The Euro 2012 Draw Is Complete, This Is Going To Be A Great Tournament

I spent a decent amount of time this afternoon watching Fox Soccer Channel, in anticipation of the Euro 2012 draw. It was tedious but in the end, holy crap. This is going to be an excellent tournament starting next June 8 in Poland with the hosts facing Greece at 1:00 ET and Russia facing the Czech Republic at 3:45 ET.

The Polish got a gift as Group A appears on first blush to be the easiest of the four. Along with Greece, they have Russia and the Czech Republic. None of those teams are great by any means, they all could win it.

Group B is the Group of Death, which is a staple in every major soccer tournament. Poor Denmark is stuck with Portugal, Germany and Netherlands. Good luck with that Danes. That means in group play alone, we will be treated to Portugal vs. Germany and Portugal vs. Netherlands. You won't find many juicier international matches than those.

The defending World Cup and European champions Spain lead Group C and it looks like the Spanish have a relatively easy road to the knockout stage. Ireland, Italy and Croatia make up the rest of that group. You could make a case for any of those three coming in second so that should be an interesting race to watch.

Group D features another one of the great opening round matches pitting France vs. England. Ukraine and Sweden make up the rest of that group which clearly is wide open and could be topped by any of those four teams.

Is it too early to be pumped for next summer? Between Champions League play in the spring, the London Olympics in the summer and Euro 2012, it promises to be an unbelievable time to be a soccer fan. Nothing is better than a big-time international soccer tournament. I can only hope that I get to Vegas before then or at least earn enough scratch to get on Bodog and throw some money down. Haha gambling makes everything more exciting damn it!

Must see games:
Saturday, June 9-Germany vs. Portugal, 3:45 ET
Sunday, June 10-Spain vs. Italy, 1:00 ET
Monday, June 11-France vs. England, 1:00 ET
Wednesday, June 13-Netherlands vs. Germany, 3:45 ET
Thursday, June 14-Spain vs. Ireland, 3:45 ET
Sunday, June 17-Portugal vs. Netherlands, 3:45 ET
Monday, June 18-Spain vs. Croatia, 3:45 ET
Monday, June 18-Italy vs. Ireland, 3:45 ET

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Jermaine Jones, another piece of the U.S. men's soccer team puzzle

I'm a man of my word so late last night, I watched the U.S. vs. Poland match from Soliders Field in Chicago on Saturday.

As stated before, it ended in a 2-2 tie but I thought I'd share some things I jotted down while I watched what turned out to be a pretty entertaining match in front of a split (half Polish, half U.S.) crowd.

No matter how his career with the U.S. national team ends up, this one will always be remembered for midfielder Jermaine Jones' long-awaited debut for Bob Bradley. He had some highlights: the lovely chip that led to Jozy Altidore's goal and some forgettable moments: failing to clear, leading to the second Polish goal. Shimer and I had a running conversation through text messages while I watched and we agreed that having another guy that plays in the Bundesliga on the team is a good thing. He's used to play at a high, physical level for Schalke and I'm sure he'll play better as he gets more comfortable.

Speaking of Altidore, his goal was great (in the 13th minute) but is it too much to ask to have Jozy shoot at a little higher percentage? In our unofficial count, he had two or three other chances that most above average strikers would bury without problems. Thankfully he's still very young but we do get paranoid about Altidore since Hernandez is tearing it up for Mexico and Manchester United. After a great buildup by Jones, Holdan and Michael Bradley, Altidore smashed one off the crossbar in the 42nd minute then a few moments later, he was free for a header but put it wide.

One of my personal favorites showed up in a big way vs. Poland. Stuart Holden looked great in the midfield, linking up with Altidore and showing the toughness and finesse that he needs with Bolton in the EPL. One of the great unknowns is how much better the US would have been in South Africa with him and or Jones (since both were out with injuries).

Please don't make Maurice Edu a defender. The U.S. defense is still a mess (witness Poland's two laughable goals that were off bad U.S. clearance attempts) but Edu isn't the solution. He's a good midfielder and it's a big adjustment to play in the back. Maurice was burned on a couple plays by Poland, who had serviceable midfielders and forwards but nobody world-class at all.

Oguchi Onyewu continues to be the most frustrating player on the U.S. roster. He has always had the size and power but the big guy still has a brutal touch. His two dual roles of hero and villian were on full blast as his bad header led to the first Poland goal but then he scored in the second half on a great corner by Holden, heading it in. I guess we have to accept him for what he is at this point, Onyewu will never become smoother.

Seeing Bob Bradley on the sidelines for the first time since the U.S. failed to get
Juergen Klinsmann was a disappointing feeling. Sure Bradley improved to 38-21-9 (a fine record) but you have the sense that he's analogous to a lame duck politician. He's good but he won't get you to the next level.

The U.S. had a bunch of chances to score in the last minute as a corner bounced in the box for as long as I can ever remember but nothing came of it. Poland almost put an own goal in but it was saved off the line.

In the end, the 2-2 result was fair since Poland dominated for a stretch in the first half and the U.S. did likewise in the second half before a Polish snipe tied it up.

The U.S. is in Chester, PA tonight to face Colombia in another exhibition. Which reminds me, if you haven't seen the ESPN 30 for 30 about the Colombian soccer team in the 1990s and the defender that was killed, you have to see it. That series for the most part has been terrible but that's the one that they really got right. Powerful stuff.

U.S. coming to the Windy City

If you're in the midwest, mark your calendars: the U.S. men's national team will play Poland in an exhibition on October 9 at Soldier Field, home of the NFL's Chicago Bears.

I've only been there for one short trip but Chicago is easily one of the best U.S. cities. The fact that there's such a big Polish population in the Chicago area made this matchup a no-brainer.

The United States has won seven of its 16 matches against Poland, including three of the past four. The previous time the teams met in the United States was in 2004, also in Chicago, when the Americans got an equalizer from Carlos Bocanegra in the 88th minute.

The game is on a FIFA fixture date, meaning clubs are required to release players to national teams.

"We know this is an important opportunity for Poland as they prepare for the 2012 European Championship, so we expect a challenging game," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "Chicago has a fantastic tradition of supporting soccer and the U.S. national team, and with the large Polish community in the area it should make for an exciting atmosphere."

Poland is co-host of the 2012 European Championships with Ukraine. Though it does not have to qualify for the continental tournament, it has exhibitions scheduled in September against Ukraine and Australia.

As of right now, this is the only U.S. match remaining in 2010. Their first game after the 2010 World Cup was the 2-0 pounding they received from Brazil on Aug. 10 at the New Meadowlands.