Group B is the group of death and highlights the strength of this tournament. Most people are going with Germany and the Netherlands to get through and I won't be saying any different though this group will be a lot tighter than most expect.

1st - Germany
Germany have struggled in their last few friendlies and though I have backed them to win the tournament, my confidence has waned a little. This is somewhat due to Joachim Loew's reluctance to chance up his attacking options. Klose has done excellently for his country, as has Podolski and both are on the back of decent seasons at club level. However, Mario Gomez has been one of the top strikers in Europe this year and Marco Reus and Mario Gotze (pre-injury) have set the Bundesliga alight. If Loew sticks with his tried and tested lineup, they may find it tough in such a strong group.

2nd - Netherlands
The Dutch are coming in on the back of an impressive qualifying campaign and some convincing friendly wins. Any team that struggle to find room for Rafael Van Der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar are a dangerous prospect. The defense is shaky and this has resulted in Van Marwijk playing 2 defensive henchmen in De Jong and Van Bommel. The Oranje fans are justifiably unhappy with this as PSV's box-to-box warrior Kevin Strootman may not start. If they can somehow find the room for all their stars, they will be difficult to beat. Goal machine Huntelaar would be a good bet for top scorer if he starts as Van Persie will push back into the supporting role.

And the rest...
Its easy to forget that Denmark and Portugal are ranked 9th and 10th respectively meaning that all 4 teams in this group are ranked in the top 10 in the world. Denmark beat Portugal twice in qualifying and in Christian Eriksen they possess one of Europe's top young players. Portugal are excellent on paper but have issues with togetherness and star man Ronaldo has slowed down significantly at international level.

Opening Fixtures Predictions:
Netherlands vs Denmark - Over 2.5 goals at 1.89
Germany -0.5 vs Portugal at 1.917