euro 2016 -...

Euro 2016

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Contents

European Championships – History 3

Euro 2016 – Groups and Knockout Draw 5

Football Form Labs Rankings – EURO 2016 7

Betting Odds & Expectations – EURO 2016 8

EURO 2016 – Outright Betting Preview 9

Euro 2016 Top Scorer Preview 14

Group A Betting Preview 17

Group B Betting Preview 18

Group C Betting Preview 20

Group D Betting Preview 22

Group E Betting Preview 23

Group F Betting Preview 24

Team by Team Analysis 26

Notable Player Absences – Euro 2016 .............................................................................................. 99

Total International Caps, Goals and Ages – Euro 2016 ................................................................... 100

Competitive Team Form – Euro 2016 ............................................................................................. 101

Under/Over 2.5 Goals – Last 20 Matches* ..................................................................................... 102

Under/Over 2.5 Goals – Last 20 Matches* ..................................................................................... 103

Tournament Penalty Shoot-out Records Since 1990 ...................................................................... 104

European Finalists Form and Gradings 1992-2012 ......................................................................... 105

Average Ages – Euro 1992-2012 ..................................................................................................... 106

Average Goals per Round – Euro 1996-2012 .................................................................................. 107

Average Goals per Round – Euro 1996-2012 .................................................................................. 108

Average Goals per Game – Euro 1992-2012 ................................................................................... 109

Results of Teams Scoring First – Euro 1992-2012 ........................................................................... 110

Under/Over 2.5 Goals – Euro 1992-2012........................................................................................ 111

Average Group Points per Position – Euros 1992-2012 .................................................................. 112

Path to the Final – Euros 1992-2012 ............................................................................................... 113

Booking Points and Red Cards – Euro 1992-2012 ........................................................................... 114

European Championships – History This will be the 15th European Championship, and also the biggest, as the tournament is expanded to 24 teams for the first time. From the inception of the Championships in 1960 through to 1980 just four teams featured in the finals, with West Germany and the Soviet Union proving the most successful, each with three appearances in the final itself (West Germany winning twice and the Soviet Union once). Since 1984, when the number of teams increased to eight and then subsequently to 16 in 1996, France and Spain have been the only two-time winners although Germany, along with Spain, have the most appearances in the final with three. Spain are the only nation to ever successfully defend their European title and they come into this edition looking for a hat-trick of wins after triumphing in both 2008 and 2012. This year’s tournament will see 24 teams split into six groups of four, as opposed to four groups of four that was previously used, and will then see an extra knockout round. That of course means that only eight sides will be knocked out at the group stage as the four best third-placed sides also progress and should reduce the risk of any big favourites exiting early. In fact, this is the same format that was used in the 1986, 1990 and 1994 World Cups. Separating the third placed teams will be done by most points, and then goal difference and goals scored if necessary. European Championship Finals since 1984

Year Host Final

Losing Semi-Finalists Winners Score

Runners-Up

1984 France France 2 – 0 Spain Denmark Portugal

1988 West

Germany Netherlands 2 – 0

Soviet Union

Italy West Germany

1992 Sweden Denmark 2 – 0 Germany Netherlands Sweden

1996 England Germany 2 – 1 ET golden goal

Czech Republic

England France

2000 Belgium &

Netherlands France 2 – 1

ET golden goal Italy Netherlands Portugal

2004 Portugal Greece 1 – 0 Portugal Czech Republic Netherlands

2008 Austria &

Switzerland Spain 1 – 0 Germany Russia Turkey

2012 Poland & Ukraine

Spain 4 – 0 Italy Germany Portugal

Qualified Teams and Final Draw France qualified as hosts and were automatically entered into the pot of top seeds. They were joined by defending champions Spain, World Champions Germany, and fellow winners of their qualifying groups England, Belgium and Portugal. Italy, who were unbeaten in winning their qualifying group, were the highest profile of the second seeds and automatically seemed destined for a ‘Group of Death’. Five teams are making their first ever appearances: Albania, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Wales. They are joined by Hungary, who make their first appearance in 44 years and both Austria and Ukraine who have only previously qualified as hosts. The biggest story from qualification, though, was that of the failure of the 1988 champions, the Netherlands, to qualify less than two years after finishing third at the World Cup. Pot 1: France, Spain, Germany, England, Portugal, Belgium Pot 2: Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Ukraine Pot 3: Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary Pot 4: Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Wales, Albania, Northern Ireland

Euro 2016 – Groups and Knockout Draw

Football Form Labs Rankings – EURO 2016

Team FFL Grade FFL Global Rank

Rank (Qualified Teams)

Group Rank (Within Group)

Germany 188.0 1 1 C 1

Spain 171.0 4 2 D 1

France 168.4 6 3 A 1

Belgium 162.8 12 4 E 1

England 160.8 14 5 B 1

Italy 157.7 15 6 E 2

Portugal 157.4 16 7 F 1

Switzerland 156.2 18 8 A 2

Austria 153.1 19 9 F 2

Turkey 151.7 20 10 D 2

Czech Republic 151.5 21 11 D 3

Ukraine 151.3 22 12 C 2

Croatia 151.0 24 13 D 4

Russia 149.4 28 14 B 2

Sweden 148.4 29 15 E 3

Republic of Ireland 147.8 30 16 E 4

Poland 146.3 37 17 C 3

Romania 145.6 38 18 A 3

Iceland 144.8 39 19 F 3

Slovakia 143.1 43 20 B 3

Hungary 141.2 47 21 F 4

Wales 138.4 57 22 B 4

Northern Ireland 136.2 65 23 C 4

Albania 134.5 70 24 A 4

The Football Form Labs Grading system is based around an Elo rating system and helped us

pick out both finalists at the 2014 World Cup. You can read our betting preview from this

event here:

World Cup 2014 Preview

http://downloads.footballformlabs.com/strategies/FIFA_World_Cup_2014_Preview.pdf

Betting Odds & Expectations – EURO 2016

Team Best Price % Chance Group Win Group Win %

Germany 4.5 22% 1.4 71%

Spain 6.5 15% 1.67 60%

France 4.5 22% 1.4 71%

Belgium 13 8% 2.2 45%

England 10 10% 1.85 54%

Italy 18 6% 2.7 37%

Portugal 23 4% 2 50%

Switzerland 71 1% 5.5 18%

Austria 45 2% 3.3 30%

Turkey 91 1% 10 10%

Czech Republic 126 1% 10 10%

Ukraine 101 1% 9.5 11%

Croatia 36 3% 4.5 22%

Russia 76 1% 4.33 23%

Sweden 101 1% 7 14%

Republic of Ireland 151 1% 13 8%

Poland 51 2% 6 17%

Romania 261 0% 11 9%

Iceland 101 1% 7 14%

Slovakia 151 1% 10 10%

Hungary 401 0% 15 7%

Wales 81 1% 6.5 15%

Northern Ireland 501 0% 34 3%

Albania 501 0% 29 3%

EURO 2016 – Outright Betting Preview

France and Germany come into the tournament vying for the title of favourite due to their

respective positions as hosts and current World Champions. European Champions since 2008, Spain,

are only just behind in the betting and together these three teams account for 60% of the market.

However, there are a few viable contenders below that in a second tier of favourites featuring

England, Italy, Belgium and Portugal that takes up a further 30% of the betting and the remaining 17

teams can be found in the 10% of the market that accounts for the outsiders.

Qualifying Form

England became just the sixth team to complete qualifying for the European Championships with a perfect record. However, it has to be noted that this appears to be ever-easier to achieve, with Spain and Germany achieving the feat en-route to Euro 2012. There were also three other unbeaten sides in qualification: Romania (second in Group F with a W5-D5-L0 record), Austria (Group G winners, W9-D1-L0), and Italy (Group H winners, W7-D3-L0). Four years ago, having a 100% qualifying record proved a good indicator to tournament success, as Spain were victorious and Germany won all four of their matches on the way to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Italy. However, it’d be wrong to overstate the significance of that and, regardless of the way they got to those Finals, Spain and Germany’s success was more down to being two very strong sides in 2012 rather than their excellence in 2010-2011. There were actually five unbeaten qualifiers going into 2012 and they all reached the knockout rounds and were all ultimately only eliminated by another of these sides. However, from 1992-2008 there were 13 unbeaten sides in qualifying, with none going on to make the final at the main event and seven being knocked out in the group stages, which highlights that we probably shouldn’t pin our hopes on Romania just yet. Looking back at the qualifying records for participants at the Euros since 1992 we can clearly see how the change to 24 teams has weakened the field here. The most teams to qualify with less than 2.10 points per game from their qualifying groups for any one of those past six tournaments was five, but here we have nine teams in that position. That includes three of the four worst qualifiers in terms of PPG in that time, out of 112 total qualifiers, and six of the worst nine. Those nine teams with less than 2.10 PPG are (worst record first): Albania, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, Ukraine, Romania and Poland. Meanwhile, Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Northern Ireland and Croatia all picked up exactly 2.10 PPG in qualifying. Just one of the past 23 teams to qualify with less than 2.10 PPG have reached the final and while 4/23 lost in the semis, three of those at least scored more than two goals per game in qualifying. None of the nine this time around scored more than 1.83 goals per game in getting here. However, above this threshold overall qualifying records don’t tell us too much. But one thing that all the past six winners had in common was that they finished their qualifying campaigns fairly impressively and came into the tournament with momentum, while the past five also all topped their qualifying groups. Spain won all eight qualifiers going into 2012 as well as eight of their final nine games (W8-D1-L0) in 2008. Greece won their final six in 2004, France won three of their final four (W3-D1-L0) in 2000, Germany won their final four in 1996 and Denmark their final five in 1992.

Looking for teams who took at least 10 points from their final four qualifying games and topped their groups this time gives us the following teams (records extended until a second failure to win): England (W10-D0-L0), Spain (W9-D0-L1), Austria (W9-D0-L1), Portugal (W7-D0-L1), Germany (W6-D1-L0), Belgium (W6-D1-L0), and Italy (W4-D1-L0). This doesn’t particularly narrow the field as it gives us a list including all the favourites (excluding France who didn’t have to qualify) plus Austria. Home Advantage Home advantage is assumed to give a team a sizeable advantage but how much is debateable. In the first six editions, where the Championships featured just four teams, the host won twice but also finished fourth three times. Since then France are the only side to win as hosts, in 1984, although prior to 2008 at least one of the hosts had always made the semi-finals. However, in 2008 and 2012 all four hosts, Austria and Switzerland in ’08 and Ukraine and Poland in ’12, were knocked out in the groups, as were Belgium in 2000 as co-hosts and all those hosts that did well would have been expected to challenge regardless of where the event was held. Of course this time around we have a very strong host but will home advantage prove enough of a positive to counteract two years without competitive action? Favourites While Greece’s success was a huge surprise in 2004, their quarter-final win over a then dominant France team was perhaps more down to Jacques Santini’s overly defensive tactics and a few key players being past their prime, and as we’ve already noted Greece did come into the Finals in good form. More generally, the strongest teams have done fairly well in the European Championships and with five of the six World Cup finalists since 2006 coming from Europe (despite just one World Cup being held in Europe) it is fair to say that the best European nations are currently very strong and have few weaknesses. Spain were victorious as favourites in 2012 while the losing semi-finalists, Germany and Portugal, were second and fourth in the betting respectively. 2008 saw Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all vie for favouritism, with Germany and Spain contesting the final. In 2004, runners-up Portugal were third favourites although more had been expected of France and Italy. In 2000 the four favourites were the Netherlands (semi-finalists), France (winners), Spain and Italy (runners-up), while in 1996 Germany backed up their favourites tag by taking the title. As such it looks like favourites should be expected to be there at the end of the tournament. Interestingly, there was no Spanish side in the Champions League Final before any of their recent three major titles while no German side made it past the semis of that competition in 2014. However, a look at the Atletico and Real sides this season suggests that the likes of France and Portugal might be as concerned as anyone about the impact of that match not being played till the 28th May, with Antoine Griezmann and Ronaldo expected to be the key players for their respective nations. Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos and Juanfran are possibly the only starters for Spain from that match, although Koke and Lucas Vazquez will also have been late joining up with the international side. Football Form Lab Rankings

Since 1990 there have been 13 European and World Championships and 18 of the 26 finalists have been in the top six of the Football Form Lab rankings heading into the tournament, while just two have been outside the top 13. Of the 26 losing semi-finalists 20 have been in the top 17 and only 2/12 losing semi-finalists at the Euros have been ranked below this. Our rankings place Germany as the best team in world, with Spain (4th) and France (6th) also in the top six. Below this Belgium, England, Italy and Portugal are ranked from 12th-16th, with little to separate them. Experience An experienced head can prove crucial in controlling matters at key times but taking a squad packed with youth doesn’t necessarily reduce your chances of winning. In both 2012 and 2008 the squads with the youngest average ages reached the semi-finals (Germany in 2012 and Russia in 2008), while in total just one of the eight semi-finalists from those two tournaments were in the top half of teams in terms of oldest average age. That hasn’t always been the case, and while Spain took only the 10th oldest squad four years ago it has to be noted that it was a squad with 1100 caps to it’s name – the most experienced squad since 1992. Just looking at age a bit more, and if we take the oldest two teams from each of the past six Euros, then only one has reached the semi-finals. This compares to four of 12 when looking at the two youngest squads from each tournament. Looking at the squads this time around and England, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium have the youngest squads while Ireland, Russia and the Czech Republic are the oldest. Despite the youth in Germany’s squad only Spain (who have the 9th oldest squad) and the Republic of Ireland can boast more caps. The Draw Groups A, B and C look the most straightforward for the top seeds as France, England and Germany all have an advantage of at least 10 grading points over the next best team, while six of the weakest eight sides are found in these groups (two in each) which suggests there shouldn’t be any problems in qualifying for the knockouts automatically. However, in the other three groups there is a greater potential for upsets. Spain have a large advantage over their three opponents but all of those sides are dangerous and are ranked 10th, 11th and 13th within the 24 qualified teams. Assuming Germany and France have won their groups then it is conceivable that Spain suffer an upset in the groups, as they did when losing their opening game at the 2010 World Cup, and go through as runners-up which would create a situation where the three main favourites are all in the bottom half of the draw when we reach the knockouts. Groups E and F also look wide open, with only a few grading points separating the two best teams in each group. In fact Belgium and Italy, in Group E, are both ranked above Portugal, who are the best team in Group F. Moving through into the knockouts and France should be delighted with their draw. A Last 16 clash with a third-placed side should be followed by playing either the runners-up from England or Portugal’s groups – probably the two weakest. In the semi-final they should come up against Germany, but it won’t be as easy for the World Champions to get there. A Last 16 against a third

placed side shouldn’t be a problem but a quarter-final against either the winner of Group E (probably Belgium or Italy) or the runner-up from Group D (possibly Spain) looks a huge hurdle for the Germans. Winning Group D would certainly improve Spain’s chances massively. That would mean their route to the semis is only blocked by a third-placed side and then either of the runners-up from Groups A or C – neither of whom looks overly tough. The other quarter is the one that lacks any of the top three and offers a great opportunity to England. Assuming they win their group they will play a third-placed side before a quarter-final against the winner of Group F and the almost certainly higher ranked runner-up from Group E. Finishing second in Group E certainly looks a great path to the semi-finals and so if there is a loser between Belgium and Italy when they meet in their opening match on the 13th June it is worth taking a punt on that team. Our View The record of top-six ranked teams points heavily to the three favourites of Spain, Germany and France. Provided Spain tops their group then the draw should give them a wonderful chance of reaching the final and potentially claiming a third consecutive title. France, meanwhile, have the easiest route of all in terms of getting to the semi-finals. They were Euro Under-19 Champions in 2010 and World Under-20 Champions in 2013 and have a squad that looks to be coming to the boil at the perfect time. Les Bleus have won their last three major tournaments on home soil (Confederations Cup 2003, World Cup 1998, Euro 1984) and they have a great chance to enjoy another success here. Defending World Champions have an excellent recent record at European Championships, as three of the last four have reached the final. However, Germany look set to have a far tougher quarter-final than either Spain or France and then a semi-final clash between themselves and the host is a big negative for both their chances. Furthermore, with that semi-final taking part just three days before the final, and 24 hours after the first semi, whoever advances will have to battle some extra fatigue. In fact if Spain and France were to meet in the final having won their groups then from the quarters onwards Spain would have to play three matches in 11 days while France would have to do so in just eight. This highlights how much tougher the bottom half of the draw is and so the better value is in the top half. Of course, we’ve mentioned earlier that Spain have a far from clear path through their group. And therefore it’s worth a saver on Croatia. Ante Cacic only took over less than a year ago but he’s made an excellent start to his time in charge, winning four of his opening five matches, and he’s been blessed with a squad that is full of quality. Surprisingly, the other most obvious bet in the top half of the draw is England. A perfect qualifying record has raised hopes of a first title in 50 years. A relatively easy group followed by a third-placed side and then a likely quarter-final with Portugal or Italy – neither of whom are particularly strong right now – is as much as any team could ask for. Portugal’s problem is the same as it’s been for the past 10 years – they are overly reliant on Ronaldo in attack and it’s why they’ve scored just 21 times in 20 games (prior to their pre-tournament friendlies) since the start of the 2014 World Cup. Italy’s problems are also in attack, with Daniele De Rossi being the only player in their squad with more than six international goals and neither do the newer players in the squad look like they have the quality to dominate at this level. Given those teams will face a tough Last 16 clash we’re perfectly

happy to side with England at a shorter price, although if Italy upset Belgium in their group opener we would certainly add a Belgian team to our book given the quality they possess. With Eden Hazard returning to form (and certainly not tired after his exertions this season) and the exceptional Kevin De Bruyne they have the X-Factor to go with quality in all positions (although injuries have weakened their defence) and are a major reason to avoid Germany, given that is their more probable quarter-final. With 17 wins in their last 23 matches, prior to the pre-tournament friendlies, they are very real contenders even if they win their group and go into the tough bottom-half of the draw – though that would almost certainly be the toughest route to the final of all teams. Overall, Spain look the best and most reliable bet right now, with England and Croatia worth smaller punts and Belgium one to keep a close watch on. One further point to note is that 17/38 Euro Championship knock-out games since 1992 have finished level after 90 minutes and so Coral’s current offer available relating to money back on your outright selection if they are knocked out on penalties is definitely worth considering. Recommendation: 1pt each-way Spain to win Euro 2016 at 6.5, Various 0.2pt each-way England to win Euro 2016 at 10.0, Various 0.1pt each-way Croatia to win Euro 2016 at 30.0, Bet Bright 2pts France to Reach the Semi-Final at 1.83, Various

