The UEFA Euro 2012 tournament  will be jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine. The event is the final one to be sixteen teams as the following one in 2016 will increase to twenty four teams. Poland and Ukraine overcome Italy and Croatia/Hungary for the right to hold the competition.
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The fixtures will basically be split 50/50 between the two hosts. Polish towns to have games will be Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan. The Ukrainian venues will be Kiev, Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk.
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The final will be held in Kiev which will also host a semi-final. This will be at the Olimpiysky National Sports Complex which after construction will be one of the best stadia and sporting complexes across the world. The new venue in Warsaw is also being built and promises to be a state of the art arena.
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The draw for the finals has been carried out and qualifying games will get started just after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. All of the 9 group winners and the best runner-up will be given direct entry into the finals. Following that the remaining eight runner-up will be drawn into two-legged playoffs.
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From Group A you would believe that Germany and Turkey would be too strong with Austria and Belgium being the contenders.
Group B looks to be a three way fight between Russia, Slovakia and Ireland.
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In Group C it looks like it will be easy for Italy and Serbia. France is the favorite from Group D with Romania looking at the one to take runner-up.
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There is a northern European vibe to Group E where it should really be Netherlands and Sweden.
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Croatia and Greece are the favorites by way of Group F as are England and Switzerland for Group G.
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From Group H it looks like Portugal and Denmark and in conclusion from Group I it would seem to be Spain and the Czech Republic.
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Qualifying draws to a close in October 2011 by which time excitement and anticipation for the UEFA Euro 2012 Finals will be well and truly underway.
Tags: euro 2012, euro 2012 poland, uefa euro 2012, Ukraine euro 2012