The group stages of both the beer tournament and the actual tournament concluded last night. Here are the tables for each of the groups, and at the bottom you will see the draw for the quarter finals. The beer tournament will split from the actual tournament at this stage, I will still give my prediction for the actual match at the bottom of each post. The real tournament is shaping up as a cracker and the beer tournament is just going from strength to strength, bring on the knockout stages!

GROUP A

 
Group A didn’t through up any major surprises. The two favourites to top the group, Poland and the Czech Republic, progressed with relative ease. The Russians were severely hampered by a lack of beers in the country at the moment, while the Greeks were undone by slightly superior beers in their games against the favourites.



GROUP B

The Netherlands were the real disappointment of this group, there lineup of world reknowned lagers flopped horribly in this group of death. The Portuguese performed above expectation but still weren’t good enough to get out of the group. The Germans progressed comfortably and go into the knockout stages with some big guns in the locker. The Danes surprised a few but go into the quarter finals full of confidence.


GROUP C




Ireland’s lineup of beers better suited to the winter conditions in Australia saw them top the group unopposed, with a perfect record. The Spanish had a couple of beers that performed well, but they came up against better beers in those games, and there just wasn’t enough quality across the board. Italy and Croatia finished on the same number of points, with the same goal difference and with a draw in the game betweeen the 2 sides. Under the standard UEFA system Croatia would progress on goals scored, however here in the beer tournament VBP (Variety of Beers Played) will decide who progresses. The Karlovacko’s of Croatia performed well but were bundled out of the tournament by Italy’s 3 beers.


GROUP D

Finally to Group D and England and France both progressed with real ease from this group. Ukraine’s squad failed to turn up while Sweden were represented by one of the worst beers I’ve ever drunk, seriously it’s that bad! The English have a real chance of going a long way in this tournament with their variety of ales, it just all depends on the draw!
QUARTER-FINALS DRAW
CZECH REPUBLIC VS DENMARK
GERMANY VS POLAND
IRELAND VS FRANCE
ENGLAND VS ITALY
All of these matches promise to be exciting, with the pick of the matches being either the Czech Republic vs Denmark or the battle of the neighbours Germany vs Poland. The first game of the quarter finals kicks off tomorrow, with the Czechs playing the Danes.