Almost half of England fans anticipate a howler while Croatia are 'Brazil-like' - The Euro 2012 lowdown from Sharp FanLabs

Three Lions fans have had to endure more 40 years of hurt and there's been plenty of head in hands moments along the way - Wayne Rooney's red card against Portugal, the limp display in defeat to Germany in South Africa two years' ago, David Beckham's penalty miss against Turkey... we could go on. 

In what is quite an exhaustive list, it tends to be goalkeeping howlers that are remembered most - think Paul Robinson's mis-kick against Croatia or Scott Carson's error that led to a failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

With Euro 2012 just one week away, surely there is now room for optimism for England fans, though, with arguably one of the world's best goalkeepers in Joe Hart between the sticks.

The 25-year-old has kept 11 clean sheets for England in his career, and an impressive 50 shut-outs for Manchester City over the last two seasons.

Even with that in mind, though, 46 per cent of England fans are still expecting a howler in Poland and Ukraine, according to the most recent survey from Sharp FanLabs, which has been investigating the thoughts and personalities of supporters of all 16 participating countries at this summer's tournament.

Fifty-two per cent of Russia fans believe their team are prone to making 'howlers', with Ukraine ranking second (48 per cent) and England third (46 per cent). Germans are confident their side do not make big mistakes with only five per cent thinking otherwise. Ireland supporters are the second lowest (12 per cent) and Italy the third (14 per cent).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 98 per cent of German supporters believe a disciplined tactical approach is more likely to lead them to success compared to showboating, while Sweden are second in the ratings (91 per cent).

And on the topic of showboating, 52 per cent of Spain fans would describe their players as showboaters, compared to 47 per cent for Portugal, who of course possess the king of tricks in Cristiano Ronaldo, and 42 per cent of people from Netherlands.

Ireland supporters rank their players as the least likely to showboat (six per cent), while Germany and Sweden fans are the next lowest (11 per cent each). You would certainly imagine Portugal to register a higher 'showboating' figure, with the likes of Ronaldo and Nani in their ranks.

Out of a choice of 15 words including 'boring', 'physical' and 'inconsistent', most Croatian fans decided to describe their team as 'Brazil-like'. No pressure, then!

And finally 80 per cent of Swedish supporters would give up alcohol for a month or longer to see their nation win Euro 2012. Perhaps therein lies the reason behind one of the lowest crime rates in Europe.