3 Dec 2011

Euro 2012 draw throws up tasty ties

2:01 pm on 3 December 2011

Football rivals Germany and Netherlands will lock horns in a tough group at the 2012 European championships while holders and world champions Spain face Italy next June.

The flesh was put on the bones of the biggest sporting event to take place in eastern Europe since the 1980 Moscow Olympics when the 16 finalists were drawn into four groups for the three-week competition.

Co-hosts Poland meet Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic while the other hosts Ukraine have been bracketed with Sweden, England and France.

Four strong opponents face off in the toughest-looking pool with Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Portugal all renewing old rivalries.

Spain are naturally the favourites, backed to become the first holders to retain the Henri Delaunay trophy, and will face Italy, Ireland and Croatia.

Bookmakers William Hill have now made England 7-1 joint third favourites to win Euro 2012.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe says England have been handed a decent draw and hence the bookies have cut their odds from 11-1 to 7-1.

The event is the third biggest in global sport after the World Cup and Olympic Games.

More than 1.4 million visitors are expected to come to Poland and Ukraine and sample the delights of cities as far apart as Gdansk in northern Poland and Donetsk in southern Ukraine, separated by a distance of around 2,500 kilometres.