Group A: Poland

POLAND

WORLD RANKING: 65

TEAM CAPTAIN:  Jakub Blaszczyknowski

BEST EURO RESULT: Group Stage (2008)

THE LOWDOWN

The co-hosts head into Friday's tournament opening match as the underdogs in Group A. The Poles dress a relatively young and inexperienced team, possessing the dynamic duo of Jakub Blaszezyknowski and Robert Lewandowski, who led Borussia Dortmund to a 2nd straight German Bundesliga title this year and Arsenal's #1 goal keeper Wojciech Szczesny. Home field advantage and a 3 match win streak coming into the tournament will boost the "White Eagles" chances, but with their first 2 games against the group's two best teams (Greece & Russia) expect Poland to bow out in the first stage of the tournament. Don't worry Team Poland fans, this young team will only get better with time and this Euro 2012 experience. Watch for Poland to make major strides in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup.

PLAYER TO WATCH:  Wojciech Szczesny

The 22 year old Szczesny has cemented himself as the starting keeper for both his club team Arsenal and the Czech National team. With 10 international caps under his belt, the 6 foot 5 inch custodian will need to use every inch of his frame to keep goals out if the Poles have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals. Despite having a formidable striker/winger partnership with Lewandowski and Blaszezyknowski, the real issue for Poland will be keeping the ball out of the net. Cracks are destined to appear in the Polish defense, so Szczesny will have to take his game to another level to keep Poland's hopes alive.

Wojciech Szczesny

PREDICTION: 4th in Group A

UP NEXT: RUSSIA

GROUP A: GREECE

GREECE

WORLD RANKING: 14

TEAM CAPTAIN: Giorgios Karagounis

BEST EURO RESULT: Winners (2004)

THE LOWDOWN

The 2004 European champions come into this year's tournament ranked 14th in the world with a nice blend of youth and experience in their squad. The aging faces of Giorgios Karagounis, Theofanis Gekas and Kostas Katsouranis are blended with youngsters Soitiris Ninis and Kostas Fortounis. Brazilian coach Fernando Santos will look to the experienced faces for mental strength and composure and moments of offensive brilliance from the young phenom Ninis.

Despite going unbeaten in qualifying, the Galanolefki have never been known as an offensive juggernaut and games against the likes of Russia and the Czech who possess similar scoring weapons and equivalent defensive acumen, could make this group a nailbiter to the end. Expect Santos to bring more a offensive approach to the Greek national team than his predecessor Otto Rehagel did. But, this may turn out to be the wrong style for the Greeks as they cannot expect to throw hay makers with the most talented teams in Europe and come out on top.

Where will Greece's goals come from? Samaras, possibly?

PLAYER TO WATCH: Sotiris Ninis

The 22 year old Albanian-born winger/midfielder will be at the heart of the Greek attack and will be looked upon for the lion's share of the team's offensive flair. Ninis, who made 2 appearances in Greece's disappointing outing in the 2010 World Cup, will look to end his 2nd international tournament on a much happier note. Regarded as one of Europe's brightest young stars, Ninis will have the perfect opportunity to show the continent why a number of top clubs on the continent were vying for his signature after his contract expired with Panathinaikos last month. Italy's Parma won the race to sign the young midfield magician, who will now be playing in Italy's Serie A come September. Is he worth all the hype? We will find out on Friday.

PREDICTION: 2nd in Group A & a Quarterfinal loss to Germany.

UP NEXT:  Poland

GROUP A : CZECH REPUBLIC

The World Cup may be the biggest soccer tournament on the planet in terms of sheer size, but few can argue against the fact that the European Championships always produces the superior on-field product. This installment of the Euros is likely to be no different, where 4 teams out the 16 total can be listed as the favorites to win European football's most extravagant prize.

With only 3 days to go, join me as I give you previews of each team taking part in Euro 2012 and include my tournament predictions for each team. We start with the Czech Republic in Group A!

CZECH REPUBLIC

WORLD RANKING: 26

Team Captain: Tomas Rosicky

BEST EURO RESULT: Winners (1976)

THE LOWDOWN:

The Czech's limp into this tournament after beating Montenegro in the qualifying round playoff, but losing to Hungary in their final warm-up match on Friday. The 1976 European champions have struggled in international tournaments of late, particularly since the retirements of Pavel Nedved, Jan Koller and Karel Poborsky. Despite having arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in Petr Cech, and veteran stars of yester year in Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky, the Czech's lack international level talent to compete with the heavyweights in European soccer.

The most pressing concern for the Czech's will be in the attacking third of the pitch, as their leading play maker Tomas Rosicky will start the tournament with a nagging calf injury. To add their offensive woes, the strikers in the Czech stable (Milan Baros, Tomas Necid, and Tomas Pekhart) are unlikely to strike fear into the hearts of opposing defenders.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Tomas Rosicky

After the 2006 World Cup it seemed as Tomas Rosicky was ready to set the football world on fire. Prior the tournament in Germany, Rosicky had transferred to English giants Arsenal FC and during it, as he almost single handedly demolished the United States in a group stage match. Little Mozart, as he was called in his homeland, had arrived on the global stage.

Who can replace Pavel Nedved in the Czech midfield?

