Brady backs Croats to go all the way in Euros

In what might be accounted the first major surprise of Euro 2012, Liam Brady has predicted an unlikely winner for the tournament – Ireland’s Group C opponents Croatia.

The former international and ex-member of Giovanni Trapattoni’s management team reckons that, like Ireland, Croatia have done well to qualify for the finals and, free of any massive expectations, have the right combination of team spirit and individual quality to go all the way.

The implication of Brady’s prediction, of course, is that for Ireland to join Croatia in qualifying for the quarter-finals, it would mean both of Group C’s big guns, Spain and Italy, sensationally missing out.