Euro 2012 group D key players

Group D

This Friday, Poland and Greece will begin Euro 2012 in Warsaw in front of approximately 50,000 fans. So in honour of the beginning of world football’s most captivating events, I will be going through the key players and possible ‘’it factors’’ for each team, group by group. Here’s group D.

Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

After Sweden’s failure to qualify for the 2010 world cup in South Africa, the talismanic Swedish striker decided to quit the national team. However, due to persuasion from the newly appointed Sweden manager Erik Hamren, the AC Milan striker decided to make a return to the national team, and what an inspired decision it was as Ibrahimovic scored an impressive 5 goals in 8 Euro 2012 qualifying games. With a solid mix of youth and experience around him, Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s undisputed best player. Whether he can produce the performances to help Sweden get through this tough group remains to be seen.

Ukraine: Anatoliy Tymoschuk

If Ukraine are to spring a surprise, and progress beyond the group stages at their very own tournament, they will need a lot of determined, strong willed players. Now who better to provide this than Anatoliy Tymoschuk? The Ukrainian captain has done well in all of his three seasons at European giants Bayern Munich so he is comfortable in high pressure situations. Tymoschuk is a highly versatile player, who can play at centre back, as well as his more favoured position in the centre of midfield. A good tournament will surely make Tymoschuk a national hero in Ukraine.

England: Joe Hart

For the past six years, Wayne Rooney has been England’s most feared and vital player. However, due to suspension, the Manchester United number 10 will miss England’s first two games against France and Sweden respectively. Instead, England will require another key player and that man is Joe Hart. Hart has had a magnificent season with premier league title winners Manchester City, with many calling him the league’s best goalkeeper and one of the world’s best. This is Hart’s first tournament as England’s first choice goalkeeper and many are tipping him as a future England captain. A good Euro 2012 will only add to this idea.

France: Karim Benzema

When Raymond Domenech left the Real Madrid striker out of France’s world cup 2010 squad, many were surprised. However after a truly dreadful tournament from France, new manager Laurent Blanc had to create a better French side and Benzema is at the heart of it. Benzema had a magnificent 2011/12 season as his 21 goals helped Real Madrid win La Liga, their first in five years. Arguably more than any other player in the tournament, Benzema will arrive in Poland and Ukraine brimming with confidence, and could very well inspire France to a magnificent tournament.