Euros 2012 Kicks Off With A Bang! Awards for the first set of games.

The Euros have been fantastic so far, there have been so many different types of exciting matches. Here are my awards for the first round of matches, in a similar fashion to that of World Cup 2010.

Best Goalkeeper: Stephan Andersen - No goalkeeper really stood out but Andersen made a few saves to keep a clean sheet and give Denmark an improbable win. 

Best Defender: Matts Hummels - After a couple of nervy touches at the start of the match, Hummels showed his true ability showing why he is the best centre-back in the Bundesliga. His on the ball ability is similar to that of Pique (though not quite as good) but his defending is much better than Pique ensuring that Germany can become an even better team in the future. This is his tournament to secure a starting role in the team that will be his for years to come.

Best Midfielder: Andrei Arshavin - It was a tough choice between Arshavin and Dzagoev for this award but I gave to Arshavin as he was a constant threat to the Czechs. His dribbling was mesmerising at times and his creativity really showed in the match.

Best Striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Looked like one man on a pitch of boys. His touch was impeccable especially when he teed Elmander up for a last minuted chance. He took his goal well and should have scored another where he hit the post. Unfortunately for him, it looks as if Sweden will be exiting the tournament.

Best Match: Spain 1 - 1 Italy - Probably the pick of the matches, both teams exuded class both on and off the ball. I actually though that Italy were the better team and that Spain only really started playing properly once Italy had scored.

Worst Match: France 1 - 1 England - It was a decent game but there have not been any poor games in the tournament so far. This game seemed to die midway through the second half when England fatigued to a level where you would have thought their players to be amateur and both teams seemed to accept the draw as a result.

Surprise Player: Dimitris Salpangidis - He came on as a substitute but seemed to catalyse a Greek offensive in the second half which turned the game upon its head. Scored a goal and won a penalty, which he also celebrated as if he had scored a goal, should have had a winning impact on the game.


Underachieving Player: Robin Van Persie - Couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat; he was awful. He should have scored several times but I think it is time that the Dutch accept that Van Persie is a player who just, for no apparant reason, does not replicate his club form for country. Lionel Messi has been accused of this too, though recently he seems to have turned a new leaf with Argentina. Perhaps it was when El Diego left as manager of the country! 

Best Manager: Morton Olsson - The Danes were fantastic, though on another day, they could have quite easily conceded many goals but they came across Wesly Sneijder in top form. They managed to grab a win against the Dutch and could now be the surprise team to come out of 'The Group of Death'.

Team of the Round:

--------------------------Andersen-------------------------

Debuchy----Hummels--------- Agger---------Zhirkov

Dzagoev-----Sneijder-------De Rossi---------Arshavin

---------------Ibrahimovic------Shevchenko----------------

Honourable Mentions - Selassie, Chiellini, Lescott, Gerrard, Pirlo, Manzukovic, Salpangidis

Predictions

Golden Boot: Di Natale - If Klose is injured and Jogi Loew does not feel comfortable enough to start him then the Golden Boot is probably up for grabs. Kerzhakov, Van Persie and Huntelaar had a torrid time in their first game giving the opportunity to somebody else to grab. Gomez, Fabregas and Dzagoev are all possibilities as are the aforementioned strikers who did not perform to their maximum potential.

Player of the Tournament: Fabregas - Cesc Fabregas has lived in the shadows of both Xavi and Iniesta when representing Spain but I think that this might be the tournament for him to shine in, especially if Spain do not play a striker making him their best goalscorer in their starting XI.

Winners: Spain - Although many teams performed very well, I still feel as if Spain could play a lot better than they did. Italy, Germany and perhaps Russia could challenge but I do not think anybody has the talent levels of Spain.

Surprise Team: Denmark - I knew they had qualified ahead of Portugal but they were drawn in 'The Group of Death' and I did not think they had it in them to finish in the top two. However, after their performance against the Dutch, they must surely be favourites to qualify second after Germany.

Overperformers: Ukraine - They played with attacking vigour, passing the ball around with purpose and dribbling with good direction. However they seem heavily relient on Shevchenko to finish their chances but he isn't a young man any more and could find it tough to keep up all the running over the whole tournament. 

Underperformers: Ireland - I could have picked the Swedes or the Dutch but I was bitterly disappointed to see the Irish let in three sloppy goals against a Croatian team who whilst technically more talented, did not seem to create clear cut goal scoring opportunities. The Swedes were also very poor, if any of their players had performed to half the level of Ibrahimovic, they probably would have beaten an average Ukrainian team. Netherlands will still be a stern test for both Germany and Portugal.

Final Thoughts - This has been a throughly entertaining tournament so far and I hope that it continues in a similar vein. Portugal looked much better after Germany scored and should probably start with Oliviera instead of Postiga. Van Persie was awful but luckily for him, Huntelaar missed several chances when he came on the pitch so I do not think he will be dropped but I wouldn't be surprised to see Huntelaar come into the starting lineup. 

Come on England!!!