France kick off the 2016 European Championships with the nation's expectations on their shoulders. So with the hosts kicking things off against Romania tonight we take a look at their group and Group B which includes England.
The last time the French hosted a tournament in 1998 they came out the victors and World Champions and they're also the last home nation to lift the trophy 32 years ago, so it's no surprise that many are expecting them to repeat that feat this summer. But let's run through the groups and have a look at who else will be hoping to lift the trophy.
Group A: France, Albania, Romania, Switzerland
Advert
France:
Group A of course consists of the hosts France along with Albania, Romania, and Switzerland. France are my favourites to top the group. Their squad can be classed as a little inexperienced with many young players but few older players in the squad could really help guide the squad, players such as Patrice Evra, Bacary Sagna and Adil Rami could all could keep the kids on the right path.
They may have decided against bringing players such as Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery while also missing Lyon hitman Alexandre Lacazette but the replacements are all top notch players. Antoine Griezmann has been improving year on year for Atletico Madrid but he's failed to show that goal scoring prowess at international level with just 7 goals in 27 games, but his 32 goals and 54 games this season still makes me think that now France are playing competitive football again he may start hitting the back of the net.
The real star of this year's French squad though is Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. Ever since leaving Manchester United he's gone from strength to strength and is one of the most sought after midfielders in the world. His physical stature combined with his quick feet makes him almost a complete footballer.
Advert
He has however, much like Griezmann, failed to really put his mark on some of France's friendlies in the build up to this tournament and will hopefully turn it on when the opener starts.
Their record going into the tournament is semi decent
however, one loss and nine wins in the last 10 games have most likely given them the
confidence as a squad to go out and put away any side in their path.
Romania:
Advert
Romania are a tough side to break down, with the best defensive record in the qualification process and they've clearly put on emphasis on making themselves difficult to beat. The have however sacrificed the other end of the park in doing so, a 428 minute goal drought shows that perhaps this is a side that knows their limitations.
Truth be told their squad is underwhelming, Vlad Chiriches and Razvan Rat the two big names that stand out, but with Churches struggling to play for Napoli and Rat recently turning 35 it's not the most confidence filling duo.
Their form coming into the tournament is actually pretty good however, with only one loss since June 2014 highlighting just how difficult they are to break down, but that's about it. Eight draws in 11 games since last June. It's fair to say that they may not be the best team to put on your "Both teams to score" acca's.
Advert
Albania:
Albania unfortunately will most likely struggle in this group, only seven goals in qualifying suggest they, like Romania, are not a threat to anyone with a half decent defence. They're of course coming to France thanks to a technicality of winning 3-0 against Serbia in the infamous abandoned match that sparked into a riot due to the drone flying above.
Let's be honest though
we're just all excited to see the possibility of the Xhaka brothers facing off
against each other, Taulant Xhaka plays for Albania while Granit Xhaka plays
for Switzerland, it will be the first time in the competition's history two
brothers will play against each other.
Advert
Switzerland:
So let's move on to the other Xhaka's team, Switzerland. They're notorious for having never got out the group stages in the Euros but I firmly believe this is the year they break that hoodoo.
Many of you England based readers will know quite well from qualifying that Switzerland can be a tricky side if they play to their full potential. New Arsenal man Xhaka will be the heartbeat of the side in midfield, he normally plays as a defensive minded midfielder for club side Borussia Monchengladbach but is normally allowed a lot more freedom to go forward for the national side and often finds himself playing in the hole behind the striker. And with no Gokhan Inler for them this year he will be the talisman for the side.
But he's not the only one to watch for however in the Swiss
squad, left back Ricardo Rodriguez from Wolfsburg seems to be gathering more
admirers every season and rightly so. He was part of the Swiss under 17's side
that won the World Cup in 2009 along with Xhaka and Haris Seferovic of
Frankfurt.
Switzerland's record in their friendlies since qualifying
have been poor however, two wins from six games suggest they may but in a bit of a
wobble. But I fully expect them to see themselves past Albania and Romania to
the second qualifying spot.
To Qualify: France,
Switzerland.
Group B: England, Russia, Slovakia, and Wales.
England:
A very interesting group and quite a competitive one too in my opinion. We'll start off with England, after winning all their games in the qualifiers they are approaching this tournament with a sense of optimism.
With a very young and vibrant squad a lot of people think
that this may be the year England can finally play with a bit of freedom. What
they'll need to do to be successful however is carry on the goal scoring
efforts that saw them finish the qualifiers with the second highest goal tally
(31).
England don't have a great track record of being free scoring in the last few tournaments but with the likes of Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane emerging as top talents in the star studded Premier League. The pair have managed to rack up an impressive 59 goals in all competitions this season, and with Spurs midfielder Dele Alli providing most of Kane's goals there's a strong possibility the two can hit the ground running for England.
I think England will have a decent chance of getting out of
this group, especially with the potential third place qualifier, although I
doubt they'll need that.
Wales:
The other home nation in this group is Wales, and with only four goals conceded in qualification they are a force to be reckoned with. Whereas earlier I mentioned Romania's stingy defence and toothless attack. The same cannot be said for Wales, with a Real Madrid forward in your lineup you are guaranteed opportunities to score.
Gareth Bale has been the talisman for this Welsh side over the last few years and you could argue they've relied a little too much on the former Spurs winger.
In the midfield they've got Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen, two players whose clubs side are very much possession based so the two of them in tandem with each other will look to stamp their mark on games. Especially Ramsey who was the only other player to really chip in with the goals, along with Bale.
Don't get me wrong, Wales squad is thin. When you chip away
at a few of the starters you begin to see the weaknesses. Take out Bale, Ramsey
and Ashley Williams and you are left with a championship squad. But it's the
unity that Chris Coleman has brought to them, they play for each other and I
think that may be a critical factor for this side.
Russia:
Russia qualified for this year's competition despite a rough start with former manager Fabio Capello. I would never say Russia are favourites for a tournament win but their 2008 third place finish shows that they have the potential to cause upsets.
Without the creative midfield presence of Alan Dzagoev through injury, they may struggle in an attacking sense to create chances for their front men.
Their form going into the
tournament is patchy, at best. One win in their last five matches (a 3-0 win over
Lithuania) is worrying going into a major tournament. It'll be hard to tell
what their confidence levels will be like due to the injuries and poor form and
I have a sneaky feeling they may find it difficult in this group.
Slovakia:
Slovakia are making just their second international tournament appearance in their country's short history.
Their squad is a bit mixed, their two main men are Liverpool centre half Martin Skrtel and Napoli man Marek Hamsik and it's through Hamsik Slovakia will be most likely to get anything from this tournament.
The midfielder has now equalled Maradona's Napoli league scoring record to become the club's third highest scorer and will need to recreate those exploits again.
They have got some big results in
the bag recently, a 3-1 win over Germany and a 2-1 win over Spain in qualifying
show that they aren't phased by any of the start studded lot which could very
well help them get a result against someone like England or Wales in the group.
I think they'll do better than Russia but may unfortunately have to pray for
any potential third place qualification.
To Qualify: England, Wales,
Slovakia (third place).
Words by Conor Rafferty
Featured Image Credit: