Today the excitement kicks off for Euro 2012 as we’ll learn which teams will face each other in next summer’s tournament to be held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw will begin at approximately 12:30pm ET and, for viewers in the United States, will be shown live on ESPN3.com and ESPN Deportes.

The sixteen teams who will be in the different pots are:

  • Poland (co-hosts)
  • Ukraine (co-hosts)
  • Spain (holders)
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • England
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Portugal
  • Republic of Ireland
  • Russia
  • Sweden

At EPL Talk, we’ll be bringing the draw to you live. Plus, we’ll have a special offer for you. We’ll be announcing a competition today where we’ll be giving you a chance to win some precious Euro 2012 memorabilia. Stay tuned to this blog for more details coming today.

GROUP A

  • Poland
  • Czech Republic
  • Greece
  • Russia

GROUP B

  • Holland
  • Denmark
  • Portugal
  • Germany

GROUP C

  • Spain
  • Ireland
  • Croatia
  • Italy

GROUP D

  • Ukraine
  • France
  • Sweden
  • England

The teams have been seeded and placed in different pots, as follows:

Pot 1: Spain, Netherlands
Pot 2: Germany, Italy, England, Russia
Pot 3: Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Sweden
Pot 4: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Ireland

12:55pm: And my wish came true. England will be in Group D with Ukraine, France and Sweden — definitely beatable opponents. Most importantly, England avoid Spain. Italy get them instead in Group C along with Ireland and Croatia.

12:54pm: England has to hope for Group D. Please!

12:53pm: Germany will be in Group B. What a difficult group that’ll be for all involved. Whew!

12:52pm: Russia will be in Group A. Bad news for England.

12:50pm: Tension is building to find out which groups England, Germany, Italy and Russia will end up in. Group A would be England’s best one, if they had a choice (which they obviously don’t)!

12:49pm: Croatia and Sweden still to be drawn. Croatia will play Spain and Ireland in Group C.

12:48pm: Portugal will join Holland and Denmark in Group B.

12:47pm: Greece will join Poland and Czech Republic in Group A. Poland will play Greece in the opening match of Euro 2012.

12:46pm: And France gets picked for Group D with Ukraine.

12:44pm: Ooof! Ireland is picked in the same group as Spain.

12:43pm: Who will be in Netherlands group? It’s neighbors Denmark.

12:42pm: Czech Republic will play in Group A.

12:42pm: Spain and Holland are named in Groups C and B.

12:39pm: The draw is starting now. Late, but better late than never.

12:25pm: It’d be nice to see at least a peak inside the hall where the draw is taking place. Definitely would add to the excitement and build-up. As it is, we’ll probably get dropped right in to the draw as it’s about to happen.

12:24pm: Touching Gary Speed tribute by ESPN. Classy.

12:16pm: One of the EPL Talk readers, Dools, asks whether the tournament is diluted by having two hosts. I agree with him. There would have been no guarantee that Poland or Ukraine would have qualified for this tournament if it was hosted elsewhere, so stronger teams could have taken the spots of Poland and/or Ukraine. But what countries could those have been? Belgium, Turkey or Norway?

12:14pm: The ESPN3.com coverage has begun with Bob Ley hosting. Sitting alongside him are Alexi Lalas, Robbie Mustoe and Fernando Palomo. No surprises so far. Just a lot of background about the different groups and the cities where the games will be hosted. Nice to see Bob Ley once again.

Feel free to share your questions, comments and feedback below.

What are your thoughts about where England ended up? Give us your opinion and predictions. And which group is the “group of death”? Share your thoughts!