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Portugal (with Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, et al) WILL be there after demolishing Bosnia 6-2. The Republic of Ireland did all their hard work in the first leg, beating Estonia 4-0, before holding on to a 1-1 draw away from home for a memorable night in Irish football.

Croatia also benefitted from a great first leg over Turkey, with a 0-0 at home enough to secure them a place at the Finals. The Cezch Republic complete the line-up after a 3-0 win over Montenegro.

The Finals Groups will be drawn on December 2nd, and here are the 16 teams in full…

Ukraine
Poland
Spain
Holland
Germany
Italy
England
Croatia
Russia
Greece
Sweden
Portugal
Denmark
France
Czech Republic
Ireland

Hosts

As the hosts, we can guarantee that both Ukraine and Poland will be there!  It should guarantee full stadiums, and real passion from the local fans.

Group Winners

There are 9 group winners who will be at the Finals.

Germany romped home in Group A, with Russia taking the guaranteed spot in Group B – though it was a close fought contest with the Republic of Ireland.  Italy dominated Group C, and qualified with 3 games left to play.  France and the Netherlands qualified from Groups D and E as expected, but there was a shock winner of Group F, with Greece taking the top spot ahead of Croatia and Israel.

Group G was won by England, Group H was nudged by Denmark ahead of Portugal, and Group I was won by the current European Championships Champions Spain.

Best Placed Qualifier

With 8 wins and just 2 losses, Sweden were unlucky to finish in second place in their group.  As the second-placed team with the most points, they were lucky enough to qualify automatically anyway!

Four Places Left

The last four places at the tournament have yet to be decided!  A two legged playoff between the teams below will complete the line-up at Poland-Ukraine 2012!

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Portugal
Turkey vs Croatia
Czech Republic vs Montenegro
Estonia vs Republic of Ireland

Speaking to the UEFA website, he said that Poland had made great strides in getting ready for the Championships, and he was looking forwards to watching the action in Warsaw.

“I am please” said Monsieur Platini.  “Not only the stadiums but the whole infrastructure – roads, airports, train stations, which will be very useful for the people in Poland and Ukraine after UEFA Euro 2012. Today I would like to thank the Prime Minister for the government’s efforts. Everything is going well and we are looking forward to welcoming all visitors next year for a great celebration.”

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk reciprocated the praise, to Platini.   “I remember that after the decision that Poland and Ukraine would be organising Euro 2012, the people in Poland were not as optimistic as Mr Platini. Today we know that he was right.”

Poland will co-host the event with Ukraine from June 8 to July 1, and nine months ahead of the tournament the government estimates that preparatory work is about 80 percent complete.

Whilst Italy garnered a few votes from the UEFA Executive comittee, their was an overwhelming majority who voted in favour of giving the tournament to the joint Ukraine and Poland bid.  The two Eastern European countries received the backing because UEFA is committed to helping members of its football family to develop.

Poland and Ukraine have both agreed to spend over £2 billion on new roads, hotels and stadia, which should help turn both countries into World Class football destinations.

The Finals will take place in June and July 2012.