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/winner



http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/to-reach-semi-final

Euro 2016 Top Scorer Preview While trying to help their teams claim glory this summer Europe’s leading strikers will be looking to show who the best marksman is. Last time around Fernando Torres took the official honours, after a six-way tie on goals scored and then a two-way tie on goals plus assists, as he’d played fewer minutes. Hopefully this time things will be easier to figure out but you should pay close attention to whether you are looking at a market for the Golden Boot winner or simply the more common Top Scorer. Key Stats (since 1996 when the championships increased to 16 teams)

Since 1996 two of the five Championships have had a tie for the top scorer, including six players finishing level in 2012 (11 top or joint-top scorers in this time)

The top scorer netted five times in 1996, 2000 and 2004 but David Villa was top with four goals in 2008 and no one scored more than three times four years ago

Eight of the 11 top scorers played for teams that at least reached the semi-finals

10/11 top scorers found the net at least twice in the group stages with seven scoring three or more times

Leading Contenders (Nation, Odds)

Thomas Muller (Germany, 9) has a very respectable strike rate at international level with 31 goals from 70 caps and that improves to 26 in 47 competitive games. He scored a hat-trick in Germany’s opening game at the last World Cup when playing as a centre forward. He finished that tournament as the second highest scorer and was also the top scorer in the 2010 World Cup. However, he was shifted to the right wing for the knockouts in 2014 and Jogi Loew’s fluid tactics could see a fluid front four here with no out and out striker. Muller scored a personal best total of more than 30 goals for Bayern this season but was less prolific in the second half of the season compared to the first. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, 9) has scored more than 50 goals for Real Madrid this season – the sixth campaign in a row he’s achieved this. He’s also reached double figures in the Champions League for a fifth year in a row and he now plays increasingly through the middle for Portugal. He’s sure to be in charge of Portugal’s penalties and free-kicks and they’ve been handed an easy group which should give Ronaldo some chances to add to his many incredible scoring records. Antoine Griezmann (France, 12) has had the best season of his career to lead Atletico Madrid to the Champions League Final as well as another impressive title challenge. He’s not the focal point of France’s attack and has scored just four goals in his last 22 international appearances but the easiest route of all teams to the semi-finals should ensure he gets plenty of chances. Robert Lewandowski (Poland, 17) finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 30 goals in 32 appearances and over 40 goals in all competitions. He was also the top scorer in Euro 2016 qualifying with 13 strikes. Six of those did come against Gibraltar though and with group games against Germany and a very defensive Ukraine side it’ll be much harder here. However, Poland are a good attacking side and he could fill his boots against Northern Ireland, while we expect them to progress to the knockouts and have at least one extra game. That match against Northern Ireland is

their opener though, and those games tend to be tighter than later in the group stage, but Poland certainly have every chance of a good run in this tournament. Harry Kane (England, 17) was elevated into the top bracket of strikers in Europe after a season that saw him win the Premier League’s Golden Boot and take his tally in the past two campaigns to 59 goals in all competitions for his club. Furthermore, goals in England’s two September internationals saw him raised to a first choice status in Roy Hodgson’s side. England look to have a good draw but while the other teams in their group aren’t particularly strong they are defensive. That might limit Kane’s scoring chances but if England do well then the Spurs striker will probably have had an excellent tournament. Olivier Giroud (France, 21) set a personal best for his time at Arsenal this season as he scored 24 times. However, an almost four-month barren spell in the league in the second half of the campaign again raised question marks about his quality. With Andre-Pierre Gignac in prolific form playing in Mexico there is no guarantee that Giroud is given the nod to start. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium, 21) failed to score in the final two months of the season for Everton and having been unstoppable back in November and December his form has really tailed off. A strike rate of just 11 goals in 42 international appearances suggests he might be more of a foil for Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard. That, combined with Belgium’s tough draw, tells us there are better prospects elsewhere. Outsiders Alvaro Morata (Spain, 26) only has one international goal to his name and has not enjoyed a prolific season with Juventus; scoring just 11 times in 46 games in all competitions. Spain have a very tough group and tend to share the goals around their midfielders as they look to pass their way through opponents rather than taking a direct approach. So while Fernando Torres and David Villa might have won the Golden Boot in 2012 and 2008 Spain don’t look to have a strong candidate for the scoring charts this time around. Anthony Martial (France, 34) is yet to find the net for his country but after a superb campaign, where he was undoubtedly Man Utd’s best attacker, he should be full of confidence. He’s only started for France four times but looks set to play a key part. However, much like Griezmann he suffers from being stationed out on the wing in France’s 4-3-3 formation. Nevertheless at triple the odds he looks an enticing option given France’s relatively easy path to the semi-finals. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, 35) finished the season with 50 goals in 51 PSG games as he set a personal best tally for goals. He’s hinted that he’ll retire from international football after this but there’s no suggestion that he’s any less of a force. However, this Sweden team lacks quality around him and it’s hard to see him receiving the supply or advancing far enough in the competition to challenge for top scorer honours. Wayne Rooney (England, 41) broke Bobby Charlton’s England scoring record in qualification but had his poorest league campaign in term of goals since his debut season 13 years ago. With Harry Kane now the focal point of England’s attacks he may be reduced to a deeper role. Mario Mandzukic (Croatia, 41) was slightly out of favour at the start of the season with Juventus. However, when he returned to the team they couldn’t stop winning and he’s set to be a key figure for Croatia. He scored three times in Euro 2012 and while they are in a very tough group Croatia do

like to go forward. Games against Turkey and the Czech Republic should provide chances with both those teams preferring to play open, attacking football, and that is in contrast to most of the other groups where many teams look likely to concentrate on defence first. Mario Gotze (Germany, 41) scored the goal that won Germany the 2014 World Cup and has since been regularly utilised as a ‘false 9’ by Jogi Loew. With 17 goals in 50 internationals he has a good strike rate for a midfielder and being pushed into a more advanced position should offer him more chances. At five-times the odds of Muller he looks good value, but he lost his place in the Bayern team last season and also seems to have slipped down the pecking order with the national team. Instead, Mario Gomez could be used as a genuine number 9 or Muller could move centrally. Nikola Kalinic (Croatia, 101) scored a hat-trick against Inter Milan back in September to highlight his improvement. Croatia have played with two strikers in some recent games but in a tough group we wouldn’t be surprised if they went back to playing with just Mandzukic up front, so while Kalinic looks a great price he’s probably best avoided. Our View Scoring goals in the group stage has been a key to topping the scoring charts in past European Championships but its importance should be slightly less this time with the addition of an extra knockout round. Germany’s tough draw and the chance that they share the goals around between their attacking midfielders put us off Muller as the market favourite. However, Ronaldo looks a great price given a few easy group matches and his penchant for scoring hat-tricks against weaker opposition. Along with the Madrid star, Anthony Martial looks an excellent price to take advantage of France’s relatively easy route to the semis while Mario Mandzukic has a big match temperament and should get plenty of service from a Croatian midfield packed with talent. Recommendations: 1pt each-way Cristiano Ronaldo to be Top Scorer at 9.0 (top 4, ¼ odds) 0.5pt pt each-way Antony Martial to be Top Scorer at 26.0 (top 4, ¼ odds) 0.25pt each-way Mario Mandzukic to be Top Scorer at 41.0 (top 4, ¼ odds)

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/top-goalscorer




Group A Betting Preview France are the clear favourites for Group A and with the talents of Griezmann, Martial and Pogba in

their squad it is easy to see why they are so fancied. The defence also looks strong and while the

midfield looked like it might have lacked some quality in comparison with the likes of Spain and

Germany the form of Dimitri Payet and N’Golo Kante this season has given them a couple more

excellent options.

While Romania might have come through qualifying unbeaten they were in a very easy group, which

saw Northern Ireland and Hungary also advance. Furthermore, they actually won only half their 10

matches while scoring just 11 times. It’s not a squad with many, if any, well known names – Razvan

Rat spent a season at West Ham while captain Vlad Chiriches was at Spurs for a couple of seasons –

and they last beat France over 40 years ago. However, Anghel Iordănescu has made them hard to

beat and they did pick up draws with Italy and Spain in friendlies in November and March. Their lack

of goals though will make it tough for them to win matches and could also let them down if they are

challenging for a knockout spot as a third-placed side.

Albania shocked Portugal in their opening qualifying game and when they were then awarded a 3-0

win after their match in Serbia got abandoned a pair of wins over strugglers Armenia were enough

to send them to the Finals. However, the win against Portugal was against the run of play and over a

side that was significantly below full-strength. With only seven goals scored in their seven completed

qualifiers – five of which came against Armenia – they are arguably the weakest team at the Finals.

Gianni De Biasi has been in charge of Albania since 2011 so has had plenty of time with this squad

and, like Romania, they have made themselves difficult to break down. Portugal could only beat

them 1-0 in the return fixture while they held Denmark to a pair of draws (0-0 and 1-1) so they’ll

hope to at least pick up a couple of points.

Switzerland should really come through this group along with France. They lost both clashes with

England in qualifying but won seven of eight otherwise while scoring three goals per game. They

went into the last World Cup with hopes of upsetting France in the group stages but were on the

end of a 5-2 hammering (they were 5-0 down going into the final 10 minutes). However, they did still

advance to the knockouts where they took Argentina to extra-time. The Swiss can certainly trouble

France on a good day but even if they can hold the hosts to a draw they look like they’ll find it harder

to break down the tough defences of Albania and Romania, potentially impacting on their goal

difference. We certainly don’t see a total upset in the game between Switzerland and France, with

the Swiss having won just one of their 10 games away against teams in the top 50 of our rankings

since 2011 and with France having a higher ranking than any of those sides (which had an average

rank of 34th).

Nevertheless, the gap in our gradings between the second and third best teams in this group is

larger than in any other group, while there is also a significant gap between first and second, and so

our best bet in Group A comes from the Straight Forecast market, where we don’t expect to see any

upsets.

Recommendation: Straight Forecast – France/Switzerland at 2.75, Stan James

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-a/straight-forecast

Group B Betting Preview We rank England as the second worst of the six group favourites but they’ve been handed a fantastic

draw as we have the average grading of the other three teams in their group as lower than in any

other. With a useful advantage in our gradings over the second best team, Russia, they really should

be winning this group.

Roy Hodgson led England to a perfect record in qualifying and as they look to make up for their flop

in Brazil there are reasons to be positive about the Three Lions’ chances here. While they scored

only twice in the World Cup group stage exit they can now call upon one of Europe’s most prolific

strikers in Harry Kane as well as the pace and intensity of Leicester’s title winner, Jamie Vardy.

Wayne Rooney’s form might not be as great as he’d like, and while he top scored for England in

qualifying, how important Hodgson makes his captain to England’s play could impact their chances

here.

Recent wins over Germany and France show they can beat the best teams. Defensively they look

vulnerable but Eric Dier is potentially their best holding midfielder since Owen Hargreaves was

England’s Player of the Year in 2006. It’s the youngest squad in the tournament but they’ve shown

they’re capable and England’s recent record against their group opponents is excellent. They’ve won

eight of nine meetings with Russia, Wales and Slovakia since 2002/03, though Hodgson will hope to

improve on England’s record in group openers at tournaments since 1990 that has seen them win

just two of 11 matches.

In contrast to England, Russia bring one of the oldest squad with them and look to be a team on a

downward trajectory. They scored 11 times in their two qualifying wins over Moldova but just 10

goals in their other eight matches, as they went W4-D2-L2, is some fairly modest form. Since making

the semis at Euro 2008 their tournament form has been poor as they failed to qualify for the 2010

World Cup and won just one of six group matches at Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 as they failed to

reach the knockouts at either. However, there is some hope for them in their improved form since

Leonid Slutsky took over from Fabio Capello in August. He’s also the current coach of CSKA Moscow,

who have won the Russian Premier League this season, and with an almost exclusively homegrown

squad including seven CSKA players he should deliver a more cohesive approach than Capello ever

managed.

Wales qualified impressively behind heavyweights Belgium. They were unbeaten until their

penultimate game and actually took four points off the group winners. Nevertheless, the rest of the

group was weak and a total of 11 goals scored from their 10 games is a clue of what we can expect

from Chris Coleman’s side. Gareth Bale gives them a threat in attack, but it’s virtually the only one as

he scored seven of those 11 goals and assisted for two of the others. However, with a strong

defence and support from Aaron Ramsey in midfield they should at least be tough to beat.

Slovakia beat both Spain and Ukraine in qualifying as they made it to their second major Finals.

Much like Wales they are a squad built around one star player in Marek Hamsik. The Napoli star also

top scored for his nation in qualifying but, as with Wales, against better teams the lack of support

elsewhere in the team is likely to be exposed.

England’s rejuvenated attack and greater creativity should give them an edge over their weaker and

more defensive Group B rivals. Russia’s improvement under Leonid Slutsky, meanwhile, makes them

deserved second favourites but we wouldn’t be backing them at 1.44 to qualify given both Wales

and Slovakia look capable of upsetting them. However, with four of the six third-placed finishers in

the groups still going through we’ll leave alone the 3.0 on Russia failing to make it out of the group.

Recommendations: England Win Group B at 1.85, BWin

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-b/winner

Group C Betting Preview It’s hard not to look at Germany’s team as the strongest in the tournament. While we’ve avoided

them for our outright selection due to their tough draw a squad boasting this much talent should be

too strong for their opposition at this stage.

However, they’ve been beaten six times since their triumph in Brazil two years ago and made hard

work of qualifying. The retirements of Philipp Lahm and Miroslav Klose, plus the decline of Bastian

Schweinsteiger, have had an impact but a dip between major tournaments is not necessarily a major

concern. Spain lost four times between winning the World Cup in 2010 and retaining their European

title in 2012 and Germany can point to several excellent players breaking into their squad. Julian

Draxler is a potential match-winner and Emre Can has started to look like a capable replacement for

Lahm at right-back since Jurgen Klopp took over at Liverpool, although the injury to Marco Reus was

a blow.

The gap in our gradings between Germany and the second best team in Group C, Ukraine, is a

massive 36.7 points which is virtually the same as the difference between the best and worst teams

in Group A, France and Albania. So Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland should be playing for

second place here.

We rate Northern Ireland as the second worst side at the Finals, ahead of Albania, and despite their

success in qualifying they look out of their depth. Since the start of 2011 they’ve played 17 matches

against teams in the top 40 in our rankings and have won only twice while losing 12 times and

scoring just seven times.

Poland, meanwhile, are a team on the up. After a poor 2012 competition as co-hosts and then a

disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign they were impressive in finishing just one point behind

rivals Germany in qualifying for these Finals. That included scoring more than any other nation in

getting here and also a win over the World Champions. Robert Lewandowski scored 13 of their goals

in qualifying and he is ably backed up by Arkadiusz Milik in attack after a good season with Ajax,

while Grzegorz Krychowiak is one of the best holding midfielders in Europe and Kamil Glik and Lukasz

Piszczek bring quality and experience to the back-four. Their recent record against Germany, of one

defeat in four meetings since 2011, is excellent but repeating that in a major tournament will

undoubtedly be far harder and their form against their other neighbours is less impressive.

Ukraine have not lost to Poland since 2000 and won both meetings when they met in qualifying for

the last World Cup. While the Poles have developed an attack-orientated approach we can expect

Ukraine to adopt more cautious tactics, and in their four qualifiers against Spain and Slovakia they

failed to score as each game finished with no more than a single strike. A lack of goals has been a

long-standing problem for this squad, which comes with lots of experience, but they are notoriously

tough to break down and have conceded more than once in just one of their last 38 games heading

into the Finals (ahead of their pre-tournament friendlies).

Ukraine’s lack of goals could cost them and we’d expect Poland to be more ruthless against Northern

Ireland. That should mean that the Poles can afford to draw when the teams meet in their final

group game and therefore they look the best bet to go through along with Germany.

