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Netherlands' Mark van Bommel: Germany are the favourites for Euro 2012
The veteran midfielder has tipped Joachim Loew's outfit to claim their fourth European Championship in next summer's finals
16 Nov 2011 17:00:00
By Clark Whitney
Bongarts
Mark van Bommel has admitted that Germany are the most likely team to win Euro 2012.
The midfielder's comments came after his Netherlands side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Joachim Loew's side in a friendly match in Hamburg on Tuesday.
"I say it straight as it is: Germany are the favourites for Euro 2012," Van Bommel told Goal.com after the game.
However, he declined to analyse Joachim Low's team side-by-side against reigning European and World Cup champions Spain.
"Both top teams cannot be compared, partly because Germany had a home game. That's quite a difference."
In reviewing the match, the Dutch captain lamented his side's poor performance and credited his opponents for their quick and ruthless play.
"Germany managed to play lightning fast in front of our goal. It looked good from them, sure. We simply brought too little, which is unfortunate.
"If you look at the goals we conceded, they came on the counter, when we weren't paying attention for a moment. The Germans punished us brutally. That is their strength, they also beat England [4-1 at the 2010 World Cup] that way.
"No one expected such a defeat. I think we started really well but we just had no luck in decisive situations that could have brought us back into the game."
The Dutch could have a chance for revenge at Euro 2012, potentially in the group stage. They have been seeded as a Pot 1 team alongside Spain and co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, while Germany are ranked in Pot 2.
The midfielder's comments came after his Netherlands side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Joachim Loew's side in a friendly match in Hamburg on Tuesday.
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"I say it straight as it is: Germany are the favourites for Euro 2012," Van Bommel told Goal.com after the game.
However, he declined to analyse Joachim Low's team side-by-side against reigning European and World Cup champions Spain.
"Both top teams cannot be compared, partly because Germany had a home game. That's quite a difference."
In reviewing the match, the Dutch captain lamented his side's poor performance and credited his opponents for their quick and ruthless play.
"Germany managed to play lightning fast in front of our goal. It looked good from them, sure. We simply brought too little, which is unfortunate.
"If you look at the goals we conceded, they came on the counter, when we weren't paying attention for a moment. The Germans punished us brutally. That is their strength, they also beat England [4-1 at the 2010 World Cup] that way.
"No one expected such a defeat. I think we started really well but we just had no luck in decisive situations that could have brought us back into the game."
The Dutch could have a chance for revenge at Euro 2012, potentially in the group stage. They have been seeded as a Pot 1 team alongside Spain and co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, while Germany are ranked in Pot 2.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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21:50 BST -
And here are some quotes from today's goalscorer, Danny Welbeck: "It's still the same, me and Ashley [Young] playing together.
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
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