Euro 2012 Results: Championship or Bust for Germany After Perfect Group Stage
David Daniels@TheRealDDaniels
Senior Writer IJune 18, 2012
Germany’s eyes are fixed on the title.
Denmark was a different opponent, but they walked away with the same result as Germany’s other opponents in the group stage of Euro 2012.
That is, a big fat L.
On Sunday, the Germans defeated the Danes by a score of 2-1 to stay perfect.
Having said that, since they have yet to lose at the European Championships, the ceiling has been raised. Anything less than the crown would now be a huge disappointment for the Germans.
Prior to their match against Germany, Danish head coach Morten Olson said of his club’s odds against the powerhouse (via Yahoo! Sports): “Nothing is impossible and we'll be going for victory.” The fact that Olsen even acknowledged the belief that it could be impossible to defeat the Germans just proves how talented they are.
Not only are they the hottest team in the tournament, they arguably field the most scorching player in Mario Gomez. He’s just one of three players to score three goals in the competition so far.
Gomez had a two-goal game against the Netherlands in Germany's 2-1 win, and in the one match that he didn’t score, he netted an assist.
In terms of point per possession, his statistics are even more impressive. SuperSport Blitz tweeted this fun fact about the striker before Germany’s match on Sunday.
Mario Gomez has scored 3 goals at Euro 2012 and only been in possession of the ball for 22 seconds
— SuperSport Blitz (@SuperSportBlitz) June 17, 2012
Expect Gomez to play a major role in Germany’s matchup in the quarterfinals against Greece. The Greeks are solid competition, but they’ll go into their showdown with the Germans on Friday with just one win under their belt. Germany should cruise to victory.
That being said, they won’t be content with just another W.
Make not mistake, Germany is in championship-or-bust mode.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.