EA SPORTS Predicts Germany Will Win UEFA EURO 2012
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
And the UEFA EURO 2012™ champion is…Germany! Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) today declared Germany the winner of UEFA EURO 2012™ through a tournament simulation using the market-leading gameplay engine that drives EA SPORTS™ UEFA EURO 2012™ on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC. EA SPORTS™ was able to simulate the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship and test all 16 teams under the same conditions they will face in the weeks ahead. It was determined that Germany will defeat Netherlands 2-1 at Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on July 1 to win The Henri Delaunay Trophy.
The final itself saw the Germans fall behind 1-0 after Robin van Persie struck home a left-footed rocket from just outside the box in the 24th minute. Van Persie finished as the tournament’s top goal scorer with five goals. However, the Dutch lead did not last long as Mesut Özil leveled the score 12 minutes later, setting the stage for the golden goal from Mario Gómez, his fourth of the tournament. Gómez went high into the air between two Dutch defenders on a corner kick by Bastian Schweinsteiger to knock home the winner in the 78th minute, delivering Germany its fourth UEFA EURO championship.
Fans around the globe will compare these results to the real-world tournament as it unfolds beginning June 8. EA SPORTS has predicted that the Germans will win all three group stage matches, and maintain their form throughout the knockout phase, but it took a Miroslav Klose goal in extra time to propel the Germans past Italy 1-0 in the semi-final. Germany’s path to the Final included a 3-2 victory over Netherlands in the group stage and a 3-1 victory over Poland in the quarter-final.
Netherlands finished second behind Germany in the Group Stage after wins over Portugal and Denmark. Their road to the final included a 2-0 victory over Russia in the quarter-finals and a thrilling 3-1 semi-final victory over defending champion and pre-tournament favourite, Spain. In the semi-final match, Arjen Robben and David Villa traded first half goals before Van Persie put the Dutch ahead in the 64th minute. Spain had several efforts on goal in the final third of the match but couldn’t capitalize on its chances as they pushed all players forward in an attempt to draw even, eventually conceding a counter-attack goal in the 86th minute from striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
England had its heart broken in the quarter-finals. After an absorbing 2-2 draw with Spain, England went out 4-3 on penalty kicks. The fifth English shooter, striker Andy Carroll, was stopped when keeper Iker Casillas guessed correctly, diving to his right to get a hand on the hard low shot that propelled Spain into the semi-finals. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard all notched goals for England in the penalty shootout while Carroll and Jermain Defoe were stopped. Spain goals came from David Silva, Xabi Alonso, Andrés Iniesta, and Fernando Llorente.
Italy, after finishing second behind Spain in Group C with a 1-1-1 record, got a goal in the 77th minute from striker Mario Balotelli to defeat Group D winner France, 2-1, in their quarter-final match. Italy scored just four goals in the tournament and couldn’t generate any offence in its semi-final match against the Germans, finally succumbing 1-0 in extra time. The French suffered their only loss in the tournament to Italy, after drawing 2-2 with England and posting 2-0 wins over Ukraine and Sweden in the Group Stage.
EA SPORTS has a proven track record of correctly predicting winners using its game engines across all of its simulation sports franchises. EA SPORTS correctly predicted Chelsea would defeat Liverpool 2-1 to capture this year’s FA Cup and Spain would win the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa™. The Madden NFL franchise has correctly predicted seven of the past nine Super Bowl champions.
