The latest edition of the European Championships is almost upon us, and once again our summer is set to be lit up by a spectacular footballing feast as the cream of the continents best players take to the field in pursuit of European football’s ultimate prize.

Representing the pinnacle of international football in Europe, Euro 2012 will be the 14th edition of the competition, which has been staged every four years since the first ever competition held in France back in 1960. For the first time since 1976, the finals will be held in Eastern Europe, with Poland and Ukraine co-hosting the tournament having seen off fierce competition to do so from the likes of Turkey, Greece, Italy and a joint Croatian/Hungarian bid. Poland and Ukraine’s joint bid also marks the third such time the tournament has been shared by two countries, following on from Belgium and Holland in 2000, and then Austria and Switzerland in 2008.

There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the build up to this edition of the European Championships, with many concerns being voiced over the apparent lack of readiness regarding the stadiums, infrastructure and transport systems, although these fears now seem to have been allayed. Similar to the concerns for World Cup 2014 we reported about. Building work in Ukraine has progressed tremendously quickly since they (the guilty partner) were threatened with having their games moved to Poland if they couldn’t be ready on time. UEFA have now confirmed that everything is back on track and the games will go ahead as scheduled in both countries, with Ukraine hosting the final in Kiev on July 1st.

Wcbetting.com will once again provide as much possible information and tips for betting on Euro 2012 for all games and qualifiers.

European Championship Qualifying Tournament

With Poland and Ukraine automatically qualifying for the finals as host nations, that left 51 European nations to battle it out for 14 places to reach the final stages of the tournament. To go see the game, see our Euro ticket guide on how to purchase tickets.

For the qualifiers, the 51 teams were drawn into a total of nine qualifying groups, six with six teams and three groups consisting of just five teams. From these groups, the group winners will qualify for the finals automatically, while the best runner up will also secure an automatic berth. Finally, the remaining 8 group runners-up will enter a final, two-legged play-off round, with the winners of these matches also securing passage to the finals.

European Championship Finals

The final tournament retains the structure of previous years, with 16 teams drawn into four groups of four teams, each playing the other team once. The teams that finish first and second in each of the groups will then progress into the knock out stages, where extra-time and then penalty shoot outs will be used to determine a winner if the games are drawn. Winning quarter-finalists will head into the semi-finals, before the overall winner will be decided in the final, to be held in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium.

Stadiums

Eight stadiums will be used in the Euro 2012 finals, with four being provided by each host nation.

Poland, who have been drawn into Group A, will be playing their first three games in Warsaw’s 58,000 capacity National Stadium, which will host one of the two semi-final matches. Alongside this stadium, games will also be staged at the PGE Arena (40,818 capacity), the Wroclaw Municipal Arena (42,771 capacity) and the Poznan Municipal Stadium (43,098 capacity).

Ukraine boast the two largest stadiums to be used in the tournament, including the 70,500 capacity Olympic Stadium in Kiev, which will host the final on July 1st. In addition, Shakhtar Donetsk’s 51,504 seater Donbass Arena, which will also be used in the semi-finals.

Alongside these two, the New Stadium in Lviv (capacity 33,500) and the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv (capacity 38,633) will also be used.

The Draw

The draw for the finals is yet to be announced, and will take place on December 2nd once all finalists are known. To date, the schedule has already been arranged, with Poland being allotted a place as the top seed in Group A, while Ukraine has been seeded in Group D.

Previous Winners

Spain are the current holders, having beaten Germany in the final of the previous edition in 2008 to win their second ever European title. However, it is the Germans who hold the record for most wins, being crowned champions three times in 1972, 1980 and 1996. Trailing Germany are Spain and France, with two titles each, followed by Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Holland and the old Soviet Union with one title each. Check out our Euro winner predictions for the 2012 tournament.

The Tournament So Far

With just three rounds of qualifying matches to go, we are already getting a clearer picture of the likely candidates for next year’s Euro Cup finals. Germany, drawn in qualifying group A, are all but assured of a finals berth following a blistering start to their campaign that has seen them win all seven of their matches, smashing 22 goals in the process. Trailing them a by a long way are Belgium, who currently hold second place, and then Turkey in third place, who are one point behind them but also crucially have a game in hand.

Group B is a three horse race between the Republic of Ireland, Russia and Slovakia, who are currently tied for 1st place with 13 points from six games each, while Italy are dominant in Group C, holding a five point lead and a game in hand over second place Slovenia. Northern Ireland in 3rd place, and Serbia, currently 4th, are both still in with a shout of reaching second place and grabbing a play-off place.

Over in Group D, a rejuvenated French team look set to clinch their place in the finals, although they still have some work to do yet. They currently hold a one point lead over Belarus in second, but they also have a game in hand and a relatively easy run in. The race for second place in this group is still wide open though. Belarus have done well so far, but while they currently hold second place, Bosnia, Romania and Albania all have a game in hand on them and will fancy their chances of snatching a play-off spot.

The Netherlands are setting a blistering pace in Group E, winning six out of six so far to lead the group on 18 points, although they are being chased all the way by Sweden who are just three points behind them. Although Netherland thumped Sweden 4-1 in Amsterdam back in October last year, the return match in Solna on October the 11th could well decide the group.

Group F is another tightly-fought three-way battle, with 2004 champions Greece currently holding a slender one point lead over Croatia and Israel with four matches remaining. England look to be on course to qualification in Group G, although they are being chased all the way by one of the biggest surprise packages, Montenegro, who are currently trailing them on goal difference only.

Over in Group H, the much fancied Portuguese appear to have gotten over their dismal start which saw them pick up just one point in their first two games. They now lead a very tight group on goal difference from Norway and Denmark, yet it would take a brave man to pick a winner at this stage.

Finally, in Group I, World Cup winners and defending European champions Spain have continued to demonstrate exactly why they are considered to be tournament favourites, winning five out of five to open up a virtually unassailable six point lead over second placed Czech Republic. For their part, the Czechs should be able to clinch second place without too much trouble, as the five point gap between them and Scotland is probably just a little too big.