Recommendations: Northern Ireland to Finish Bottom at 1.67, Various

Straight Forecast – Germany/Poland at 3.0, Various

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-c/to-finish-bottom

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-c/straight-forecast

Group D Betting Preview Spain lost half their eight games following the shock exit in Brazil but three of those were friendlies

and the ‘old’ Spain has shown itself since then. They’ve conceded only twice in their nine games

leading up to the pre-tournament friendlies while remaining unbeaten. The defence looks very

strong with Vicente del Bosque looking like he’ll finally promote David de Gea to start and three of

the back four settled in Ramos, Pique and Alba. Del Bosque’s main problem is how he’ll

accommodate the embarrassment of riches available to him in midfield. However, they look light in

attack and while the midfield may dominate matches they are unlikely to score lots of goals – this is

a team that has conceded just once in their last nine European Championship matches and that is

likely to be their strength again.

There won’t be any easy matches in this group though, with all four teams ranked in our top 13 of

the 24 sides here. The Czech Republic won their qualifying group but they did so despite failing to

keep a single clean sheet and with comfortably the worst defensive record of all teams at the Finals.

In all matches leading up to the pre-tournament friendlies they’ve gone 19 games without a clean

sheet and look the most vulnerable of the teams in this group. They bring an experienced squad with

them but it lacks quality and of their six players based in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues three are 34 or

over.

Turkey were in the same qualifying group as the Czechs but only got here as the best of all third-

placed finishers. After taking just one point from their opening three games that represented an

excellent recovery though, and they were unbeaten in 13 games with 10 wins prior to their warm-up

defeat to England when both teams were missing key players. This is the first major tournament

they’ve qualified for since Euro 2008 and that is reflected in a youthful squad as Fatih Terim has

turned to a new generation to take them forward. They reached the semis in 2008, when Terim was

in a previous spell in charge, and this team certainly has an unknown quality to them that could

trouble other sides. With the quality of Arda Turan and Hakan Calhanoglu on the wings they should

certainly offer a threat going forward and look potential dark horses.

However, we just prefer Croatia as the team who could cause a big surprise in this tournament. A

midfield featuring Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Mateo Kovacic should be a threat to

anyone and they also have dangerous attackers in Mario Mandzukic and Nikola Kalinic. They finished

behind Italy in qualifying but were unbeaten in their two meetings with the Azzurri and overall both

scored more and conceded fewer than the Italians.

Given the quality in this group Spain look too short to win it at a best price of 1.67 and should be

avoided. Particularly given their opener, against the Czech Republic, is their easiest match and if they

slip up there then they’ll find the group very hard to win. Several members of their squad will be late

joining up due to the all-Spanish Champions League Final and they’ve won none of their openers at

the last three major tournaments so they could be vulnerable. In truth it is a wide open group but

with four of the six third-placed finishers in the group stages qualifying Turkey look great value to at

least be one of those.

Recommendation: Turkey to Qualify at 1.91, BetVictor/Stan James

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-d/to-qualify

Group E Betting Preview When Italy were only in Pot 2 for the draw whichever top seed they were placed alongside was likely

to feel aggrieved. However, this is far from a ‘Group of Death’ for Belgium, particularly with only

eight teams eliminated at the group stage.

After qualifying with an unbeaten record for the last World Cup Belgium were many people’s

favourites in Brazil. They reached the quarter-finals there but, after again winning their qualifying

group for this summer, they will hope to go a few steps further this time. The whole squad is full of

quality, with full-back the only position they are lacking world class players, and we rank them as the

fourth best team in the tournament.

Italy were runners-up four years ago but they ended that tournament with a negative goal

difference after being thrashed 4-0 in the final. After a disappointing World Cup where they exited at

the group stage following defeats to Costa Rica and Uruguay there are question marks about this

generation’s ability to compete at this level and dating back to the final four years ago they’ve won

just three of 21 matches against teams in the top 20 of our rankings while losing 11 times. The attack

looks the major weakness in the squad and Italy have scored more than twice in just one of their last

34 matches going into their warm-up friendlies. With Daniele De Rossi the only player in their squad

with more than six international goals this is a team that is vulnerable to the sort of upset that Costa

Rica performed on them two years ago.

The Republic of Ireland and Sweden round out Group E after both came through the play-offs to

qualify. For the Swedes this is likely to be an international goodbye from Zlatan Ibrahimovic but with

their all-time top scorer coming off a season that has seen him score more than ever before there

are certainly no signs that his powers are diminishing. However, the rest of the squad is relatively

weak. We still have them ranked third out of the four teams in this group but only Group A has a

larger gap in our gradings between the second and third best teams.

The Irish will be the biggest underdogs in this group and it’s no doubt a tag they will relish after

almost qualifying automatically from a group featuring Germany. Their tactics will be pretty obvious

though, as when excluding their two games against Gibraltar they scored just eight times in eight

qualifiers and it’ll be a case of getting men behind the ball and hoping to nick a goal from a set piece

or counter-attack while preserving their clean sheet. There’s very little between them and Sweden

and the result of their meeting in the first group game should decide who comes third. However,

they’ve lost just one of their five games against Italy since the start of 2009, with a goalless draw just

before the last World Cup in their last meeting, and could be exactly the sort of side the Azzurri

struggle with.

Overall, Belgium look a class above and should win this group. That would actually lead to a harder

path to the final than coming second but with the crucial game against Italy coming straightaway no

one should be thinking about that.

Recommendation: Belgium to Win Group E at 2.20, Stan James

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-e/winner

Group F Betting Preview Group F is the weakest of all the groups with Portugal the only top seed that we don’t actually have

in the top six in our gradings for this tournament. Austria do sneak into our top 10 on the back of a

qualifying performance that saw them win nine of 10 matches but then Iceland and Hungary are

both in our weakest six sides.

Hungary have qualified for their first European Finals since 1972 but winning just four of 10 matches

while scoring only 11 times (three of the four wins were 1-0) in a group that was topped by Northern

Ireland hardly suggests a team that can compete at this level. The last time they faced a team in the

top 20 in our global rankings was in qualifying for the last World Cup when the Netherlands beat

them 4-1 and 8-1. So 40 year old Gabor Kiraly better expect plenty of action in goal.

Hungary’s neighbours, Austria, look a far stronger outfit. With most of their players playing in either

the Bundesliga or Premier League and captained by Leicester City’s Christian Fuchs they are used to

playing at a decent level. Only three of their outfield players are in their thirties, while just one is

younger than 22, and this is a squad that looks to be largely coming to the peaks of their careers at

the same time. This is their first major tournament appearance since 2008 but you have to go back

to 1990 to find the last time they won a match at a tournament – they should at least break that

streak this time. Austria have scored in 22 consecutive games prior to the pre-tournament friendlies

and they are also solid at the back with two holding midfielders protecting the back four. If Portugal

underestimates them then they could spring a surprise.

Iceland attracted some attention when they won six of their first seven qualifying games but their

form has been poor since then. With 37 year old Eidur Gudjohnsen in the squad it highlights the

small pool of players they have to pick from – which is not surprising given their population of

330,000 is more than 2.5 million less than that of the next smallest qualifier. It is still a squad that

can cause an upset though, and they did beat the Netherlands both home and away in getting here.

An opening game against Portugal offers the chance of a major scalp.

The final of Euro 2004 still hangs over this Portuguese side. Shocked by Greece on home soil that day

a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo probably thought he’d have many more chances of international glory.

Ricardo Carvalho is the only other survivor from that match but the closest either has come has been

semi-finals at the 2006 World Cup and the Euros four years ago. With nine members of this squad

now in their thirties do they have the ability to go one step further than 2004? In the past three

major tournaments they’ve failed to score in half their 12 matches and they found the net just 11

times in their eight qualifying matches as all seven of their wins were by one goal margins. Only once

in Fernando Santos’ 16 games in charge have Portugal scored more than twice and that was against

minnows Armenia.

With four of Ronaldo’s five goals in qualifying coming against Armenia, and the lack of significant

striking support, Portugal’s problems in attack look like they are set to continue. They are still strong

at the back but Austria look a more well-rounded side and have the physicality to get the better of

Portugal. Meanwhile, Iceland should be too good for Hungary, who look like they’ll be picking up the

wooden spoon in Group F.

Recommendations: Hungary to Finish Bottom at 2.10, Bwin

Austria to Win Group F at 3.0, Various

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-f/to-finish-bottom

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/group-f/winner

Team by Team Analysis - Contents

Page Team

27 Albania

30 Austria

33 Belgium

36 Croatia

39 Czech Republic

42 England

45 France

48 Germany

51 Hungary

54 Iceland

57 Italy

60 Northern Ireland

63 Poland

66 Republic of Ireland

69 Romania

72 Russia

75 Slovakia

78 Spain

81 Sweden

84 Switzerland

87 Turkey

90 Ukraine

93 Wales

FRI JUN 10 FRA v ROM 20:00, Stade de France, Paris

SAT JUN 11 ALB v SWI 14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens

WED JUN 15 ROM v SWI 17:00, Parc des Princes, Paris

WED JUN 15 FRA v ALB 14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens

SUN JUN 19 ROM v ALB 20:00, Stade de Lyon

SUN JUN 19 SWI v FRA 20:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille

Form

03/06/2016 Albania – Ukraine FRI

29/05/2016 Albania – Qatar FRI

29/03/2016 Luxembourg 0-2 Albania FRI

26/03/2016 Austria 2-1 Albania FRI

16/11/2015 Albania 2-2 Georgia FRI

13/11/2015 Albania 2-2 Kosovo FRI

11/10/2015 Armenia 0-3 Albania EQ

08/10/2015 Albania 0-2 Serbia EQ

07/09/2015 Albania 0-1 Portugal EQ

04/09/2015 Denmark 0-0 Albania EQ

13/06/2015 Albania 1-0 France FRI

29/03/2015 Albania 2-1 Armenia EQ

18/11/2014 Italy 1-0 Albania FRI

14/11/2014 France 1-1 Albania FRI

11/10/2014 Albania 1-1 Denmark EQ

07/09/2014 Portugal 0-1 Albania EQ

08/06/2014 San Marino 0-3 Albania FRI

03/06/2014 Albania 0-1 Hungary FRI

30/05/2014 Albania 1-0 Romania FRI

05/03/2014 Albania 2-0 Malta FRI

15/11/2013 Belarus 0-0 Albania FRI

Country W D L GD Pts

ALB

0

0

0

0

0

FRA

0

0

0

0

0

ROM

0

0

0

0

0

SWI

0

0

0

0

0

ALBANIA FIFA Ranking: 45

Form Labs Ranking: 24/24

Coach: Gianni De Biasi

Current Win Odds: 501.0

Albania Squad

# Pos. Player DOB Caps Goals Club

1 GK Etrit Berisha 10/03/1989 34 0 Lazio

2 DF Andi Lila 12/02/1986 59 0 PAS Giannina

3 MF Ermir Lenjani 05/08/1989 18 3 Nantes

4 DF Elseid Hysaj 20/02/1994 19 0 Napoli

5 DF Lorik Cana (Captain) 27/06/1983 91 1 Nantes

6 DF Frederik Veseli 20/11/1992 3 0 Lugano

7 DF Ansi Agolli 11/11/1982 60 2 Qarabağ

8 MF Migjen Basha 05/01/1987 18 3 Como

9 MF Ledian Memushaj 07/12/1986 13 0 Pescara

10 FW Armando Sadiku 27/05/1991 19 4 Vaduz

11 MF Shkëlzen Gashi 15/07/1988 13 1 Colorado Rapids

12 GK Orges Shehi 25/09/1977 7 0 Skënderbeu Korçë

13 MF Burim Kukeli 16/01/1984 15 0 Zürich

14 MF Taulant Xhaka 28/03/1991 11 0 Basel

15 DF Mërgim Mavraj 09/06/1986 25 3 FC Köln

16 FW Sokol Cikalleshi 27/07/1990 19 2 İstanbul Başakşehir

17 DF Naser Aliji 27/12/1993 5 0 Basel

18 DF Arlind Ajeti 25/09/1993 9 1 Frosinone

19 FW Bekim Balaj 11/01/1991 15 2 Rijeka

20 MF Ergys Kaçe 08/07/1993 15 2 PAOK

21 MF Odise Roshi 21/05/1991 32 1 Rijeka

22 MF Amir Abrashi 27/03/1990 17 0 SC Freiburg

23 GK Alban Hoxha 23/11/1987 1 0 Partizani Tirana

Expected Line-Up: 4-5-1

De Biasi used a 4-3-3 formation during the qualifiers which turned into a 4-5-1 when facing stronger teams with the two wide men tracking back. They will look to pack the midfield, protect their defence and play on the counter.

Albania Key Personnel

Gianni De Biasi Date of Birth

15/06/56 Place of Birth

Italy Appointed

December, 2011 Total Record W14-D10-L13

Having done most of his coaching in Serie A with Torino and Udinese, where he garnered a reputation for saving clubs from relegation, this is De Biasi’s first international job. He’s managed to record some impressive results since taking over, beating Portugal in qualification and France in a friendly.

Etrit Berisha GK

Lazio

33 Caps, 0 Goals

27 Years Old

Berisha’s kept 17 clean sheets in 33 apperances for Albania whilst only conceding 21 goals in this time. He was second choice behind Marchetti at Lazio this season, but only conceded 13 goals in the 11 games he did start in Serie A.

Lorik Cana CB

Nantes

90 Caps, 1 Goal

32 Years Old

Albania’s skipper is comfortably the most capped player in their squad. He had an excellent season with Lille, who finished 5

th in Ligue 1 and conceded only 27 goals, with only

PSG better defensively. Cana was at Lazio for a number of years prior to joining Nantes and Sunderland fans may also remember him from a short spell he had with the Black Cats back in 2009/10 when he made 31 appearances in a side that went on to finish 13

th.

Sokol Cikalleshi ST

Istanbul Basaksehir

17 Caps, 2 Goals

25 Years Old

No player in Albania’s squad has scored more than three international goals, but Cikalleshi could be the one to add the most to his tally in this tournament. Both his goals have come in his last four appearances and he had a strong finish to the season with Basaksehir, with four goals in his last 10 appearances, despite the fact that the majority of these were coming off the bench.

Group Analysis

Albania are rated as the 3.0 outsiders to make it out of Group A, where France and Switzerland are very much expected to be the ones to make it through. Indeed, the gap in our gradings between the top two and the others in this group is larger than any other group and with that in mind an upset looks unlikely. Expectations

Albania did manage to beat Portugal in their opening

qualifying game and so are capable of an upset, but

that result was very much against the run of play

against an understrength Portugal team. One of their

wins in qualification was awarded to them after their

game in Serbia was abandoned and they only managed

seven goals in their seven completed qualifiers, five of

which came against Armenia, and as a result could well

be the weakest team at the Finals. They did, however,

prove difficult to break down as Portugal could only

beat them 1-0 in the return fixture while they held

Denmark to a pair of draws (0-0 and 1-1) so they’ll

hope to at least pick up a couple of points.

TUE JUN 14 AUT V HUN 17:00, Stade de Bordeaux

TUE JUN 14 POR V ICE 20:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne

SAT JUN 18 ICE V HUN 17:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille

SAT JUN 18 POR V AUT 20:00, Parc des Princes, Paris

WED JUN 22 ICE V AUT 17:00, Stade de France

WED JUN 22 HUN V POR 17:00, Stade de Lyon

Form

04/06/2016 Austria – Netherlands FRI

31/05/2016 Austria – Malta FRI

29/03/2016 Austria 1-2 Turkey FRI

26/03/2016 Austria 2-1 Albania FRI

17/11/2015 Austria 1-2 Switzerland FRI

12/10/2015 Austria 3-0 Liechtenstein EQ

09/10/2015 Montenegro 2-3 Austria EQ

08/09/2015 Sweden 1-4 Austria FRI

05/09/2015 Austria 1-0 Moldova FRI

14/06/2015 Russia 0-1 Austria FRI

31/03/2015 Austria 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina FRI

27/03/2015 Liechtenstein 0-5 Austria EQ

18/11/2014 Austria 1-2 Brazil FRI

15/11/2014 Austria 1-0 Russia EQ

12/10/2014 Austria 1-0 Montenegro EQ

09/10/2014 Moldova 1-2 Austria EQ

08/09/2014 Austria 1-1 Sweden EQ

03/06/2014 Austria 2-1 Czech Republic FRI

29/05/2014 Austria 1-1 Iceland FRI

05/03/2014 Austria 1-1 Uruguay FRI

18/11/2013 Austria 1-0 USA FRI


AUT

0

0

0

0

0

HUN

0

0

0

0

0

ICE

0

0

0

0

0

POR

0

0

0

0

0

AUSTRIA FIFA Ranking: 11


Coach: Marcel Koller


Austria Squad


GK Robert Almer 20/03/1984 27 0 Austria Wien

GK Heinz Lindner 17/07/1990 8 0 Eintracht Frankfurt

GK Ramazan Özcan 28/06/1984 7 0 Ingolstadt 04

DF Christian Fuchs (captain) 07/04/1986 74 1 Leicester City

DF Sebastian Prödl 21/06/1987 56 4 Watford

DF Aleksandar Dragović 06/03/1991 46 1 Dynamo Kyiv

DF György Garics 08/03/1984 41 2 Darmstadt 98

DF Florian Klein 17/11/1986 36 0 VfB Stuttgart

DF Markus Suttner 16/04/1987 16 0 Ingolstadt 04

DF Martin Hinteregger 07/09/1992 13 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

DF Kevin Wimmer 15/11/1992 3 0 Tottenham Hotspur

MF Martin Harnik 10/06/1987 57 14 VfB Stuttgart

MF Marko Arnautović 19/04/1989 51 11 Stoke City

MF Zlatko Junuzović 26/09/1987 47 7 Werder Bremen

MF David Alaba 24/06/1992 45 11 Bayern Munich

MF Julian Baumgartlinger 02/01/1988 44 1 Mainz 05

MF Jakob Jantscher 08/01/1989 21 1 Luzern

MF Marcel Sabitzer 17/03/1994 17 3 RB Leipzig

MF Stefan Ilsanker 18/05/1989 15 0 RB Leipzig

MF Alessandro Schöpf 07/02/1994 3 1 Schalke 04

FW Marc Janko 25/06/1983 53 26 Basel

FW Rubin Okotie 06/06/1987 17 2 1860 München

FW Lukas Hinterseer 28/03/1991 9 0 Ingolstadt 04

Expected Line-Up: 4-2-3-1 Austria varied their formations in the pre-tournament friendlies but we expect them to revert back to a 4-2-3-1 shape with two holding midfielders that saw them go unbeaten through the qualifying campaign.

Austria Key Personnel

Marcel Koller Date of Birth

11/11/60 Place of Birth Switzerland Appointed

October, 2011 Total Record W20-D7-L10

Koller’s a relatively inexperienced manager who did the majortiy of his work at German side Vfl Bochum. Appointed in 2005 after their relegation from the Bundesliga, he got them straight back up and kept them in the top division comfortably for the following three seaosns, before a slow start in 2009/10 cost him his job and Bochum were subsequently relegated. He missed out on World Cup qualification with Austria, but since that qualyfying campaign his side are W12-D4-L3 in friendlies and qualication for this tournament.

David Alaba DM

Bayern Munich

44 Caps, 11 Goals

23 Years Old

Though he operates at left-back for Bayern, Alaba will play in the centre of midfield for Austria and is certainly one of their biggest threats going forward, with 11 goals and nine assists. Indeed, despite playing at left-back for Bayern, he’s managed 19 goals and 26 assists and is a threat when shooting from distance and from set pieces.

Marko Arnautovic LW

Stoke City

50 Caps, 10 Goals

27 Years Old

Arnautovic impressed for Mark Hughes’ Stoke this season, managing 11 goals and six assists and his most impressive performance came against Man City where he netted both goals in a 2-0 win. He managed three goals and two assists in qualification and on his day can cause any right back serious problems.

Marc Janko ST

Basel

52 Caps, 26 Goals

32 Years Old

Janko has an excellent strike rate for his country and in particular in competitive games as he’s netted 18 times in 28 qualification matches. He heads to his first major international tournament after an excellent season with Basel as he netted 16 times in 20 appearances, before his campaign was cut short by injury.

Group Analysis

Group F is the weakest of all the groups with Portugal

the only top seed that we don’t actually have in the

top six in our gradings for this tournament. Austria do

sneak into our top 10 on the back of a qualifying

performance that saw them win nine of 10 matches

but then Iceland and Hungary are both in our weakest

six sides. As a result, Austria are 1.6 second favourites

to qualify from this group, behind Portugal.

Expectations

Austria were excellent in qualification and have scored

in 22 consecutive games prior to the pre-tournament

friendlies and they are also solid at the back with two

holding midfielders protecting the back four. If

Portugal underestimates them then they could spring

a surprise and we fancy them to do exactly that.

Portugal certainly look one of the most vulnerable

short priced favourites to top their group and though

this is Austria’s first major tournament appearance

since 2008 and they last won a match at a tournament

back in 1990, this is the best group of players they’ve

had for some time.

Form

05/06/2016 Belgium – Norway FRI

01/06/2016 Belgium – Finland FRI

28/05/2016 Switzerland – Belgium FRI

28/03/2016 Portugal 2-1 Belgium FRI

13/11/2015 Belgium 3-1 Italy FRI

13/10/2015 Belgium 3-1 Israel EQ

10/10/2015 Andorra 1-4 Belgium EQ

06/09/2015 Cyprus 0-1 Belgium EQ

03/09/2015 Belgium 3-1 Bosnia-Herz. EQ

12/06/2015 Wales 1-0 Belgium EQ

07/06/2015 France 3-4 Belgium FRI

31/03/2015 Israel 0-1 Belgium EQ

28/03/2015 Belgium 5-0 Cyprus EQ

16/11/2014 Belgium 0-0 Wales EQ

12/11/2014 Belgium 3-1 Iceland FRI

13/10/2014 Bosnia-Herz. 1-1 Belgium EQ

10/10/2014 Belgium 6-0 Andorra EQ

04/09/2014 Belgium 2-0- Australia FRI

05/07/2014 Belgium 0-1 Argentina WC

01/07/2014 Belgium 0-0 USA WC

26/06/2014 Belgium 1-0 Korea Republic WC

22/06/2014 Belgium 1-0 Russia WC

17/06/2014 Belgium 2-1 Algeria WC

07/06/2014 Belgium 1-0 Tunisia FRI

01/06/2014 Sweden 0-2 Belgium FRI

25/05/2014 Belgium 5-1 Luxembourg FRI

05/03/2014 Belgium 2-2 Ivory Coast FRI

19/11/2013 Belgium 2-3 Japan FRI

14/11/2013 Belgium 0-2 Colombia FRI

MON JUN 13 IRE v SWE 17:00, Stade de France, Paris

MON JUN 13 BEL v ITA 20:00, Stade de Lyon

FRI JUN 17 ITA v SWE 14:00, Stadium de Toulouse

SAT JUN 18 BEL v IRE 14:00, Stade de Bordeaux

WED JUN 22 ITA v IRE 20:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille

WED JUN 22 SWE v BEL 20:00, Stade de Nice


BEL

0

0

0

0

0

ITA

0

0

0

0

0

IRE

0

0

0

0

0

SWE

0

0

0

0

0

BELGIUM FIFA Ranking: 2


Coach: Marc Wilmots


Belgium Squad


1 GK Thibaut Courtois 11/05/1992 34 0 Chelsea

2 DF Toby Alderweireld 02/03/1989 52 1 Tottenham Hotspur

3 DF Thomas Vermaelen 14/11/1985 51 1 Barcelona

4 MF Radja Nainggolan 04/05/1988 18 4 Roma

5 DF Jan Vertonghen 24/04/1987 74 6 Tottenham Hotspur

6 MF Axel Witsel 12/01/1989 64 6 Zenit Saint Petersburg

7 MF Kevin De Bruyne 28/06/1991 36 11 Manchester City

8 MF Marouane Fellaini 22/11/1987 65 15 Manchester United

9 FW Romelu Lukaku 13/05/1993 41 9 Everton

10 MF Eden Hazard (captain) 07/01/1991 62 12 Chelsea

11 FW Yannick Ferreira Carrasco 04/09/1993 4 0 Atlético Madrid

12 GK Simon Mignolet 06/03/1988 16 0 Liverpool

13 GK Jean-François Gillet 31/05/1979 9 0 Mechelen

14 FW Dries Mertens 06/05/1987 42 8 Napoli

15 DF Jason Denayer 28/06/1995 5 0 Galatasaray

16 DF Thomas Meunier 12/09/1991 5 0 Club Brugge

17 FW Divock Origi 18/04/1995 16 3 Liverpool

18 DF Christian Kabasele 24/02/1991 0 0 Genk

19 MF Mousa Dembélé 16/07/1987 63 5 Tottenham Hotspur

20 FW Christian Benteke 03/12/1990 24 6 Liverpool

21 DF Jordan Lukaku 25/07/1994 2 0 Oostende

22 FW Michy Batshuayi 02/10/1993 3 2 Marseille

23 DF Laurent Ciman 05/08/1985 9 0 Montreal Impact


With Kompany injured the Belgians could line up with three at the back but with no obvious wing-back’s a 4-3-3 is likely to be the preference, packing the midfield and allowing Hazard and De Bruyne to roam and support Lukaku.

Belgium Key Personnel

Marc Wilmots Date of Birth


Belgium Appointed May, 2012

Total Record W27-D7-L8

Wilmots has overseen the transition of Belgium to this talented group of youngsters, having been Dick Advocaat’s assistant between 2009 and 2012 before taking the big job following his departure. The fact that he is yet to win anything as a manager may be a concern when it comes to guiding this talented Belgium side in semi-finals and finals, as they’re yet to go really deep into a major international tournament.

Eden Hazard LW

Chelsea

62 Caps, 12 Goals

25 Years Old

After landing the PFA Player of the Year Award in Chelsea’s title winning 2014/15 season, Hazard struggled to live up to those heights this term, as did the majority of the Chelsea team. He did however show signs of his old form at the end of the season when he scored four goals in Chelsea’s last five league games and he’s also been in good form for the national team, with four goals in his last six.

Kevin De Bruyne AM

Man City

36 Caps, 11 Goals

24 Years Old

De Bruyne had an excellent first season with Man City as he managed seven goals and nine assists in 25 Premier League appearances and proved his importance to Manuel Pellegrini’s side when they lost four of the seven games he missed towards the end of the season with a knee injury, but won three in a row once he returned. He also scored in each leg of their Champions League quarter-final with PSG and has been good form for Belgium in their recent friendlies, scoring against both Italy and Switzerland.

Romelu Lukaku ST

Everton

41 Caps, 9 Goals

23 Years Old

Lukaku had an excellent first half of the season for Everton as he scored 15 times, but he managed just three league goals in 2016 and none in the final two months of the season. However, he has rediscovered his scoring form in recent friendlies for Belgium, finding the net against both Portugal and Switzerland.

Group Analysis

When Italy were only in Pot 2 for the draw whichever

top seed they were placed alongside was likely to feel

aggrieved. However, this is far from a ‘Group of Death’

for Belgium, particularly with only eight teams

eliminated at the group stage. Indeed, Belgium are as

short as 1.22 to qualify and 2.2 favourites to win the

group.

Expectations

After qualifying with an unbeaten record for the last

World Cup Belgium were many people’s favourites in

Brazil. They reached the quarter-finals there but, after

again winning their qualifying group for this summer,

they will hope to go a few steps further this time. The

whole squad is full of quality, with full-back the only

position they are lacking world class players, and we

rank them as the fourth best team in the tournament.

Marc Wilmots’s side look a class above and should win

this group. That would actually lead to a harder path to

the final than coming second but with the crucial game

against Italy coming straightaway no one should be

thinking about that.

SUN JUN 12 TUR V CRO 17:00, Stade de Bordeaux

MON JUN 13 SPA v CZE 20:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille

FRI JUN 17 CZE v CRO 14:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille

FRI JUN 17 SPA v TUR 14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens

TUE JUN 21 CZE V TUR 20:00, Stadium de Toulouse

TUE JUN 21 CRO V SPA 20:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne

Form

04/06/2016 Croatia – San Marino FRI

27/05/2016 Croatia – Moldova FRI

26/03/2016 Croatia 1-1 Hungary FRI

22/03/2016 Croatia 2-0 Israel FRI

17/11/2015 Russia 1-3 Croatia FRI

13/10/2015 Malta 0-1 Croatia EQ

10/10/2015 Croatia 3-0 Bulgaria EQ

06/09/2015 Norway 2-0 Croatia EQ

03/09/2015 Azerbaijan 0-0 Croatia EQ

12/06/2015 Croatia 1-1 Italy EQ

07/06/2015 Croatia 4-0 Gibraltar FRI

28/03/2015 Croatia 5-1 Norway EQ

16/11/2014 Italy 1-1 Croatia EQ

12/11/2014 Croatia 1-2 Argentina FRI

13/10/2014 Croatia 6-0 Azerbaijan EQ

10/10/2014 Bulgaria 0-1 Croatia EQ

09/09/2014 Croatia 2-0 Malta EQ

04/09/2014 Croatia 2-0 Cyprus FRI

23/06/2014 Croatia 1-3 Mexico WC

18/06/2014 Croatia 4-0 Cameroon WC

12/06/2014 Brazil 3-1 Croatia WC

06/06/2014 Croatia 1-0 Australia FRI

31/05/2014 Croatia 1-2 Mali FRI

05/03/2014 Switzerland 2-2 Croatia FRI


CRO

0

0

0

0

0

CZE

0

0

0

0

0

SPA

0

0

0

0

0

TUR

0

0

0

0

0

CROATIA FIFA Ranking: 23


Coach: Ante Cacic


Croatia Squad


GK Danijel Subašić 27/10/1984 19 0 Monaco

GK Lovre Kalinić 03/04/1990 4 0 Hajduk Split

GK Ivan Vargić 15/03/1987 2 0 Rijeka

DF Darijo Srna (captain) 01/05/1982 129 21 Shakhtar Donetsk

DF Vedran Ćorluka 05/02/1986 87 4 Lokomotiv Moscow

DF Domagoj Vida 29/04/1989 36 1 Dynamo Kyiv

DF Ivan Strinić 17/07/1987 33 0 Napoli

DF Gordon Schildenfeld 18/03/1985 25 1 Dinamo Zagreb

DF Šime Vrsaljko 10/01/1992 17 0 Sassuolo

DF Tin Jedvaj 28/11/1995 3 0 Bayer Leverkusen

MF Luka Modrić 09/09/1985 89 10 Real Madrid

MF Ivan Rakitić 10/03/1988 75 10 Barcelona

MF Ivan Perišić 02/02/1989 45 12 Internazionale

MF Mateo Kovačić 06/05/1994 26 1 Real Madrid

MF Milan Badelj 25/02/1989 18 1 Fiorentina

MF Marcelo Brozović 16/11/1992 16 4 Internazionale

MF Marko Rog 19/07/1995 1 0 Dinamo Zagreb

MF Ante Ćorić 14/04/1997 1 0 Dinamo Zagreb

FW Mario Mandžukić 21/05/1986 65 21 Juventus

FW Nikola Kalinić 01/05/1988 27 8 Fiorentina

FW Andrej Kramarić 19/06/1991 9 3 1899 Hoffenheim

FW Marko Pjaca 06/05/1995 6 0 Dinamo Zagreb

FW Duje Čop 01/02/1990 3 0 Málaga

Expected Line-Up: 4-2-1-3

Cacic has only been in charge for five games and has used a 4-2-1-3 formation three times and a 4-4-2 twice. We expect them to use the former with Modric and Rakitic looking to get on the ball and Mandzukic, the target man.

Croatia Key Personnel

Ante Cacic Date of Birth


Yugoslavia Appointed

September, 2015 Total Record

W4-D1-L0

Cacic took over after a dip in Croatia’s qualification campaign for this tournament under Niko Kovac, who after winning his first three games managed just one win in the next five. Cacic came in for the final two games and manged wins in both, but these were at home to Bulgaria and away to Malta, both teams that Kovac had already beaten. This is Cacic’s first full international job having previously had experience as an assistant for Libya back in 2005-2006 and he hasn’t had the best of times recently, managing six different clubs since 2011, most notably Dinamo Zagreb.

Luka Modric CM

Real Madrid

89 Caps, 10 Goals

30 Years Old

Since joining Real Madrid ahead of the 2012/13 season, Modric has become a permanent fixture for Los Blancos, making 115 La Liga appearances. He was named in the 2013/14 Champions League Team of the season and the best La Liga midfielder in the same campaign, while he was also named in the 2015 FIFA FIFPro World XI and is undoubtedly one of the best central midfielders in the world.

Ivan Rakitic CM

Barcelona

75 Caps, 10 Goals

28 Years Old

Handed the unenviable task of replacing the legendary Xavi in the centre of Barcelona’s midfield, Rakitic has performed admirably in his first two seasons as part of a Barca side that has won seven trophies since he joined. With him playing alongside Luka Modric and with the likes of Kovacic, Brozovic and Halilovic also in the squad, Croatia arguably have the best central midfield in the tournament.

Mario Mandzukic ST

Juventus

65 Caps, 21 Goals

30 Years Old

Mandzukic was slightly out of favour at the start of the season with Juventus. However, when he returned to the team they couldn’t stop winning and after some injury problems he had a strong finish to the season, with four goals in his last seven Serie A games. He’s likely to have excellent service from Modric and Rakitic and will look to add to his impressive record in major international tournaments as he netted three times in the group stages of Euro 2012 and twice in two group games in the 2014 World Cup.

Group Analysis

This is undoubtedly the toughest of all the groups, with all four teams ranked in our top 13 of the 24 sides here. Croatia are 1.44 second favourites to make it out of the group, though the fact that both Czech Republic and Turkey are just 2.45 to get out shows how competitive this group is.

Expectations

We fancy Croatia to be a team that causes a big

surprise in this tournament and with a midfield

featuring Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and

Mateo Kovacic, they should be a threat to anyone.

They finished behind Italy in qualifying but were

unbeaten in their two meetings with the Azzurri and

overall both scored more and conceded fewer than the

Italians. They should have no problems qualifying as

this looks sure to be a group where three teams go

through from and from there they certainly have the

players to cause some upsets.







Form

05/06/2016 Czech Republic – South Korea FRI

01/06/2016 Czech Republic – Russia FRI

27/05/2016 Czech Republic – Malta FRI

28/03/2016 Sweden 1-1 Czech Republic FRI

24/03/2016 Czech Republic 0-1 Scotland FRI

17/11/2015 Poland 3-1 Czech Republic FRI

13/11/2015 Czech Republic 4-1 Serbia FRI

13/10/2015 Netherlands 2-3 Czech Republic EQ

10/10/2015 Czech Republic 0-2 Turkey EQ

06/09/2015 Latvia 1-2 Czech Republic EQ

03/09/2015 Czech Republic 2-1 Kazakhstan EQ

12/06/2015 Iceland 2-1 Czech Republic EQ

30/03/2015 Czech Republic 0-1 Slovakia FRI

28/03/2015 Czech Republic 1-1 Latvia EQ

16/11/2014 Czech Republic 2-1 Iceland EQ

13/10/2014 Kazakhstan 2-4 Czech Republic EQ

10/10/2014 Turkey 1-2 Czech Republic EQ

09/09/2014 Czech Republic 2-1 Netherlands EQ

03/09/2014 Czech Republic 0-1 USA FRI

03/06/2014 Czech Republic 1-2 Austria FRI

21/05/2014 Finland 2-2 Czech Republic FRI

05/03/2014 Czech Republic 2-2 Norway FRI

15/11/2013 Czech Republic 2-0 Canada FRI


CRO

0

0

0

0

0

CZE

0

0

0

0

0

SPA

0

0

0

0

0

TUR

0

0

0

0

0

CZECH REPUBLIC

FIFA Ranking: 29


Coach: Pavel Vrba


Czech Republic Squad


GK Petr Čech (Captain) 20/05/1982 118 0 Arsenal

GK Tomáš Vaclík 29/03/1989 6 0 Basel

GK Tomáš Koubek 26/08/1992 1 0 Slovan Liberec

DF Michal Kadlec 13/12/1984 63 8 Fenerbahçe

DF Tomáš Sivok 15/09/1983 52 5 Bursaspor

DF David Limberský 06/10/1983 35 1 Viktoria Plzeň

DF Theodor Gebre Selassie 24/12/1986 33 1 Werder Bremen

DF Daniel Pudil 27/09/1985 31 2 Sheffield Wednesday

DF Marek Suchý 29/03/1988 26 0 Basel

DF Roman Hubník 06/06/1984 24 2 Viktoria Plzeň

DF Pavel Kadeřábek 25/04/1992 15 2 1899 Hoffenheim

MF Tomáš Rosický 04/10/1980 100 22 Arsenal

MF Jaroslav Plašil 05/01/1982 97 6 Bordeaux

MF Vladimír Darida 08/08/1990 33 1 Hertha BSC

MF Daniel Kolář 27/10/1985 26 2 Viktoria Plzeň

MF Bořek Dočkal 30/09/1988 23 6 Sparta Prague

MF Ladislav Krejčí 05/07/1992 20 4 Sparta Prague

MF Josef Šural 30/05/1990 9 1 Sparta Prague

MF Jiří Skalák 12/03/1992 7 0 Brighton

MF David Pavelka 18/05/1991 5 0 Kasımpaşa

FW David Lafata 18/09/1981 37 8 Sparta Prague

FW Tomáš Necid 13/08/1989 36 9 Bursaspor

FW Milan Škoda 16/01/1986 7 2 Slavia Prague


Since taking charge, Vrba’s preferred formation has been 4-2-3-1 but he hasn’t been afraid of tweaking it depending on the opposition. He often went to a 4-4-2 against weaker opposition or to a 4-5-1 against stronger opposition, a tactic that proved successful when winning 3-2 away at the Netherlands in their final qualifying game

Czech Republic Key Personnel

Pavel Vrba Date of Birth


Czechoslovakia Appointed

January, 2014 Total Record

W8-D4-L7

Vrba took the national team job after an extremely successful spell with Viktoria Plzen between 2008 and 2013 when he won the league twice, the first league victories in the club’s history and also had some success in Europe. Since taking over the Czech Republic, Vrba picked up some notable results in qualification, beating the Netherlands twice and also winning in Turkey, who are in their group once again here.

Petr Cech GK

Arsenal

118 Caps, 0 Goals

34 Years Old

Despite now being 34, Cech is certainly up there with the likes of Lloris, Courtois, Buffon, Neuer and de Gea when it comes to the best goalkeepers in the tournament. He had a strong season with Arsenal as the Gunners achieved their highest league finish since 2004/05 and he also has a good record at the Euros, conceding only six goals in 11 appearances.

Tomas Rosicky AM

Arsenal

100 Caps, 22 Goals

35 Years Old

Rosicky barely featured for Arsenal this season and has been plagued by injuries in recent time, but it was his excellent performances at Euro 2004 that earnt him the move to North London and he remains an important part of the national team.

Tomas Necid ST

Bursapor

36 Caps, 9 Goals

26 Years Old

The second highest scorer in the squad behind Rosicky, Necid comes into this tournament on the back of a solid season with Busapor as he netted 11 times in 28 appearances, though it’s of slight concern that his strongest form was early on in the season as he failed to find the net in his final 11 league appearances.

Group Analysis

This is undoubtedly the toughest of all the groups, with all four teams ranked in our top 13 of the 24 sides here. The bookmakers can’t choose between Czech Republic and Turkey as they’re both 2.45 to qualify behind favourites Spain and Croatia.

Expectations

Czech Republic won their qualifying group but they did

so despite failing to keep a single clean sheet and with

comfortably the worst defensive record of all teams at

the Finals. In all matches leading up to the pre-

tournament friendlies they’ve gone 19 games without

a clean sheet and look the most vulnerable of the

teams in this group. They bring an experienced squad

with them but it lacks quality and of their six players

based in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues three are 34 or

over. As a result, we think they could well struggle in

this group and finish bottom.

Form

02/06/2016 England – Portugal FRI

27/05/2016 England – Australia FRI

22/05/2016 England – Turkey FRI

29/03/2016 England 1-2 Netherlands FRI

26/03/2016 Germany 2-3 England FRI

17/11/2015 England 2-0 France FRI

13/11/2015 Spain 2-0 England FRI

12/10/2015 Lithuania 3-0 England EQ

09/10/2015 England 2-0 Estonia EQ

08/09/2015 England 2-0 Switzerland EQ

05/09/2015 San Marino 0-6 England EQ

14/06/2015 Slovenia 2-3 England EQ

07/06/2015 England 0-0 ROI FRI

31/03/2015 Italy 1-1 England FRI

27/03/2015 England 4-0 Lithuania EQ

18/11/2014 Scotland 1-3 England FRI

15/11/2014 England 3-1 Slovenia EQ

12/10/2014 Estonia 0-1 England EQ

09/10/2014 England 5-0 San Marino EQ

08/09/2014 Switzerland 0-2 England EQ

03/09/2014 England 1-0 Norway FRI

24/06/2014 England 0-0 Costa Rica WC

19/06/2014 England 1-2 Uruguay WC

14/06/2014 England 1-2 Italy WC

07/06/2014 England 0-0 Honduras FRI

04/06/2014 England 2-2 Ecuador FRI

30/05/2014 England 3-0 Peru FRI

05/03/2014 England 1-0 Denmark FRI

19/11/2013 England 0-1 Germany FRI

15/11/2013 England 0-2 Chile FRI

FRI JUN 10 WAL v SVK 17:00, Stade de Bordeaux

SAT JUN 11 ENG v RUS 20:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille

WED JUN 15 RUS v SVK 14:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille

THU JUN 16 ENG v WAL 14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens

MON JUN 20 RUS v WAL 20:00, Stadium de Toulouse

MON JUN 20 SVK v ENG 20:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne


ENG

0

0

0

0

0

RUS

0

0

0

0

0

WAL

0

0

0

0

0

SVK

0

0

0

0

0

ENGLAND FIFA Ranking: 9


Coach: Roy Hodgson


England Squad


1 GK Joe Hart 19/04/1987 58 0 Manchester City

2 DF Kyle Walker 28/05/1990 15 0 Tottenham Hotspur

3 DF Danny Rose 02/07/1990 3 0 Tottenham Hotspur

4 MF James Milner 04/01/1986 59 1 Liverpool

5 DF Gary Cahill (vice-captain) 19/12/1985 42 3 Chelsea

6 DF Chris Smalling 22/11/1989 24 0 Manchester United

7 MF Raheem Sterling 08/12/1994 22 2 Manchester City

8 MF Adam Lallana 10/05/1988 22 0 Liverpool

9 FW Harry Kane 28/07/1993 11 5 Tottenham Hotspur

10 FW Wayne Rooney (captain) 24/10/1985 110 52 Manchester United

11 FW Jamie Vardy 11/01/1987 7 3 Leicester City

12 DF Nathaniel Clyne 05/04/1991 12 0 Liverpool

13 GK Fraser Forster 17/03/1988 6 0 Southampton

14 MF Jordan Henderson 17/06/1990 25 0 Liverpool

15 FW Daniel Sturridge 01/09/1989 17 5 Liverpool

16 DF John Stones 28/05/1994 10 0 Everton

17 MF Eric Dier 15/01/1994 6 1 Tottenham Hotspur

18 MF Jack Wilshere 01/01/1992 30 2 Arsenal

19 MF Ross Barkley 05/12/1993 22 2 Everton

20 MF Dele Alli 11/04/1996 7 1 Tottenham Hotspur

21 DF Ryan Bertrand 05/08/1989 8 0 Southampton

22 FW Marcus Rashford 31/10/1997 1 1 Manchester United

23 GK Tom Heaton 15/04/1986 1 0 Burnley


England’s formation all depends on how Hodgson utilises Rooney. A year ago it was a simple decision, play him in the hole behind Kane, but with the emergence of Vardy and Alli along with the England captain moving to midfield for his club, Hodgson now has a formation headache on his hands. Given Sterling is the only out-and-out winger in the squad, the midfield is likely to be very narrow in a 4-1-3-2 system with width offered by the full-backs. Dier will most likely in front of the defence while the three ahead of him will interchange and link up with the two up top.

England Key Personnel

Roy Hodgson Date of Birth


England Appointed May, 2012


Hodgson is a manager of vast experience both at international level with the likes of Finland and Switzerland and also in the club game with Inter and Liverpool amongst many others. Whilst England’s overall results since he took over have been impressive, he’ll be keen to improve upon his record in major international tournaments as his only wins have come against Ukraine and Sweden in the group stages of Euro 2012. Also of slight concern is the fact that the most significant trophies Hodgson has lifted in his long career are the Allsvenskan and Danish Superliga.

Joe Hart GK

Manchester City

57 Caps, 0 Goals

28 Years Old

This looks to be a vintage tournament for goalkeepers with Lloris, Courtois, Cech, Buffon, Neuer, de Gea all involved and if England are going to make it deep in the tournament then Hart is going to have to prove that he deserves his place amongst these sort of names. Despite City’s struggles this season, Hart has kept more clean sheets than anyone else in the Premier League so far this term and it was a similar story last season as he’s bounced back strongly from his blip in 2013/14 when he lost his position to Pantilimon for a period.

Dele Alli CM

Tottenham Hotspur

6 Caps, 1 Goal

19 Years Old

Delle Alli has proved a revelation for Spurs this season with seven goals and nine assists in 29 Premier League appearances. Seven of those assists were finished off by Harry Kane and if those two can take that form into this tournament then England fans may well have reason to be optimistic. Alli’s already started promisingly in the international arena by finding the net in a friendly against France in his first start for his country and was also impressive in the clashes with Germany and the Netherlands.

Harry Kane ST

Tottenham Hotspur

10 Caps, 4 Goals

22 Years Old

The Spurs hitman has silenced the doubters who suggested he might be a one season wonder after his exploits last term by becoming the first player since Ruud Van Nistelrooy to score 20 goals in each of his first two full Premier League seasons. He’s also the first Englishman to record 20 strikes in consecutive seasons since Alan Shearer, which is excellent company to be keeping.

Group Analysis

We rank England as the second worst of the six

group favourites but they’ve been handed a

fantastic draw as we have the average grading of

the other three teams in their group as lower than

in any other. With a useful advantage in our

gradings over the second best team, Russia, they

really should be winning this group.

Expectations

A perfect qualifying record has raised hopes of a first title in 50 years. A relatively easy group followed by a third-placed side and then a likely quarter-final with Portugal or Italy – neither of whom are particularly strong right now – is as much as any team could ask for. Portugal’s problem is the same as it’s been for the past 10 years – they are overly reliant on Ronaldo in attack and it’s why they’ve scored just 21 times in 20 games since the start of the 2014 World Cup. Italy’s problems are also in attack, with Daniele De Rossi being the only player in their squad with more than four international goals and neither do the newer players in the squad look like they have the quality to dominate at this level. Given those teams will face a tough Last 16 clash we’re perfectly happy to side with England.

Form

04/06/2016 France – Scotland FRI

30/05/2016 France – Cameroon FRI

29/03/2016 France 4-2 Russia FRI

25/03/2016 Netherlands 2-3 France FRI

17/11/2015 England 2-0 France EQ

13/11/2015 France 2-0 Germany EQ

11/10/2015 Denmark 1-2 France EQ

08/10/2015 France 4-0 Armenia EQ

07/09/2015 France 2-1 Serbia EQ

04/09/2015 Portugal 0-1 France FRI

13/06/2015 Albania 1-0 France FRI

07/06/2015 France 3-4 Belgium EQ

29/03/2015 France 2-0 Denmark FRI

26/03/2015 France 1-3 Brazil EQ

18/11/2014 France 1-0 Sweden EQ

14/11/2014 France 1-1 Albania EQ

14/10/2014 Armenia 0-3 France EQ

11/10/2014 France 2-1 Portugal FRI

07/09/2014 Serbia 1-1 France WC

04/09/2014 France 1-0 Spain WC

04/07/2014 France 0-1 Germany WC

30/06/2014 France 2-0 Nigeria FRI

25/06/2014 France 0-0 Ecuador FRI

20/06/2014 France 5-2 Switzerland FRI

15/06/2014 France 3-0 Honduras FRI

08/06/2014 France 8-0 Jamaica FRI

01/06/2014 France 1-1 Paraguay FRI

27/05/2014 France 4-0 Norway FRI

05/03/2014 France 2-0 Netherlands FRI








ALB

0

0

0

0

0

FRA

0

0

0

0

0

ROM

0

0

0

0

0

SWI

0

0

0

0

0

FRANCE FIFA Ranking: 21


Coach: Didier Deschamps


France Squad


1 GK Hugo Lloris (captain)

26/12/1986 73 0 Tottenham Hotspur

2 DF Christophe Jallet 31/10/1983 11 1 Lyon

3 DF Patrice Evra 15/05/1981 71 0 Juventus

4 DF Adil Rami 27/12/1985 26 1 Sevilla

5 MF N'Golo Kanté 29/03/1991 2 1 Leicester City

6 MF Yohan Cabaye 14/01/1986 44 4 Crystal Palace

7 FW Antoine Griezmann 21/03/1991 26 7 Atlético Madrid

8 MF Dimitri Payet 29/03/1987 17 2 West Ham United

9 FW Olivier Giroud 30/09/1986 47 14 Arsenal

10 FW André-Pierre Gignac 05/12/1985 25 7 Tigres UANL

11 FW Anthony Martial 05/12/1995 8 0 Manchester United

12 MF Morgan Schneiderlin

08/11/1989 15 0 Manchester United

13 DF Eliaquim Mangala 13/02/1991 7 0 Manchester City

14 MF Blaise Matuidi 09/04/1987 42 7 Paris Saint-Germain

15 MF Paul Pogba 15/03/1993 29 5 Juventus

16 GK Steve Mandanda 28/03/1985 22 0 Marseille

17 DF Lucas Digne 20/07/1993 12 0 Roma

18 MF Moussa Sissoko 16/08/1989 36 1 Newcastle United

19 DF Bacary Sagna 14/02/1983 55 0 Manchester City

20 FW Kingsley Coman 13/06/1996 4 1 Bayern Munich

21 DF Laurent Koscielny 10/09/1985 27 0 Arsenal

22 DF Samuel Umtiti 14/11/1993 0 0 Lyon

23 GK Benoît Costil 03/07/1987 0 0 Rennes


With no qualification process to go through, Deschamps has had plenty of time to find his best formation. He seems to have settled with 4-3-3 as a holding midfielder allows the other midfielders to join the attack. Kante’s and Payet’s impressive form this season could see him start while either Giroud or Gignac will play up top.

France Key Personnel

Didier Deschamps Date of Birth


France Appointed July, 2012


This is Deschamps’s second look at a major international tournament after his French side were knocked out of the World Cup by Germany in the quarter-finals. Since then, France have picked up some impressive friendly victories over the likes of Spain, Portugal and Germany. Despite being fairly young in his managerial career, Deschamps’s CV makes for impressive reading as he made to the Champions League final with Monaco, won Serie B with Juventus to get them back up to the top division and won the league and three league cups with Marseille.

Laurent Koscielny CB

Arsenal

27 Caps, 0 Goals

30 Years Old

With Varane ruled out of the tournament through injury, Koscielny is likely to be partnered by Mangala at centre back and while the Man City man fell behind Otamendi in the pecking order towards the end of the season, Koscielny has been a key player for Arsenal for several seasons now and will be vital to France’s hopes if they’re to go deep in the tournament.

Paul Pogba CM

Juventus

29 Caps, 5 Goals

23 Years Old

One of the hottest properties in world football, Pogba had another excellent season with Juve as he managed eight goals and 13 assists in 35 Serie A appearances. He impressed for France at the 2014 World Cup where he won the Best Young Player award and he’ll be keen to showcase his considerable talent once again on the big stage.

Antoine Griezmann

ST Atletico Madrid

26 Caps, 7 Goals

25 Years Old

Griezmann has had the best season of his career to lead Atletico Madrid to the Champions League Final as well as another impressive title challenge. He managed 32 goals and seven assists in 54 appearances in all competitions and while he’s unlikely to be the focal point of France’s attack, he could certainly be an option in that position or could pose a significant threat along with Martial, operating out wide.

Group Analysis

France are the clear favourites for Group A and at 1.36 they are the shortest of anyone in the tournament to win their group. On our ratings, the hosts and Switzerland are far clear of Albania and Romania, who look set to battle for third.

Expectations

Given how far clear we have France and Switzerland,

we don’t expect to see any upsets in Group A and

France should go through as winners. With the talents

of Griezmann, Martial and Pogba in their squad it is

easy to see why they are so fancied. The defence also

looks strong and while the midfield looked like it might

have lacked some quality in comparison with the likes

of Spain and Germany the form of Dimitri Payet and

N’Golo Kante this season has given them a couple

more excellent options. Should they win the group,

they have the easiest route of all in terms of getting to

the semi-finals, but should they get there, they could

well meet World Champions Germany.

Form

04/06/2016 Germany – Hungary FRI

29/05/2016 Germany – Slovakia FRI

29/03/2016 Germany 4-1 Italy FRI

26/03/2016 Germany 2-3 England FRI

13/11/2015 France 2-0 Germany FRI

11/10/2015 Germany 2-1 Georgia EQ

08/10/2015 Republic of Ireland 1-0 Germany EQ

07/09/2015 Scotland 2-3 Germany EQ

04/09/2015 Germany 3-1 Poland EQ

13/06/2015 Gibraltar 0-7 Germany EQ

10/06/2015 Germany 1-2 USA FRI

29/03/2015 Georgia 0-2 Germany EQ

25/03/2015 Germany 2-2 Australia FRI

18/11/2014 Spain 0-1 Germany FRI

14/11/2014 Germany 4-0 Gibraltar EQ

14/10/2014 Germany 1-1 Republic of Ireland EQ

11/10/2014 Poland 2-0 Germany EQ

07/09/2014 Germany 2-1 Scotland EQ

03/09/2014 Germany 2-4 Argentina FRI

13/07/2014 Germany 0-0 Argentina WC

08/07/2014 Brazil 1-7 Germany WC

04/07/2014 Germany 1-0 France WC

30/06/2014 Germany 0-0 Algeria WC

26/06/2014 Germany 1-0 USA WC

21/06/2014 Germany 2-2 Ghana WC

16/06/2014 Germany 4-0 Portugal WC

06/06/2014 Germany 6-1 Armenia FRI

01/06/2014 Germany 2-2 Cameroon FRI

13/05/2014 Germany 0-0 Poland FRI

05/03/2014 Germany 1-0 Chile FRI

19/11/2013 England 0-1 Germany FRI


SUN JUN 12 POL v NI 17:00, Stade de Nice

SUN JUN 12 GER v UKR 20:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille

THU JUN 16 UKR v NI 17:00, Stade de Lyon

THU JUN 16 GER v POL 20:00, Stade de France, Paris

TUE JUN 21 UKR v POL 17:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille

TUE JUN 21 NI v GER 17:00, Parc des Princes, Paris


GER

0

0

0

0

0

NI

0

0

0

0

0

POL

0

0

0

0

0

UKR

0

0

0

0

0

GERMANY FIFA Ranking: 5


Coach: Joachim Low


Germany Squad


1 GK Manuel Neuer 27/03/1986 64 0 Bayern Munich

2 DF Shkodran Mustafi 17/04/1992 10 0 Valencia

3 DF Jonas Hector 27/05/1990 12 1 1. FC Köln

4 DF Benedikt Höwedes 29/02/1988 32 2 Schalke 04

5 DF Mats Hummels 16/12/1988 46 4 Borussia Dortmund

6 MF Sami Khedira 04/04/1987 58 5 Juventus

7 MF Bastian Schweinsteiger (captain)

01/08/1984 114 23 Manchester United

8 MF Mesut Özil 15/10/1988 72 19 Arsenal

9 MF André Schürrle 06/11/1990 50 20 VfL Wolfsburg

10 FW Lukas Podolski 04/06/1985 127 48 Galatasaray

11 MF Julian Draxler 20/09/1993 17 1 VfL Wolfsburg

12 GK Bernd Leno 04/03/1992 0 0 Bayer Leverkusen

13 FW Thomas Müller 13/09/1989 70 31 Bayern Munich

14 DF Emre Can 12/01/1994 5 0 Liverpool

15 MF Julian Weigl 08/09/1995 0 0 Borussia Dortmund

16 DF Antonio Rüdiger 03/03/1993 9 0 Roma

17 DF Jérôme Boateng 03/09/1988 57 0 Bayern Munich

18 MF Toni Kroos 04/01/1990 64 11 Real Madrid

19 MF Mario Götze 03/06/1992 50 17 Bayern Munich

20 MF Leroy Sané 11/01/1996 1 0 Schalke 04

21 MF Joshua Kimmich 08/02/1995 0 0 Bayern Munich

22 GK Marc-André ter Stegen 30/04/1992 5 0 Barcelona

23 FW Mario Gómez 10/07/1985 62 26 Beşiktaş


Low has experimented with Gomez up top in a few recent friendlies after the striker barely featured during the qualifiers but we expect Muller to be first choice given his record in tournaments. Otherwise it should be their usual 4-2-3-1 formation that bought so much success two years ago.

Germany Key Personnel

Joachim Low Date of Birth


Germany Appointed July, 2006


Now vastly experienced as the German manager, Jogi Low made the breakthrough at the World Cup having hit the crossbar several times, making it to the final in his first major international tournament in the 2008 Euros, coming third in the 2010 World Cup and making the semis of the last Euros before the triumph in Brazil. His next test will be whether he can kick on now after the World Cup and have a similar spell of dominance to that enjoyed by Spain in recent times.

Jerome Boateng CB

Bayern Munich

57 Caps, 0 Goals

27 Years Old

Boateng’s injury in the second half of the second half of the season hampered Bayern’s Champions League bid and also saw Dortmund close the gap at the top of the Bundesliga, but the former Man City man returned for the final few games of the season and will be a key part of Germany’s defence now that Lahm and Mertesacker are no longer around.

Mesut Ozil AM

Arsenal

72 Caps, 19 Goals

27 Years Old

Ozil had an excellent season with Arsenal as he was named their player of the season and his 19 Premier League assists was just one short of the record held by Thierry Henry. He’s been named Germany’s Player of the Year four times since 2011 and was also part of the team of the tournament at the last Euros where he shared the top assists award.

Thomas Muller ST

Bayern Munich

70 Caps, 31 Goals

26 Years Old

Muller has a very respectable strike rate at international level and that improves to 26 in 47 if we only focus on competitive games. He scored a hat-trick in Germany’s opening game at the last World Cup when playing as a centre forward. He finished that tournament as the second highest scorer and was also the top scorer in the 2010 World Cup. However, he was shifted to the right wing for the knockouts in 2014 and Jogi Loew’s fluid tactics could see a fluid front four here with no out and out striker. Muller scored a personal best total of more than 30 goals for Bayern this season but was less prolific in the second half of the season compared to the first.

Group Analysis

The gap in our gradings between Germany and the

second best team in Group C, Ukraine, is a massive

36.7 points which is virtually the same as the

difference between the best and worst teams in Group

A, France and Albania. So Ukraine, Poland and

Northern Ireland should be playing for second place

here. Indeed, Germany are as short as 1.4 to top

Group C.

Expectations

Germany have been beaten five times since their

triumph in Brazil two years ago and made hard work of

qualifying. The retirements of Philipp Lahm and

Miroslav Klose, plus the decline of Bastian

Schweinsteiger, have had an impact but a dip between

major tournaments is not necessarily a major concern.

Spain lost four times between winning the World Cup

in 2010 and retaining their European title in 2012 but

while the Germans should have no problems with their

group, their draw puts us off backing them to follow in

Spain’s footsteps as they’re likely to meet hosts France

in the semis.







Form

04/06/2016 Germany – Hungary FRI

20/05/2016 Hungary – Ivory Coast FRI

26/03/2016 Hungary 1-1 Croatia FRI

15/11/2015 Hungary 2-1 Norway EQ

12/11/2015 Norway 0-1 Hungary EQ

11/10/2015 Greece 4-3 Hungary EQ

08/10/2015 Hungary 2-1 Faroe Islands EQ

07/09/2015 Northern Ireland 1-1 Hungary EQ

04/09/2015 Hungary 0-0 Romania EQ

13/06/2015 Finland 0-1 Hungary EQ

05/06/2015 Hungary 4-0 Lithuania FRI

29/03/2015 Hungary 0-0 Greece EQ

18/11/2014 Hungary 1-2 Russia FRI

14/11/2014 Hungary 1-0 Finland EQ

14/10/2014 Faroe Islands 0-1 Hungary EQ

11/10/2014 Romania 1-1 Hungary EQ

07/09/2014 Hungary 1-2 Northern Ireland EQ

06/06/2014 Hungary 3-0 Kazakhstan FRI

03/06/2014 Hungary 1-0 Albania FRI

22/05/2014 Hungary 2-2 Denmark FRI

05/03/2014 Hungary 1-2 Finland FRI


AUT

0

0

0

0

0

HUN

0

0

0

0

0

ICE

0

0

0

0

0

POR

0

0

0

0

0

HUNGARY FIFA Ranking: 18


Coach: Bernd Storck


Hungary Squad


GK Gábor Király 01/04/1976 102 0 Haladás

GK Dénes Dibusz 16/11/1990 4 0 Ferencváros

GK Péter Gulácsi 06/05/1990 3 0 RB Leipzig

DF Barnabás Bese 06/05/1994 0 0 MTK Budapest

DF Attila Fiola 17/02/1990 14 0 Puskás Akadémia

DF Richárd Guzmics 16/04/1987 13 1 Wisła Kraków

DF Roland Juhász 01/07/1983 91 6 Videoton

DF Tamás Kádár 14/03/1990 29 0 Lech Poznań

DF Mihály Korhut 01/12/1988 4 0 Debrecen

DF Ádám Lang 17/01/1993 10 0 Videoton

MF Ákos Elek 21/07/1988 38 1 Diósgyőri VTK

MF Zoltán Gera (vice-captain)

22/04/1979 88 24 Ferencváros

MF László Kleinheisler 08/04/1994 4 1 Werder Bremen

MF Gergő Lovrencsics 01/09/1988 11 1 Lech Poznań

MF Ádám Nagy 17/06/1995 7 0 Ferencváros

MF Ádám Pintér 12/06/1988 20 0 Ferencváros

MF Zoltán Stieber 16/10/1988 11 2 1. FC Nürnberg

FW Dániel Böde 24/10/1986 12 4 Ferencváros

FW Balázs Dzsudzsák (captain)

23/12/1986 77 18 Bursaspor

FW Krisztián Németh 05/01/1989 24 3 Al-Gharafa

FW Nemanja Nikolić 31/12/1987 18 3 Legia Warsaw

FW Tamás Priskin 27/09/1986 55 17 Slovan Bratislava

FW Ádám Szalai 09/12/1987 31 8 Hannover 96

Expected Line-Up: 4-1-4-1 Stork initially adopted a 4-4-2 formation when taking over last July but he changed it to a more defence minded 4-1-4-1 for their play-off against Norway which saw them win both legs. A holding midfielder is likely to protect the back four while the two wide men will support the loan striker.

Hungary Key Personnel

Bernd Storck Date of Birth


West Germany Appointed July, 2015


After taking over from Pal Dardai, who joined Hertha Berlin, Storck managed just one win in Hungary’s final four qualification games. As a result, they had to qualify for this tournament via that play-off agaisnt Norway. Having been an assistant with some of the bigger clubs in Germany, Storck managed Kazakhstan for a couple of years before returning to some junior management ahead of his current posistion with Hungary and as a result this will be his first major internatioanl tournament.

Zoltan Gera CM

Ferencvaros

88 Caps, 24 Goals

37 Years Old

The leading scorer in Hungary’s squad, Gera’s well known to Premier League fans after he spent a number of seasons with Fulham and West Brom. He’s now playing his club football back in Hungary, but he remains an important part of the national, playing slightly deeper in midfield than he did in his younger days.

Balazs Dzsudzsak RW

Bursaspor

77 Caps, 18 Goals

29 Years Old

Hungary’s skipper has only failed to start one of his country’s last 39 matches and in his first major international tournament, he’ll be keen to add to his tally of 18 international goals and assists.

Tamas Priskin ST

Slovan Bratislava

55 Caps, 17 Goals

29 Years Old

Priskin has a solid scoring record at the international level and comes into the tournament after a good season with Bratislava, netting 12 goals in 26 appearances. He all but put the playoff clash with Norway to bed as he scored the opening goal of the second leg to put his country 2-0 up on aggregate and Hungary will be looking to him to score more important goals at the tournament proper.

Group Analysis







six sides. Hungary are marginal outsiders behind

Iceland to make it out the group.

Expectations

Hungary have qualified for their first European Finals

since 1972 but winning just four of 10 matches while

scoring only 11 times (three of the four wins were 1-0)

in a group that was topped by Northern Ireland hardly

suggests a team that can compete at this level. The last

time they faced a team in the top 20 in our global

rankings was in qualifying for the last World Cup when

the Netherlands beat them 4-1 and 8-1. So 40 year old

Gabor Kiraly better expect plenty of action in goal as

we expect Hungary to struggle and most likely finish

bottom.

Form

06/06/2016 Iceland – Liechtenstein FRI

01/06/2016 Iceland – Norway FRI

29/03/2016 Greece 2-3 Iceland FRI

23/03/2016 Denmark 2-1 Iceland FRI

14/02/2016 Iceland 1-1 Poland FRI

31/01/2016 USA 3-2 Iceland FRI

16/01/2016 UAE 2-1 Iceland FRI

13/01/2016 Iceland 1-0 Finland FRI

17/11/2015 Slovakia 3-1 Iceland FRI

13/11/2015 Poland 4-2 Iceland FRI

13/10/2015 Turkey 1-0 Iceland EQ

10/10/2015 Iceland 2-2 Latvia EQ

06/09/2015 Iceland 0-0 Kazakhstan EQ

03/09/2015 Netherlands 0-1 Iceland EQ

12/06/2015 Iceland 2-1 Czech Republic EQ

31/03/2015 Iceland 1-1 Estonia FRI

28/03/2015 Kazakhstan 0-3 Iceland EQ

19/01/2015 Iceland 1-1 Canada FRI

16/01/2015 Iceland 2-1 Canada FRI

16/11/2014 Czech Republic 2-1 Iceland EQ

12/11/2014 Belgium 3-1 Iceland FRI

13/10/2014 Iceland 2-0 Netherlands EQ

10/10/2014 Latvia 0-3 Iceland EQ

09/09/2014 Iceland 3-0 Turkey EQ

03/06/2014 Iceland 1-0 Estonia FRI

29/05/2014 Iceland 1-1 Austria FRI

05/03/2014 Wales 3-1 Iceland FRI

21/01/2014 Iceland 0-2 Sweden FRI








AUT

0

0

0

0

0

HUN

0

0

0

0

0

ICE

0

0

0

0

0

POR

0

0

0

0

0

ICELAND FIFA Ranking: 35


Coach: Lars Lagerback & Heimir Hallgrimsson


Iceland Squad


1 GK Hannes Þór Halldórsson 28/04/1984 32 0 Bodø/Glimt

2 DF Birkir Már Sævarsson 11/11/1984 56 0 Hammarby IF

3 DF Haukur Heiðar Hauksson 01/09/1991 6 0 AIK

4 DF Hjörtur Hermannsson 08/02/1995 2 0 IFK Göteborg

5 DF Sverrir Ingi Ingason 05/08/1993 4 1 Lokeren

6 DF Ragnar Sigurðsson 19/06/1986 54 1 Krasnodar

7 MF Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson 27/10/1990 45 5 Charlton Athletic

8 MF Birkir Bjarnason 27/05/1988 46 6 Basel

9 FW Kolbeinn Sigþórsson 14/03/1990 37 19 Nantes

10 MF Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson 08/09/1989 37 12 Swansea City

11 FW Alfreð Finnbogason 01/02/1989 32 7 Augsburg

12 GK Ögmundur Kristinsson 19/06/1989 10 0 Hammarby IF

13 GK Ingvar Jónsson 18/10/1989 4 0 Sandefjord

14 DF Kári Árnason 13/10/1982 47 2 Malmö FF

15 FW Jón Daði Böðvarsson 25/05/1992 20 1 Kaiserslautern

16 MF Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson 18/06/1990 9 1 GIF Sundsvall

17 MF Aron Gunnarsson (captain) 22/04/1989 57 2 Cardiff City

18 MF Theódór Elmar Bjarnason 04/03/1987 25 0 AGF

19 DF Hörður Björgvin Magnússon 11/02/1993 3 0 Cesena

20 MF Emil Hallfreðsson 29/06/1984 52 1 Udinese

21 MF Arnór Ingvi Traustason 30/04/1993 6 3 IFK Norrköping

22 FW Eiður Guðjohnsen 15/09/1978 84 25 Molde FK

23 DF Ari Freyr Skúlason 14/05/1987 37 0 OB

Expected Line-Up: 4-4-2 Iceland’s bold 4-4-2 tactic during qualifiers proved successful as they surprised everyone to qualify from their group. In their six friendlies since they’ve adopted the same formation on four occasions. Gunnarsson will hold things together in midfield while Gylfi Sigurdsson takes on the playmaker role.

