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Euro 2012 qualifiers begin in earnest on Friday, as the Magnificent 7 of European football - Germany, England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France & Netherlands - are in action. Spain will look to continue their good form and begin their defence of their European crown, whereas England, Italy & France look to put their World Cup disappointments behind them. Netherlands & Germany will look to repeat their excellent World Cup performances in what promises to be an action-packed night.

Belgium vs Germany (Group A)

Germany hope to carry their exciting World Cup form into the Euro 2012 tournament, trusting themselves to begin their campaign on a positive note against Belgium. The return to fitness of Rene Adler, Heiko Westermann & Christian Trasch compensates for the loss of Arne Friedrich, Jerome Boateng, Piotr Trochowski and Dennis Aogo due to injury. Coach Joachim Low acknowledged the praise Germany received for their World Cup performances but has put that aside to look forward to "a new chapter". Belgium welcome back veteran anchor-man Timmy Simons into the fold, while losing 5 players due to injury. Belgium coach Georges Leekens will be well aware of his nation's dismal record against Germany yet ought to expect his side, which features some of the most talented young players in the world like Eden Hazard, Steven Defour & Moussa Dembele, to trouble Germany. This fixture is likely to be pivotal as both Belgium & Germany along with Turkey expect to compete for the top two spots in Group A which also features Austria, Kazakhstan & Azerbaijan.

England vs Bulgaria (Group G)

Redemption for Capello's crew begins against Bulgaria, as England take on a ‘dangerous' Bulgaria shorn of Frank Lampard, John Terry, Bobby Zamora, Peter Crouch & Rio Ferdinand. Goalkeeper Scott Carson returns as understudy for undisputed no.1 Joe Hart as Fabio Capello places faith in the in-form Manchester City shot-stopper. The England manager will also hope the Wembley boo-boys do not turn up as he counts on Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Theo Walcott to help England overcome Bulgaria. Having lost striker Dimitar Berbatov in May due to retirement, Bulgaria manager Stanimir Stoilov has a severe lack of quality up-front and will count on veterans Stiliyan Petrov & Martin Petrov to provide for Valeri Bojinov. Comprising primarily of players in foreign leagues, the Bulgarian squad will not be lacking in motivation as they take on England aiming to defeat them for the first time in their history. Every game is likely to be a crucial fixture in Group G, as it involves European regulars Switzerland, and tricky opposition from Wales and Montenegro. England must expect to go through as winners, although as the last edition proved, there are no guarantees in football.

Estonia vs Italy (Group C)

Cesare Prandelli has opted for youth as he picks up the pieces of Italy's failed World Cup defence. Naming no fewer than five uncapped players, the Italian manager clearly has a fresh start in mind, even though he welcomes back fit-again veteran Andrea Pirlo into the Azzurri squad. An injury to Mario Balotelli may not affect the Italian's preparations as they take on unfancied Estonia in their group opener. Estonia manager Tarmo Ruutli who oversaw his side's late 2-1 victory over European whipping boys Faroe Islands, will pray for football's unpredictable nature to be on show, claiming "Surprises happen. Why not this time?" The Baltic nation's task has been made doubly difficult following the unavailability of all-time leading goal-scorer Andres Oper due to injury, although Middlesbrough forward Tarmo Kink returns after being declared fit. Italy ought to expect no less than three points from this fixture, as taking away points from their other opponents in Group C, like Serbia & Slovenia may prove difficult.

Liechtenstein vs Spain (Group I)

World champions Spain will look to defy history yet again and defend their Euro 2008 crown, a feat that begins when they take on minnows Liechtenstein in their qualifying group opener. Fernando Torres, Andres Iniesta & Pepe Reina return after missing the 1-1 draw in a friendly against Mexico in August while Carles Puyol misses out with a thigh complaint. Youngster Ignacio Monreal is his replacement, as Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque looks to the future, aiming to assemble a squad that will operate at their peak in 2012. Liechtenstein manager Hans-Peter Zaugg has thrown a curveball by leaving out regulars Thomas Beck, Christoph Biedermann, Benjamin Fischer & Wolfgang Kieber, opting to rely on the hunger of youth, drafting in David Hasler and Benjamin Buchel. The experience of Peter Jehle, Franz Burgmeier & Ronny Buchel will be vital if Liechtenstein are not to be annihilated by Spain, although a side brimming with the world's best players may do that anyway. Group I is a relatively straight-forward group, with Spain and Czech Republic being outright favourites while expecting some opposition from Scotland, whereas Lithuania and Liechtenstein would do well to be anything more than cannon fodder.

Portugal vs Cyprus (Group H)

Portugal take on Cyprus in their Euro 2012 qualifying group opener without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo who injured his ankle playing for Real Madrid. Ricardo Quaresma has been drafted in as his replacement, while SC Braga right-back Silvio's impressive performances in the Champions League qualifiers have earned him a call up, as have Nuno Coelho and Yannick Djalo. Cyprus manager Angelos Anastasiadis has called on seasoned Greek defender Savvas Poursaitidis, who recently acquired Cypriot citizenship, to make his international bow and hope that he can limit Portugal's attacking talent. Cyprus will be glad to escape from this fixture with a point, having never achieved that previously against their illustrious opponents, while Portugal will consider this a must win, given that Scandinavian heavyweights Denmark & Norway form the opposition in Group H along with Iceland.

France vs Belarus (Group D)

The laughing stock of world football by their own admission, France will look to redeem their status as football giants under the new regime of Laurent Blanc. Suspensions galore, including those to Patrice Evra, Franck Ribery & Nicolas Anelka, mean that only 9 players from the disastrous World Cup campaign have being selected, Blanc has put his faith in the new breed of French talent, calling up uncapped quintet Kevin Gameiro, Cedric Carrasso, Mamadou Sakho, Blaise Matuidi and Benoit Tremoulinas, while Samir Nasri, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Djibril Cisse, Lassana Diarra and Yohan Cabaye all miss out through injury. Belarus manager Bernd Strange excluded Timofei Kalachev, Leonid Kovel & Dmitri Verkhovtsov as the trio lacked match-fitness. The German will count on stalwart Alexander Hleb to provide the requisite quality as his side take on France for the first time in their history. France will look to lay down a marker against Belarus, as they face relatively minor opposition in Group D with Romania & Bosnia and Herzegovina to a lesser extent, being their only real threats while Albania and Luxembourg round off the group as they are likely to do little more than make up the numbers.

San Marino vs Netherlands (Group E)

Netherlands will expect to unleash their pent-up frustration of missing out on the World Cup for the third time, as they open their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against San Marino. Injuries to Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben may mean that San Marino may not concede in double digits, although the recall of goal-poacher Ruud van Nistelrooy may be troubling. Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has omitted Ryan Babel, Edson Braafheid, Sander Boschker, Andre Ooijer & Stijn Schaars, giving a chance to Vurnon Anita, Theo Janssen, Jeremain Lens, Hedwiges Maduro, Erik Pieters, Piet Velthuizen and Ron Vlaar to stake their claim for a regular place in the side. San Marino are famous for losing in big margins and their manager Gianpaolo Mazza will hope that his side can stem the Dutch outburst and perhaps, even achieve history by scoring. Netherlands will rely on a good start as they face tricky opposition from the likes of Sweden, Hungary & Finland in Group E. Moldova and San Marino will be glad to come out of this group with respectable performances, if not results.

File Photographs Copyright: Ryu Voelkel

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