Goal.com

26/06/2012 12:41:00 PM

Their respective Euro 2012 campaigns did not progress past the group stages, but Michael Huguenin believes tournament co-hosts Poland and the Ukraine have much to look forward to

Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski did not shy away from his team's failure to make the Euro 2012 quarter-finals after their 1-0 loss to Czech Republic.

Speaking straight after Saturday's defeat, Blaszczykowski argued while Poland had "competed against everyone on equal terms", the co-hosts did not achieve what they had hoped for.

"We didn't reach our target," Blaszczykowski said.

"The final marks will always be negative."

Just four days later, Euro 2012 had lost both its hosts with England defeating Ukraine 1-0.

In the end, the history books will show that both hosts of the European Championships missed out on the knockout stages of the tournament.

But although that was expected, the manner of their performances does point to a bright future for Poland and the Ukraine.

Europe's World Cup qualifying starts in September and the two eastern European nations will hope they can use their Euro 2012 experience as a springboard.

"Stick with us," Poland striker Robert Lewandowski [pictured] said after his team's elimination.

"Remember that we will be starting our 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign soon."

Ukraine head-coach Oleh Blokhin kept it even simpler after his team was knocked out.

"Our team has colossal prospects," the 59-year-old said.

Blokhin's squad at the European Championships had an average age of 27.74 and, with veteran strikers Andriy Shevchenko [35] and Andriy Voronin [32] having already announced their retirements from international football, that is likely to drop.

"Our team has colossal prospects." - Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin

Ukraine have been one of the stronger European nations in youth football over the past six years, finishing second at the Under-21 European Championships in 2006 and winning the Under-19 title three years later.

Players from both those tournaments were involved at Euro 2012, while Blokhin also selected six who played at the U21 championships in Denmark last year.

In Ukraine's 1-0 loss to England, Blokhin had Yevhen Selin, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Denys Garmash, Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka in his starting line-up.

All five played in Denmark last year.

Yarmolenko started Ukraine's second two matches, and the left-footed attacker was one of the most impressive performers in his team.

The 22-year-old scored 13 goals in 31 matches for Dynamo Kyiv last season and showed plenty of attacking verve against England, regularly cutting in from the right wing.

While Blokhin seems to have plenty of attacking talent at his disposal to take over from Shevchenko and Voronin, veteran defensive midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk remains a key player.

It is hard to imagine, however, that the 33-year-old could make it to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

POLAND & UKRAINE'S NEXT-GEN

ARTUR SOBIECH POL The Hannover forward failed to play a minute at Euro 2012, but remains a long-term prospect for Poland and scored his first international goal in May.  ANDRIY YARMOLENKO UKR The 22-year-old Dynamo Kiev forward stood out for his country at Euro 2012 against England, and looks the attacking successor to Andriy Shevchenko.

Ukraine's youth teams may again hold the key.

Kyrylo Petrov was the captain of his country's U19 side which won a European title in 2009.

The 21-year-old defensive midfielder played every match for Kryvbas Kryvyi in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, and is equally comfortable creating for his team-mates as he is breaking up the opposition's attacking moves.

Poland, meanwhile, entered Euro 2012 as the lowest-ranked side, and Franciszek Smuda's squad was even younger than Ukraine with an average age of 25.26.

And with Lewandowski up front, Poland have a genuine top-class forward.

The 1.84m striker scored 22 goals for last season's German Bundesliga and cup champions Borussia Dortmund.

Lewandowski's impressive form over the past two seasons has seen him attract the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

But Poland still need another striking option because, apart from Lewandowski and Blaszczykowski, no other member of the Euro 2012 squad has reached double figures for international goals.

Artur Sobiech, who was part of Poland's set-up for the continental championships, could be the answer.

The 22-year-old Hannover striker has played five matches for Poland and scored his maiden international goal in a pre-tournament friendly against Latvia.

Sobiech managed just three goals in 18 games in his first season with Hannover, but his scoring rate is not so bad considering he only started one of those matches.

With young squads and a sprinkle of genuine class, Poland and Ukraine have plenty of potential.

The second decade of the 21st century may turn out to be a successful time for both countries and, if it does, Euro 2012 will be seen as the catalyst.

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