What To Watch At Euro 2012

Most soccer fans believe that the World Cup is The Greatest Show On Earth, and if you judge solely by the all-important category of "Smoking Hot Brazilian Supporters In Bikinis," there's no contest. But on almost every other level -- quality of play, penchant for drama, intensity of blood feuds and preponderance of hair gel -- the European Championship is the superior tournament.

For one thing, it’s harder to win than the World Cup. In the 13 tournaments since its inception in 1956, nine different teams have hoisted the Euro trophy with Germany having managed the trick a Teutonic three times. France and Spain are the only two other multiple winners and when Les Bleus captured the title in 2000, they had to go through Denmark, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Italy to win. (Five of those teams were former European champions, by the way.) On the other hand, England has managed to win the trophy as many times as the U.S.

While the World Cup has a field of 32, only 16 do battle in the Euros (although this is the last time we will see this undiluted of a field as it's regrettably expanding to 24 sides in 2016). In this year's showcase, unlike the World Cup, there’s no Zaire, Saudi Arabia or any CONCACAF team south of Mexico to curl up in a fetal position and beg not to be beaten by double digits (for the record, in the 1974 World Cup, Yugoslavia beat Zaire only 9-0 and in 1982 El Salvador nicked a goal to barely drop a 10-1 squeaker to Hungary).

Meanwhile, 10 of FIFA's top 15 teams will play in "Polkraine," which might mean something until you realize that the unimpeachable FIFA list puts England at No. 6.
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