All Euro 2012 teams have now played one match each, and as such Tuesday sees the second round of fixtures commence, starting with Group A once more. Greece take on Czech Republic in the first match, before Poland and Russia lock horns later.

Greece vs Czech Republic

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Greece will take heart from the manner of their 1-1 draw against Poland in their first game, as Fernando Santos’ men came back from a goal down with ten men to salvage a point. The Greek side showed heart to test the home side, and the traveling support will hope for a continuation of where they left off in the second half against Poland.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos was dismissed in the opener and as such Greece have something of a dilemma in who to play at centre back. Dimitris Salpigidis scored the equaliser in the first game and showed energy and attacking intent; Santos will be tempted to give the PAOK man a starting jersey this time round. Greece will look to avoid defeat to stay in contention of qualification, but a win would really given them an excellent chance of making the quarter-finals.

Czech Republic fans will have been disappointed with the nature of their side’s 4-1 defeat to Russia on the opening day, as Michal Bilek’s men were second best for the entirety of the game. A Vaclav Pilar strike in the second-half was the side’s only real ray of hope in an otherwise mediocre display.

The Czechs need to win this game to stand a chance of getting through the group, although a draw would still see them mathematically in contention. The senior players such as Petr Cech, Tomas Rosicky and Milan Baros will be charged with leading the team, but if this trio do not play to their potential it could be an early exit for the Czechs.

Poland vs Russia

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It was a case of two halves for Poland in the first game, with a commanding and dominant first-half against Greece being counteracted by nerves in the second 45. The home side have proved that they have the calibre to be competitive in the pool, and the team will take heart from their opening game.

Robert Lewandowski scored the first goal of the tournament and has since been linked with a club move to Manchester United. The attacker’s Borussia Dortmund team-mate Lukasz Piszczek was also impressive, as was tricky winger Ludovic Obraniak. This game will be a step up for the Poles however, and they will need to be at their best to get a result.

Russia have arguably been the standout team of the tournament so far, and put Czech Republic to the sword 4-1 in their first game. Dick Advocaat’s men attacked from the first whistle and a brace from Alan Dzagoev and strikes from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Roman Shirokov sealed an emphatic victory.

Andrei Arshavin also looked back to his best with guile and a composed touch, and Russia will now look to beat the Poles and ensure qualification to the next round. Given the experience in their squad and with some of their main men hitting form, they will fancy their chances against Poland and in the long run to do well in the knockout stages.

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Czech Republic Euro 2012 Greece Poland national team Russia national team