Iceland Key Personnel

Lars Lagerback & Heimir Hallgrimsson

Date of Births 16/07/48 & 10/06/67

Place of Birth Sweden & Iceland

Appointed November, 2013


In a slightly unusual setup, Iceland go into this tournament with joint managers. Hallgrimsson was formerly Lagerback’s assistant and will become the sole manager once the Swede retires at the end of this tournament. Lagerback is certainly an experienced international manager having spent a number of years with Sweden, before a spell with Nigeria and taking over with Iceland back in 2011. He managed to top his 2002 World Cup group ahead of England and Argentina, while he made it to the quarters of Euro 2004 with Sweden, so he certainly knows how to get the job done in big tournaments.

Ragnar Sigurdsson CB

Krasnodar

54 Caps, 1 Goal

29 Years Old

Sigurdsson has played an important part in an improving Krasnodar side that has finished 3

rd and 4

th in the Russian Premier League in

the last couple of seasons. He was part of the Krasnodar side that beat Dortmund in the group stages of the Europa League but his absence in the 2

nd leg of their last-32 clash with Sparta Prague was

significant as Krasnodar were thumped 3-0. He played every minute of Iceland’s qualification campaign and will be a key part of their defence here.

Gylfi Sigurdsson AM

Swansea

37 Caps, 12 Goals

26 Years Old

Sigurdsson managed just two goals and one assist in the first half of the season in a struggling Swansea side, but he hit a rich vein of form at the turn of the year, netting nine goals in his last 17 Premier League appearances for the Swans. Iceland will be hoping that he can carry than form into this tournament.

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson

ST Nantes

37 Caps, 19 Goals

26 Years Old

Sigthorsson has an excellent strike rate at the international level and will be glad to be back with the national team after enduring a difficult season with Nantes, as he managed just three goals and was largely on the fringes of the first team.

Group Analysis







six sides. Iceland are marginally preferred to Hungary

to qualify by bookmakers and are available at 2.35 to

do so.

Expectations

Iceland attracted some attention when they won six of

their first seven qualifying games but their form has

been poor since then. With 37 year old Eidur

Gudjohnsen in the squad it highlights the small pool of

players they have to pick from – which is not surprising

given their population of 330,000 is more than 2.5

million less than that of the next smallest qualifier. It is

still a squad that can cause an upset though, and they

did beat the Netherlands both home and away in

getting here. An opening game against Portugal offers

the chance of a major scalp and should they manage

an upset, then they’ll have a great chance of getting

out the group.

Form

06/06/2016 Italy – Finland FRI

29/05/2016 Italy – Scotland FRI


24/03/2016 Italy 1-1 Spain FRI

17/11/2015 Italy 2-2 Romania FRI

13/11/2015 Belgium 3-1 Italy FRI

13/10/2015 Italy 2-1 Norway EQ

10/10/2015 Azerbaijan 1-3 Italy EQ

06/09/2015 Italy 1-0 Bulgaria EQ

03/09/2015 Italy 1-0 Malta EQ

16/06/2015 Italy 0-1 Portugal FRI

12/06/2015 Croatia 1-1 Italy EQ

31/03/2015 Italy 1-1 England FRI

28/03/2015 Bulgaria 2-2 Italy EQ

18/11/2014 Italy 1-0 Albania FRI

16/11/2014 Italy 1-1 Croatia EQ

13/10/2014 Malta 0-1 Italy EQ

10/10/2014 Italy 2-1 Azerbaijan EQ

09/09/2014 Norway 0-2 Italy EQ

03/09/2014 Italy 2-0 Netherlands FRI

24/06/2014 Italy 0-1 Uruguay WC

20/06/2014 Italy 0-1 Costa Rica WC

14/06/2014 Italy 2-1 England WC

04/06/2014 Italy 1-1 Luxembourg FRI

31/05/2014 Italy 0-0 Republic of Ireland FRI

05/03/2014 Spain 1-0 Italy FRI

18/11/2013 Italy 2-2 Nigeria FRI

15/11/2013 Italy 1-1 Germany FRI








BEL

0

0

0

0

0

ITA

0

0

0

0

0

IRE

0

0

0

0

0

SWE

0

0

0

0

0

ITALY FIFA Ranking: 15


Coach: Antonio Conte


Italy Squad


1 GK Gianluigi Buffon (Captain) 28/01/1978 157 0 Juventus

2 DF Mattia De Sciglio 20/10/1992 22 0 Milan

3 DF Giorgio Chiellini 14/08/1984 83 6 Juventus

4 DF Matteo Darmian 02/12/1989 22 1 Manchester United

5 DF Angelo Ogbonna 23/05/1988 10 0 West Ham United

6 MF Antonio Candreva 28/02/1987 37 3 Lazio

7 FW Simone Zaza 25/06/1991 10 1 Juventus

8 MF Alessandro Florenzi 11/03/1991 16 2 Roma

9 FW Graziano Pellè 15/07/1985 12 5 Southampton

10 MF Thiago Motta 28/08/1982 25 1 Paris Saint-Germain

11 FW Ciro Immobile 20/02/1990 12 1 Torino

12 GK Salvatore Sirigu 12/01/1987 15 0 Paris Saint-Germain

13 GK Federico Marchetti 07/02/1983 11 0 Lazio

14 MF Stefano Sturaro 09/03/1993 0 0 Juventus

15 DF Andrea Barzagli 08/05/1981 55 0 Juventus

16 MF Daniele De Rossi 24/07/1983 102 17 Roma

17 FW Éder 15/11/1986 10 2 Internazionale

18 MF Marco Parolo 25/01/1985 19 0 Lazio

19 DF Leonardo Bonucci 01/05/1987 56 3 Juventus

20 FW Lorenzo Insigne 04/06/1991 9 2 Napoli

21 MF Federico Bernardeschi 16/02/1994 3 0 Fiorentina

22 MF Stephan El Shaarawy 27/10/1992 18 3 Roma

23 MF Emanuele Giaccherini 05/05/1985 24 3 Bologna

Expected Line-Up: 3-5-2 Conte rotated between four at the back and three at the back during an unbeaten qualifying campaign and we expect him to opt for the latter here in a 3-5-2 formation with two wing-backs getting forward and a holding midfielder as he will aim to build his team from a solid foundation. With Montolivo injured, De Rossi could regain his place and with no stand-out striker in the squad, Pelle could get the nod as a target man with Eder alongside him.

Italy Key Personnel

Antonio Conte Date of Birth


Italy Appointed

August, 2014 Total Record

W9-D6-L3

Having led Juventus to three successive Scudetti, Conte took over the Italy job from Cesare Prandelli following his side’s poor showing at the World Cup when they were knocked out at the group stages. Indeed, Conte himself is moving onto Chelsea after this tournament but he will hope that his side can repeat the feat he managed as a player when he was part of the Italy team that made it to the final of Euro 2000.

Gianluigi Buffon GK

Juventus

156 Caps, 0 Goals

38 Years Old

The seemingly ageless Buffon had another excellent season with Juventus as his tally of 21 Serie A clean sheets equalled his personal best and earned him the club’s player of the season award. He’s also been in the team of the tournament in the last two editions of the Euros and as Italy’s most capped player, he’ll want to add a European Championship to his 2006 World Cup medal, after Italy missed out in the final in 2012.

Giorgio Chiellini CB

Juventus

82 Caps, 6 Goals

31 Years Old

Another integral part of Juve’s excellent defence, Chiellini has played every minute of every match at Italy’s last two major tournaments, the 2014 World Cup and the 2013 Confederations Cup. With fellow Juventus defenders Barzagli and Bonucci also in the squad, Conte could use the aforementioned trio in a 3-5-2 formation that he himself employed when he was at Juventus, and should he do so, Italy could prove very difficult to break down.

Danielle De Rossi CM

Roma

101 Caps, 17 Goals

32 Years Old

Italy’s highest scoring midfielder’s season with Roma was somewhat interrupted by injury and he was similarly absent for large parts of Italy’s qualification campaign. However, now that he’s returned to fitness he can once again show what an important player he is for his country, as he did at the last Euros when he made it into the team of the tournament.

Group Analysis





eliminated at the group stage and Italy themselves are

as short as 1.35 to qualify from this group and 2.75 to

win it behind favourites Belgium.

Expectations

Italy were runners-up four years ago but they ended

that tournament with a negative goal difference after

being thrashed 4-0 in the final. After a disappointing

World Cup where they exited at the group stage

following defeats to Costa Rica and Uruguay there are

question marks about this generation’s ability to

compete at this level and dating back to the final four

years ago they’ve won just three of 21 matches against

teams in the top 20 of our rankings, while losing 11

times. The attack looks the major weakness in the

squad and Italy have scored more than twice in just

one of their last 34 matches going into their warm-up

friendlies. With Daniele De Rossi the only player in

their provisional squad with more than four

international goals this is a team that is vulnerable to

the sort of upset that Costa Rica performed on them

two years ago.







Form

04/06/2016 Northern Ireland – Slovakia FRI

27/05/2016 Northern Ireland – Belarus FRI

28/03/2016 Northern Ireland 1-0 Slovenia FRI

24/03/2016 Wales 1-1 Northern Ireland FRI

13/11/2015 Northern Ireland 1-0 Latvia FRI

11/10/2015 Finland 1-1 Northern Ireland EQ

08/10/2015 Northern Ireland 3-1 Greece EQ

07/09/2015 Northern Ireland 1-1 Hungary EQ

04/09/2015 Faroe Islands 1-3 N Ireland EQ

13/06/2015 Northern Ireland 0-0 Romania EQ

30/05/2015 Northern Ireland 1-1 Qatar FRI

29/03/2015 Northern Ireland 2-1 Finland EQ

25/03/2015 Scotland 1-0 Northern Ireland FRI

14/11/2014 Romania 2-0 Northern Ireland EQ

14/10/2014 Greece 0-2 Northern Ireland EQ

11/10/2014 N Ireland 2-0 Faroe Islands EQ

07/09/2014 Hungary 1-2 Northern Ireland EQ

04/06/2014 Chile 2-0 Northern Ireland FRI

30/05/2014 Uruguay 1-0 Northern Ireland FRI

05/03/2014 Northern Ireland 0-0 Cyprus FRI

15/11/2013 Turkey 1-0 Northern Ireland FRI


GER

0

0

0

0

0

NI

0

0

0

0

0

POL

0

0

0

0

0

UKR

0

0

0

0

0

N. IRELAND FIFA Ranking: 26


Coach: Michael O’Neill


N. Ireland Squad


GK Roy Carroll 30/09/1977 43 0 Notts County

GK Michael McGovern 12/07/1984 10 0 Hamilton Academical

GK Alan Mannus 19/05/1982 8 0 St Johnstone

DF Aaron Hughes 08/11/1979 99 1 Melbourne City

DF Chris Baird 25/02/1982 77 0 Derby County

DF Gareth McAuley 05/12/1979 60 7 West Bromwich Albion

DF Jonny Evans 03/01/1988 48 1 West Bromwich Albion

DF Craig Cathcart 06/02/1989 27 2 Watford

DF Conor McLaughlin 26/07/1991 17 0 Fleetwood Town

DF Lee Hodson 02/10/1991 15 0 Milton Keynes Dons

DF Paddy McNair 27/04/1995 8 0 Manchester United

DF Luke McCullough 15/02/1994 5 0 Doncaster Rovers

MF Steven Davis (Captain) 01/01/1985 82 8 Southampton

MF Niall McGinn 20/07/1987 41 2 Aberdeen

MF Corry Evans 17/07/1990 33 1 Blackburn Rovers

MF Oliver Norwood 12/04/1991 33 0 Reading

MF Shane Ferguson 12/07/1991 24 1 Millwall

MF Stuart Dallas 19/04/1991 13 1 Leeds United

FW Kyle Lafferty 16/09/1987 50 17 Birmingham City

FW Jamie Ward 12/05/1986 21 2 Nottingham Forest

FW Josh Magennis 15/05/1990 18 1 Kilmarnock

FW Will Grigg 03/07/1991 8 1 Wigan Athletic

FW Conor Washington 18/05/1992 3 2 Queens Park Rangers

Expected Line-Up: 4-5-1 In their friendlies, O’Neill has looked to get his wide men forward in a 4-3-3 formation and he’s also experimented with a 4-4-1-1, but it is likely that he’ll stick to his winning 4-5-1 formula from the qualifiers especially when up against the likes of Germany. Jonny Evans should move to left-back for the injured Brunt.

N. Ireland Key Personnel

Michael O’Neill Date of Birth


N. Ireland Appointed


O’Neill has led N. Ireland to their first ever European Championship and their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup, an achievement that earned him the Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award last year. If he can get N. Ireland out of their group, he could well become the first man to win the award two years in a row!

Jonny Evans CB

West Brom

60 Caps, 7 Goals

28 Years Old

The former Manchester United man was something of a utility man for Tony Pulis at West Brom this season as he operated at left back and even in midfield at times in addition to his preferred centre back position. He’s been an important part of Northern Ireland’s excellent defence that has only conceded four goals in the last nine matches he’s started.

Steven Davis CM

Southampton

81 Caps, 8 Goals

31 Years Old

Northern Ireland’s skipper was again a key part in Southampton’s overachieving side as he made 34 appearances and had an excellent finish to the campaign as he netted a brace against Spurs and followed that with another goal against Palace on the final day. Indeed, he’s scored three in his last six appearances for his country having played in a more advanced midfield position recently and will be one of Northern Ireland’s biggest goal threats at this tournament.

Kyle Lafferty ST

Birmingham City

49 Caps, 16 Goals

28 Years Old

Lafferty is the only player in the Northern Ireland squad to have a double-figure goals tally and he comes into this tournament with a point to prove having been largely on the fringes at Norwich this season, making just a single Premier League appearance before he spent the end of the season on loan at Birmingham.

Group Analysis

The gap in our gradings between Germany and the

second best team in Group C, Ukraine, is a massive

36.7 points which is virtually the same as the

difference between the best and worst teams in Group

A, France and Albania. So Ukraine, Poland and

Northern Ireland should be playing for second place

here. Northern Ireland are rated the least likely to

achieve that finish as they’re 3.75 outsiders to qualify.

Expectations

We rate Northern Ireland as the second worst side at

the Finals, ahead of Albania, and despite their success

in qualifying they look out of their depth. Since the

start of 2011 they’ve played 17 matches against teams

in the top 40 in our rankings and have won only twice

while losing 12 times and scoring just seven times. As a

result, we expect them to struggle and finish bottom of

Group C.

Form

06/06/2016 Poland – Lithuania FRI

01/06/2016 Poland – Netherlands FRI

26/03/2016 Poland 5–0 Finland FRI

23/03/2016 Poland 1-0 Serbia FRI


17/11/2015 Poland 3-1 Czech Republic FRI


11/10/2015 Poland 2-1 Republic of Ireland EQ

08/10/2015 Scotland 2-2 Poland EQ

07/09/2015 Poland 8-1 Gibraltar EQ

04/09/2015 Germany 3-1 Poland EQ

16/06/2015 Poland 0-0 Greece FRI

13/06/2015 Poland 4-0 Georgia EQ

29/03/2015 Republic of Ireland 1-1 Poland EQ

18/11/2014 Poland 2-2 Switzerland FRI

14/11/2014 Georgia 0-4 Poland EQ

14/10/2014 Poland 2-2 Scotland EQ

11/10/2014 Poland 2-0 Germany EQ

07/09/2014 Gibraltar 0-7 Poland EQ

06/06/2014 Poland 2-1 Lithuania FRI

13/05/2014 Germany 0-0 Poland FRI

04/03/2014 Poland 0-1 Scotland FRI

20/01/2014 Moldova 0-1 Poland FRI

18/01/2014 Norway 3-0 Poland FRI

18/11/2013 Poland 0-0 Republic of Ireland FRI

15/11/2013 Poland 0-2 Slovakia FRI








GER

0

0

0

0

0

NI

0

0

0

0

0

POL

0

0

0

0

0

UKR

0

0

0

0

0

POLAND FIFA Ranking: 27


Coach: Adam Nawalka


Poland Squad


1 GK Wojciech Szczęsny 18/04/1990 25 0 Roma

2 DF Michał Pazdan 21/09/1987 16 0 Legia Warsaw

3 DF Artur Jędrzejczyk 04/11/1987 17 2 Legia Warsaw

4 DF Thiago Cionek 21/04/1986 4 0 Palermo

5 MF Krzysztof Mączyński 23/05/1987 14 1 Wisła Kraków

6 MF Tomasz Jodłowiec 08/09/1985 42 1 Legia Warsaw

7 FW Arkadiusz Milik 28/02/1994 24 10 Ajax

8 MF Karol Linetty 02/02/1995 9 1 Lech Poznań

9 FW Robert Lewandowski (Captain) 21/08/1988 75 34 Bayern Munich

10 MF Grzegorz Krychowiak 29/01/1990 33 2 Sevilla

11 MF Kamil Grosicki 08/06/1988 37 8 Rennes

12 GK Artur Boruc 20/02/1980 62 0 Bournemouth

13 FW Mariusz Stępiński 12/05/1995 2 0 Ruch Chorzów

14 DF Jakub Wawrzyniak 07/07/1983 48 1 Lechia Gdańsk

15 DF Kamil Glik 03/02/1988 39 3 Torino

16 MF Jakub Błaszczykowski 14/12/1985 77 16 Fiorentina

17 MF Sławomir Peszko 19/02/1985 35 2 Lechia Gdańsk

18 DF Bartosz Salamon 01/05/1991 7 0 Cagliari

19 MF Piotr Zieliński 20/05/1994 13 3 Empoli

20 DF Łukasz Piszczek 03/06/1985 45 2 Borussia Dortmund

21 MF Bartosz Kapustka 23/12/1996 5 2 Cracovia

22 GK Łukasz Fabiański 18/04/1985 29 0 Swansea City

23 MF Filip Starzyński 27/05/1991 2 1 Zagłębie Lubin

Expected Line-Up: 4-2-3-1 Nawalka’s favoured formation during qualification was 4-4-2 but they moved impressively to a 4-2-3-1 towards the backend and that looks their most likely formation here. There’ll be two holding midfielders with Milik in behind key man Lewandowski with wingers either side.

