15th of November.
Play-off Matches :
Baca Selengkapnya → EURO 2012 Play-Off Draw : Portugal Face Tough Bosnia
Perhaps the biggest team that couldn’t qualify automatically were Portugal. They lost to Denmark in their last qualifying match and narrowly edged out Norway for the second place because of their superior goal difference. They now face a Bosnia and Herzegovina side that will look to set things right, after they missed out on the top spot in Group D with France pipping them by a solitary point. Speaking to UEFA’s website, Portuguese head coach Paulo Bento stated, “We know anything is possible and have a lot of respect for Bosnia, they've come very far and no doubt want to go further. Let's look back to our games against them in the World Cup play-offs. We won both 1-0 but know we have to be really careful.
"One of the first things I'll do when I get home is to watch the France-Bosnia game – it will tell me a lot about our opponents. Our belief is still very strong and we're desperate to grab this chance. Everything is in our hands and we have enough quality to go through."
Meanwhile Group A runners-up Turkey will face off against their Group F counterparts Croatia. The two teams had last encountered each other in the Euro 2008 quarter finals, with Turkey getting the better of Croatia on penalties. Croatian coach Slaven Bilic was quoted by UEFA’s website as saying, “We have been waiting and dreaming about getting our revenge for three years. We all remember how we lost that EURO 2008 quarter-final. Yes, Turkey are strong opponents, but we are stronger. It won't be easy. Turkey are probably the toughest opponents we could have had, but I think we have more class; we are the better team and we must win this and reach the EURO.”
In other fixtures, Montenegro, who secured a play-off spot from Group G will go head to head against the Czech Republic, who finished a distant second in Group I behind leaders and incumbent champions Spain. The last play-off encounter will be between Estonia and Republic of Ireland, with the latter being the favourites to come out on top.
The play-off matches will be played over two legs, with the first leg scheduled to be held on the 11th and 12th November and the return leg scheduled for the 15th of November.
Play-off Matches :
Turkey vs Croatia Estonia vs Republic of Ireland Czech Republic vs Montenegro Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Portugal
