Brilliant Tomorrow?

So the final places for Euro 2012 have been decided and it's Portugal, Ireland, Croatia and the Czech Republic joining the 12 other, already qualified, nations in Ukraine and Poland next summer. Along with the joy of Ireland's win last night came the possibility of drawing England in the group stage, a tie that fans are craving for but wouldn't be ideal for either teams' chances of progression in the competition. With all the ifs and buts up in the air until the draw is made in a couple of weeks, you can only judge the teams by their own individual talents and people's opinions may well have been changed over the international break.


Stuart Pearce has overseen many of the younger players make their way into the senior side.

 The majority of countries played two friendlies over the 5 days, including England who managed to overcome the world and European champions and Sweden (still a notable win). Two very different performances with the same outcome of a 1-0 win but perhaps the most positive thing was the way the squad had a much younger and fresher feel to it. Despite the build-up not being ideal and with an unusual lack of support in numbers for the Sweden fixture, it was good to see the side still pull out two wins against a great side and a very solid outfit. Comparing this to their rugby counterparts at the recent world cup has seen their coach, Martin Johnson, pay the ultimate price with his job today. Perhaps it was the fact that England's football team had a lot more players with a chance to make their mark on the side, with a very little amount of the controversy directly being linked to them- just the captain. Unproven players got their chance such as Kyle Walker who has added his name the long potential right back list, along with strikers Bobby Zamora, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge who may not have had a direct impact on the pitch but have the potential to be in the squad this summer or failing that in tournaments for years to come.
With England fans getting the same old feeling of going into a tournament with false hope, perhaps it will be Brazil 2014 or France 2016 and not Poland/Ukraine 2012 where a young English team fulfils its potential. But the experience can only help whether its a first round failure, a run to the final or a traditional penalty exit at the quarter final stage.