The group stage of EURO 2012 is just under halfway completed, and with the other thread taking a bit too long to load, everyone felt it was best to break up the group stage comments into 2 separate threads. FYI- both games kickoff at 2:45 Eastern for the final games of group play. Standings with point totals (3 for a win, 1 for a draw for you non-soccer types) which I'll update on a daily basis are as follows:

Group A

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Czech Republic	3	2	0	1	4	5	-1	6
Greece	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Russia	3	1	1	1	5	3	2	4
Poland	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2

The Czechs win the group after defeating Poland, and Greece is still alive in the Euro for another few days after their upset of the Russians.

Group B

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Germany	3	3	0	0	5	2	3	9
Portugal	3	2	0	1	5	4	1	6
Denmark	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
Netherlands	3	0	0	3	2	5	-3	0

The Germans win the Group of Death after defeating Denmark, and Portugal advances after dispatching the Netherlands with a great performance from Ronaldo. It's the first time ever the Germans have won all 3 games in group play.

The Czech Republic will face Portugal in the first game of the knockout phase on 6/21, and Germany will face Greece on 6/22.

Group C

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Spain	3	2	1	0	6	1	5	7
Italy	3	1	2	0	4	2	2	5
Croatia	3	1	1	1	4	3	1	4
Republic of Ireland	3	0	0	3	1	9	-8	0

Spain wins Group C, and Italy advances to the knockout stage as Group C Runner-up.

Group D

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
England	3	2	1	0	5	3	2	7
France	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Ukraine	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3
Sweden	3	1	0	2	5	5	0	3

England wins Group D, and France finishes 2nd as both advance to the knockout phase.

Spain will take on France in the quarterfinals on 6/23, and England will play Italy on 6/24.

In US Soccer news, the Men's National Team played a Group A World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala City last night, drawing 1-1 with Guatemala. The Guatemalans converted a free kick from just outside the box in the 83rd minute to level the contest, which the Americans controlled for most of the game after a Clint Dempsey goal in the 40th minute. The game wasn't on any US TV stations, only available via Pay-Per-View, after the Guatemalan federation, which owns the rights, sold them to Traffic Sports (although I did find a stream to watch the 2nd half).

Just prior to the Guatemalan equalizer, Jozy Altidore had slipped behind the Guatemalan defense, the ball found his boot from a nice pass from a US midfielder I couldn't identify, and Altidore deposited into the back of the net, only for the referee to have whistled the play dead after calling a foul on Guatemala without giving the Americans the advantage. Naturally there was some questionable officiating, including Michael Bradley getting a yellow card for wasting time on a free kick 15 mins into the 2nd half. After Guatemala had leveled the game, Bradley went on a fantastic run down the left side and sent a great cross in, but Jozy Altidore inexplicably stopped his run down the middle, and the promising opportunity went for naught. While getting a point on the road is nice, I feel like the USMNT left two on the pitch that would have put them in great position in their group.