Who will win Group D

Teams:

Greece, Russia, Spain ,Sweden

Spain have been the perennial underachievers in major competitions over the years and in a seemingly easy group will surely qualify. They have many talented players including Torres, Fabregas, Iniesta and Villa and if they can play anything like they are capable of they should win this group. They have let a lot of punters down before and many will steer clear of them in the fear they will once more fail to deliver at a major tournament.

Greece are the current champions but statistics are against them as no team has ever defended their title successfully in the previous twelve competitions. They won’t go down without a fight though and will be a match for Sweden and Russia. They play a 4-3-3 formation, but their first priority is always not to concede and tend to play on the counter attack. They will probably rely on Georgios Samaras to get their goals, but he may not get enough to see them qualify.

Russia are quite a young team with no player in the side over 30. This lack of experience is more than compensated by their youthful exuberance however and they will see themselves as likely qualifiers from the group along with Spain. They are solid defensively and their five man midfield is full of players who like to get forward. They could easily book a place in the quarter finals.

Sweden tend to lack the quality at this level to beat the top teams, but they look more than capable of holding their own in this group. The return of Henrik Larsson out of retirement tends to highlight the lack of new young players coming through and this is one of the problems with Sweden everyone knows what to expect from them. Thy will be physically strong well organised, but will lack any real sparkle. In Zlatan Ibrahimovic they have a player who can provide the unexpected and turn a game and in Larsson they have a proven goalscorer, but whether they have they craft in midfield to create chances for them is open to question. Will do well to qualify.

Latest betting to win the group:

Spain 4/5 (Bet365)

Greece 9/2 (Bodog)

Russia 5/1 (Bodog)

Sweden 9/2 (Skybet)

Our Selection to win group D - Spain

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