Euro quarterfinal previews

A player and stat to follow for every group, along with simulations

Originally Published: June 20, 2012
By Albert Larcada | ESPN Insider

The quarterfinals of Euro 2012 kick off Thursday in Warsaw, Poland, with only eight squads left in contention for the European crown. Pre-tournament favorites Germany and Spain made it through, but dark horse candidates Russia and the Netherlands were unable to answer the call in the group stage. This has led to many seemingly lopsided matchups in the quarters, none more so than Germany -- SPI's favorite entering the tournament -- facing the surprise Greeks, the lowest-ranked team before the matches began.

Let's take a look at all four quarterfinal matchups using ESPN's Soccer Power Index and match statistics from the group stage.

Portugal versus Czech Republic

Player to watch: Nani

With Portugal's offensive style differing slightly from Manchester United's, Nani adds a new element to his game every time he puts on the jersey for A Seleccao -- the through ball. In 29 Premier League matches last season, Nani completed only four through balls with 36 percent accuracy. In 13 matches between Euro 2012 qualifying and the Euro 2012 tournament, Nani has completed eight through balls in 11 attempts -- including a perfect 4-for-4 in the group stage. All four through balls were completed to Cristiano Ronaldo and led directly to Ronaldo shots, including his second goal against the Netherlands in the 74th minute.


To read the full Euro 2012 quarterfinals preview, including which teams will advance, plus to get all of ESPN Insider's soccer content, sign up and become an Insider.

Albert Larcada

ESPN Insider
Albert Larcada is an Analytics Specialist in ESPN's Stats & Information group. Among other analytics projects, he maintains, advances and writes about ESPN's Soccer Power Index (SPI) algorithm.

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