Group C teams:
Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia

Fixtures:
Sunday 10th June: Spain v Italy, Rep of Ireland v Croatia
Thursday 14th June: Italy v Croatia, Spain v Rep of Ireland
Monday 18th June: Croatia v Spain, Italy v Rep of Ireland

Odds
To win Euro 2012: Spain +275, Italy +1400, Republic of Ireland +8000, Croatia +5000
To win Group C: Spain -188, Italy +320, Republic of Ireland +1400, Croatia +700

The Skinny:

While Group B has been described as the Group of Death, Group C features another high-quality quartet and is also proving to be very difficult to predict.

Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup winners Spain start proceedings with a huge clash against Italy and whoever loses this one will have added pressure upon them going into their second match.

Spain still possess the heart of their World Cup winning side from two years ago and continue to play in their own unique passing style. This has drawn many admirers and on their day they can be unplayable, but a number of their star players are not currently in the sparkling form they have shown in the past. They will also miss the leadership qualities of Carles Puyol in their backline as he has been ruled out of the tournament through injury.

Italy are also not the force they once were either, but will still give the Spanish a good game on Sunday 10th June. Their attack is their major concern, despite scoring 20 goals in 10 qualifying matches. The temperamental Mario Balotelli is set to lead the line for the Italians and time will tell whether he will be a positive or a negative influence on the squad. Meanwhile, they will be relying on Antonio Cassano to add to his tally of six goals from the qualifying campaign.

A stubborn Italian backline which conceded just two goals in qualifying still might not be strong enough to keep Spain at bay, with the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Fernando Torres and David Silva able to find a way through the most organised of defences. The Italian back four will be crucial in this tournament, determining whether or not they will reach the knockout stages, and they will not face a bigger test than against the Spanish in this match.

Hours later, the Republic of Ireland and Croatia face each other in another tough game to call. Croatia are a strong side capable of causing trouble for even the biggest nations, but the Irish raise their game against higher-ranked outfits and could succeed due to their exceptional team spirit and positive attitude. Robbie Keane still has the legs to give Ireland much-need firepower, while the travelling support combined with the strong unity of the squad may see them spring a surprise or two.

Should the Italians lose against the Spanish, they will have to get a result against Croatia to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals. And Slaven Bilic’s side – with the likes of Luka Modric, Nikica Jelavic and Ivica Olic in their ranks – certainly have the ability to send Italy crashing out of the tournament. The Italian defence will have to be strong against these attacking threats while at the other end, they may struggle against a Croatian defence which conceded just seven goals in qualifying.

Spain face the Irish later on that evening and will be expected to confirm their place in the next phase, although Giovanni Trapattoni’s side may need to get a result depending on how they fared in their first group game. Either way, the Irish will ask questions of the world champions, making for an intriguing clash.

Croatia against Spain on Monday 18th June will be an eye-catching battle between two offensive outfits and depending on previous results, Bilic’s men may come up against an already-qualified Spanish team. There is quality across Vicente Del Bosque’s squad though, so it won’t be an easy game for Croatia even if they do face a much-changed Spain.

Italy may have been knocked out of the competition by the time they face the Irish in the final group game but then again, this could be a match to determine their fate. The 2006 World Cup champions did well in qualifying, but it was a weak group and there are question marks over whether their squad is good enough to compete on the big stage. The Irish could well beat Italy and qualify for the last-eight in the process but then the Italians’ never-say-die attitude could steer them through too.

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