Unfortunately, the expectation of Rosicky being "The Next Pavel Nedved" has not panned out for Arsenal or the Czech national team due to a long list of injuries over the last 6 years. The multiple trips to the team doctor's office have affected the midfielder's quickness and shooting power significantly. This tournament may be the last chance for the 31 year old Rosicky to make an impact on the international stage. If the Czech's have any chance of getting out of this weak group, they will need Rosicky at the top of his game providing useful passes to Milan Baros and the other Czech strikers.   

Can Baros reclaim his Euro 2004 form?

PREDICTION: 3rd in Group A (Eliminated at Group Stage).

Up Next: Greece

The Off Season Begins: Tiny Tweaks or a Complete Restructure for the Canucks?

The Vancouver Canucks season and Stanley Cup hopes came to a sudden end on Sunday evening. The planned cup parade was sidetracked by Darryl Sutter and his youthful band of Los Angeles Kings. How could this happen? The Vancouver Canucks were practically shoe-ins to make it back to the Stanley Cup final after falling short last year. Yet, a lack of cohesiveness on both the offensive and defensive end and an inept scoring punch provided Vigneault's boys a chance to get a head start on securing early tee times this spring. Yet, while Canucks players will be on golf courses across the continent, the team's brass have some colossal decisions ahead of them this summer. Over the coming days, I'll go over each of these conundrums over the next few days. We start at the top with Mike Gillis!

FIRE MIKE GILLIS?

Some will demand that Mike Gillis be fired for his handling of the Cody Hodgson fiasco at the trade deadline or his inability to properly improve last year's team by adding more punch and grit. Let there be no question that Mike Gillis certainly holds a lion's share of the blame in the team's early exit. After all, as he mentioned in during his press conference on Tuesday, Gillis is the primary decision maker for the organization when it comes to hockey operations. So, if mistakes were made in constructing the "right" type of team, they are Gillis' mistakes.

That being said, the players still play the game. Let's not forget that Gillis (with a little help of Brian Burke and Dave Nonis before him) has constructed a 2-time President's Trophy team, that was one game away from winning the Stanley Cup. Critics will say that the President's Trophy is a meaningless accomplishment, but if the Canucks' plan is to build a healthy and powerful organization in the mold of Ken Holland's Detroit Red Wings, regular season consistency is required. Gillis has helped to put the Canucks on the map as a perennial Cup contender. Even legendary Canucks coach and GM Pat Quinn was not able to do that in his tenure with the team.

Feeling the heat from the media & fans

Despite this year's colossal disappointment, Mike Gillis has built a Western Conference power. Any turnover at the GM position at this point in time would undoubtedly be a step backwards, as a new GM would bring in his own people and style of play to the organization. All of this would take patience, something that Canucks' fans are quickly running out of. 2012-13 will be a make or break season for Gillis' Canucks, so, expect Gillis to enter next year without a contract extension. The team will need to produce and avoid their annual slow start, or otherwise the Aquilini family will be looking for a new President and GM around the end of 2012.

The Beckham Experiment: A Resounding Success or a Dismal Failure?

It seems as though the David Beckham era in Major League Soccer may be nearing an end. The iconic English midfielder officially completed his 5-year contract with the LA Galaxy after a victory over the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final earlier tonight. If British newspapers and giddy French soccer club executives are to believed, Beckham could be joining heavily funded Paris Saint-Germain of France in the coming days. With North America's lease of 'Posh & Becks' now coming to an end, the question that arises from the mind's of most soccer fanatics is: did the Beckham Experiment work?

PSG's Parc Des Princes: David Beckham's New Home?

David Beckham will never be mentioned in the same breath as the Michel Platini's or Pele's of the world when it comes to his on-field play. He has never had the fantastic footwork of Ronaldinho, the amazing vision of Zinedine Zidane or the innovation of Franz Beckenbauer. Beckham is known as a dead ball expert, but so were Jay Jay Okocha and Juninho Pernambucano and the casual soccer fan has never heard of them.

Despite his shortcomings on the field compared to some of his contemporaries, David Beckham's greatest work for the sport of soccer has been as the greatest ambassador that the sport has seen since Pele. He has thrilled billions all over the world for his play on the pitch, but his effect off of it has been much more significant. Following Beckham's arrival to the North American game, the sport has seen its fan base expand substantially with the addition of more male fans, more children playing the game and the introduction of more female fans to the game. Some ardent North American soccer fans have seen the introduction of these new fans as a step back for the sport, where the game has lost a part of its soul at the expense of growth. Yet, for the longevity of the sport in North America, these new groups of fans are necessary. In this sense, David Beckham has played a major role in making soccer an inclusive sport in North America.

Courtesy: MLS

Beckham's playing career in the United States has often courted controversy. Most North American soccer fans appeared annoyed with Beckham over the years as it seemed like he longed for a return to Europe and looked to leave the MLS behind, despite being locked in to a multi-year deal. The situation hit a boiling point two years ago when he was even booed by his own LA Galaxy fans.

But in the last two years, Beckham changed. He focused on Major League Soccer and the LA Galaxy. He distanced himself from links with European clubs, despite the obvious interest shown by them. A focused Beckham, a rejuvenated Landon Donovan and a hungry Robbie Keane guided the LA Galaxy to this year's MLS Cup.

In the short-term, the Beckham Experiment can be deemed a success with a MLS Cup victory for the Galaxy, but the long-term benefits of Becks' stay in the United States will be remembered for years to come. The real gain of the Beckham Experiment will be seen in the next decade, as those young North American kids that David Beckham turned toward soccer during the last 5 years will continue to develop and push the United States and Canada ahead as footballing nations.