Poland Key Personnel

Adam Nawalka Date of Birth


Poland Appointed

October, 2013 Total Record W13-D6-L3

Poland were the highest scorers in qualification and the fact that they managed to beat Germany in that campaign will no doubt form a large part of Nawalka’s team talk when they re-oppose them here. This is Nawalka’s first experience of a major international tournament as a manager, but he certainly knows what it takes to perform on the big stage as he was named in the team of the tournament in the 1978 World Cup.

Grzegorz Krychowiak

DM Sevilla

33 Caps, 2 Goals

26 Years Old

Linked with a move to Barcelona and Man United this summer, Krychowiak was an integral part of Sevilla’s Europa League winning side and in the league they struggled in his absence, managing just three clean sheets in the 12 games he missed.

Jakub Blaszczykowski

RW Fiorentina

77 Caps, 16 Goal

30 Years Old

Blaszczykowski struggled to get into the Dortmund side under Tuchel this season and as a result spent the season on loan at Fiorentina, where he was largely reduced to substitute appearances. He’ll be glad to get back on international duty as he’s comfortably Poland’s second highest scorer behind Lewandowski and since he’ll probably be looking for a new club after the tournament, he’ll want to put on a good show.

Robert Lewandowski

ST Bayern Munich

75 Caps, 34 Goals

27 Years Old

Lewandowski finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 30 goals in 32 appearances and over 40 goals in all competitions. He was also the top scorer in Euro 2016 qualifying with 13 strikes, although six of these did come against Gibraltar. After netting just once in a disappointing Euro 2012 campaign for Poland, he’ll be keen to make amends on the big stage here.

Group Analysis

The gap in our gradings between Germany and the second best team in Group C, Ukraine, is a massive 36.7 points which is virtually the same as the difference between the best and worst teams in Group A, France and Albania. So Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland should be playing for second place here. Poland are the favourites to finish behind Germany as they’re 1.36 to make it out of the group.

Expectations

Poland are certainly a team on the up. After a poor

2012 competition as co-hosts and then a disappointing

World Cup qualifying campaign they were impressive

in finishing just one point behind rivals Germany in

qualifying for these Finals. That included scoring more

than any other nation in getting here and also a win

over the World Champions. Indeed, their recent record

against Germany, of one defeat in four meetings since

2011, is excellent but repeating that in a major

tournament will undoubtedly be far harder.

Nonetheless, Ukraine’s lack of goals could cost them

and we’d expect Poland to be more ruthless against

Northern Ireland. That should mean that the Poles can

afford to draw when the teams meet in their final

group game and therefore we expect them to go

through behind Germany.







Form

08/06/2016 Portugal – Estonia FRI

02/06/2016 England – Portugal FRI

29/05/2016 Portugal – Norway FRI

28/03/2016 Portugal 2-1 Belgium FRI

24/03/2016 Portugal 0-1 Bulgaria FRI

17/11/2015 Luxembourg 0-2 Portugal FRI

14/11/2015 Russia 1-0 Portugal FRI

11/10/2015 Serbia 1-2 Portugal EQ

08/10/2015 Portugal 1-0 Denmark EQ

07/09/2015 Albania 0-1 Portugal EQ

04/09/2015 Portugal 0-1 France FRI

16/06/2015 Portugal 1-0 Italy FRI

13/06/2015 Armenia 2-3 Portugal EQ

31/03/2015 Portugal 0-2 Cape Verde FRI

29/03/2015 Portugal 2-1 Serbia EQ

18/11/2014 Portugal 1-0 Argentina FRI

14/11/2014 Portugal 1-0 Armenia EQ

14/10/2014 Denmark 0-1 Portugal EQ

11/10/2014 France 2-1 Portugal FRI

07/09/2014 Portugal 0-1 Albania EQ

26/06/2014 Portugal 1-2 Ghana WC

22/06/2014 Portugal 2-2 USA WC

16/06/2014 Portugal 0-4 Germany WC

10/06/2014 Portugal 5-1 ROI FRI

06/06/2014 Portugal 1-0 Mexico FRI

30/05/2014 Portugal 0-0 Greece FRI

05/03/2014 Portugal 5-1 Cameroon FRI


AUT

0

0

0

0

0

HUN

0

0

0

0

0

ICE

0

0

0

0

0

POR

0

0

0

0

0

PORTUGAL FIFA Ranking: 8


Coach: Fernando Santos


Portugal Squad


1 GK Rui Patrício 15/02/1988 43 0 Sporting CP

2 DF Bruno Alves 27/11/1981 84 10 Fenerbahçe

3 DF Pepe 26/02/1983 70 3 Real Madrid

4 DF José Fonte 22/12/1983 10 0 Southampton

5 DF Raphaël Guerreiro 22/12/1993 6 2 Lorient

6 DF Ricardo Carvalho 18/05/1978 84 5 Monaco

7 FW Cristiano Ronaldo (captain) 05/02/1985 125 56 Real Madrid

8 MF João Moutinho 08/09/1986 82 4 Monaco

9 FW Éder 22/12/1987 24 2 Lille

10 MF João Mário 19/01/1993 9 0 Sporting CP

11 DF Vieirinha 24/01/1986 20 1 Wolfsburg

12 GK Anthony Lopes 01/10/1990 4 0 Lyon

13 MF Danilo 09/09/1991 10 0 Porto

14 MF William Carvalho 07/04/1992 18 0 Sporting CP

15 MF André Gomes 30/07/1993 6 0 Valencia

16 MF Renato Sanches 18/08/1997 3 0 Benfica

17 FW Nani 17/11/1986 94 18 Fenerbahçe

18 FW Rafa Silva 17/05/1993 7 0 Braga

19 DF Eliseu 01/10/1983 15 1 Benfica

20 FW Ricardo Quaresma 26/09/1983 48 5 Beşiktaş

21 DF Cédric Soares 31/08/1991 10 0 Southampton

22 GK Eduardo 19/09/1982 35 0 Dinamo Zagreb

23 MF Adrien Silva 15/03/1989 8 0 Sporting CP


Santos has experimented in recent friendlies with a diamond formation with Nani and Ronaldo playing as a front two, but for much of the qualifying campaign he preferred a 4-3-3 and so we expect him to revert back to this. Ronaldo is likely to start up top but given the license to interchange with the wingers.

Portugal Key Personnel

Fernando Santos Date of Birth


Portugal Appointed

September, 2014 Total Record W11-D0-L5

Having spent time with various Greek and Portuguese clubs, Santos’ first international job was a very successful spell with Greece during which he made the quarter-finals at Euro 2012 and made it to the knockout stages for the first time in Greece’s history at the 2014 World Cup. That tournament experience will serve him well here as he leads a Portuguese side that has largely underperformed in recent years.

Pepe CB

Real Madrid

70 Caps, 3 Goals

33 Years Old

Though he embarrassed himself somewhat with his theatrical antics in the Champions League final, Pepe remains one of the best defenders in the world and alongside Real Madrid team mate Ronaldo, he’ll be keen to add an international trophy to the considerable list of his club honours.

Andre Gomes CM

Valencia

5 Caps, 0 Goals

22 Years Old

Gomes was one of the bright points in a disappointing Valencia campaign and his performances have earned him links to Manchester United. He was particular impressive for Benfica in the 2013/14 Europa League when they lost out to Sevilla in the final, as he was named in the team of the tournament despite being just 20 at the time.

Cristiano Ronaldo ST

Real Madrid

125 Caps, 56 Goals

31 Years Old

Ronaldo has scored more than 50 goals for Real Madrid this season – the sixth campaign in a row he’s achieved this. He’s also reached double figures in the Champions League for a fifth year in a row and he now plays increasingly through the middle for Portugal. He has an excellent record in the Euros with six goals and five assists in 14 appearances since he burst onto the scene at Euro 2004.

Group Analysis







six sides. As a result, Portugal are as short as 1.95 to

win the group.

Expectations

In the past three major tournaments, Portugal have

failed to score in half their 12 matches and they found

the net just 11 times in their eight qualifying matches

as all seven of their wins were by one goal margins.

Only once in Fernando Santos’ 16 games in charge

have Portugal scored more than twice and that was

against minnows Armenia.

With four of Ronaldo’s five goals in qualifying coming

against Armenia, and the lack of significant striking

support, Portugal’s problems in attack look like they

are set to continue. Austria look a more well-rounded

side and as a result, Portugal may have to go through

as runners up and should they do so, they would most

likely meet hosts France in the quarter-finals.

Form

31/05/2016 ROI – Belarus FRI

27/05/2016 ROI – Netherlands FRI

28/03/2016 ROI 2-2 Slovakia FRI

25/03/2016 ROI 1-0 Switzerland FRI

16/11/2015 ROI 2-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina EQ

13/11/2015 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 ROI EQ

11/10/2015 Poland 2-1 ROI EQ

08/10/2015 ROI 1-0 Germany EQ

07/09/2015 ROI 1-0 Georgia EQ

04/09/2015 Gibraltar 0-4 ROI EQ

13/06/2015 ROI 1-1 Scotland EQ

07/06/2015 ROI 0-0 England FRI

29/03/2015 ROI 1-1 Poland EQ

18/11/2014 ROI 4-1 USA FRI

14/11/2014 Scotland 1-0 ROI EQ

14/10/2014 Germany 1-1 ROI EQ

11/10/2014 ROI 7-0 Gibraltar EQ

07/09/2014 Georgia 1-2 ROI EQ

03/09/2014 ROI 2-0 Oman FRI

10/06/2014 ROI 1-5 Portugal FRI

06/06/2014 ROI 1-1 Costa Rica FRI

31/05/2014 ROI 0-0 Italy FRI

25/05/2014 ROI 1-2 Turkey FRI

05/03/2014 ROI 1-2 Serbia FRI

18/11/2013 ROI 0-0 Poland FRI

15/11/2013 ROI 3-0 Latvia FRI








BEL

0

0

0

0

0

ITA

0

0

0

0

0

IRE

0

0

0

0

0

SWE

0

0

0

0

0

REP. IRELAND FIFA Ranking: 31


Coach: Martin O’Neill


Rep. Ireland Squad


1 GK Keiren Westwood 23/10/1984 18 0 Sheffield Wednesday

2 DF Séamus Coleman 11/10/1988 33 0 Everton

3 DF Ciaran Clark 26/09/1989 16 2 Aston Villa

4 DF John O'Shea (captain) 30/04/1981 110 3 Sunderland

5 DF Richard Keogh 11/08/1986 11 1 Derby County

6 MF Glenn Whelan 13/01/1984 70 2 Stoke City

7 MF Aiden McGeady 04/04/1986 81 5 Sheffield Wednesday

8 MF James McCarthy 12/11/1990 35 0 Everton

9 FW Shane Long 22/01/1987 62 16 Southampton

10 FW Robbie Keane 08/07/1980 143 67 LA Galaxy

11 MF James McClean 22/04/1989 36 5 West Bromwich Albion

12 DF Shane Duffy 01/01/1992 2 0 Blackburn Rovers

13 MF Jeff Hendrick 31/01/1992 20 0 Derby County

14 FW Jonathan Walters 20/09/1983 38 10 Stoke City

15 DF Cyrus Christie 30/09/1992 4 1 Derby County

16 GK Shay Given 20/04/1976 133 0 Stoke City

17 DF Stephen Ward 20/08/1985 33 3 Burnley

18 MF David Meyler 29/05/1989 14 0 Hull City

19 MF Robbie Brady 14/01/1992 23 4 Norwich City

20 MF Wes Hoolahan 20/05/1982 29 2 Norwich City

21 FW Daryl Murphy 15/03/1983 20 0 Ipswich Town

22 MF Stephen Quinn 04/04/1986 13 0 Reading

23 GK Darren Randolph 12/05/1987 8 0 West Ham United


O’Neill played a 4-2-3-1 system for Ireland’s play-off games against Bosnia & Herzegovina and although he’s mixed it up a bit in their friendlies since, we expect him to revert back to this system with two midfielders sitting in-front of the back four and the wider players of the three expected to tuck in with the width offered by the full-backs. Long’s form for Southampton should see him start up front.

Rep. Ireland Key Personnel

Martin O’Neill Date of Birth


N Ireland Appointed

November, 2013 Total Record W10-D9-L5

Having spent a number of the years in the Premier League with Aston Vila and Sunderland, O’Neill took over the Ireland job and though he failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2014, he managed to make it to this tournament thanks to a playoff victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina and will be hoping for a good showing in his first major international tournament as a manager.

Seamus Coleman RB

Everton

33 Caps, 0 Goals

27 Years Old

Coleman’s established himself as one of the best right-backs in the Premier League in recent times and he was named in the team of the season in 2013/14 when he managed six goals and two assists. His season with Everton this time around was disrupted somewhat by injury, but he’ll be keen to get back to the level he showed a couple of seasons ago in his first major international tournament.

James McCarthy CM

Everton

35 Caps, 0 Goals

25 Years Old

Coleman’s Everton team mate, McCarthy, has proved a key player for the Toffees in the last couple of seasons as they’ve only won three of the 20 games he didn’t start in that time with a PPG of just 0.95, compared with 1.36 in the 56 matches he did line up in that period. The Republic of Ireland similarly struggled in his absence in qualifying as they only managed to win one of the three games he missed, and that was against Gibraltar.

Shane Long ST

Southampton

61 Caps, 15 Goals

29 Years Old

Long had a good season with Southampton, netting 10 times in 28 Premier League appearances, with four assists to boot and finished off the season strongly, with three goals and three assists in his last six games. Indeed, he has two goals and two assists in his last three appearances for his country and will be looking to take his strong form into the tournament itself.

Group Analysis





eliminated at the group stage. The Republic of Ireland

are rated as outsiders by the bookmakers to make it

out of the group and are available at 2.25 to do so.

Expectations

The Irish will no doubt relish the underdog tag after

almost qualifying automatically from a group featuring

Germany. Their tactics will be pretty obvious though,

as when excluding their two games against Gibraltar,

they scored just eight times in eight qualifiers and it’ll

be a case of getting men behind the ball and hoping to

nick a goal from a set piece or counter-attack while

preserving their clean sheet. There’s very little

between them and Sweden and the result of their

meeting in the first group game should decide who

comes third. However, they’ve lost just one of their

five games against Italy since the start of 2009, with a

goalless draw just before the last World Cup in their

last meeting, and could be exactly the sort of side the

Azzurri struggle with. With that in mind, Ireland could

well make it out of the group.

Form

03/06/2016 Romania – Georgia FRI

29/05/2016 Romania – Ukraine FRI

25/05/2016 Romania – Congo DR FRI

27/03/2016 Romania 0-0 Spain FRI

23/03/2016 Romania 1-0 Lithuania FRI

17/11/2015 Romania 2-2 Italy FRI

11/10/2015 Faroe Islands 0-3 Romania EQ

08/10/2015 Romania 1-1 Finland EQ

07/09/2015 Romania 0-0 Greece EQ

04/09/2015 Hungary 0-0 Romania EQ

13/06/2015 Northern Ireland 0-0 Romania EQ

29/03/2015 Romania 1-0 Faroe Islands EQ

13/02/2015 Romania 1-2 Moldova FRI

07/02/2015 Romania 0-0 Bulgaria FRI

18/11/2014 Romania 2-0 Denmark FRI

14/11/2014 Romania 2-0 Northern Ireland EQ

14/10/2014 Finland 0-2 Romania EQ

11/10/2014 Romania 1-1 Hungary EQ

07/09/2014 Greece 0-1 Romania EQ

03/06/2014 Romania 1-2 Algeria FRI

30/05/2014 Romania 0-1 Albania FRI

05/03/2014 Romania 0-0 Argentina FRI








ALB

0

0

0

0

0

FRA

0

0

0

0

0

ROM

0

0

0

0

0

SWI

0

0

0

0

0

ROMANIA FIFA Ranking: 19


Coach: Anghel Iordanescu


Romania Squad


1 GK Costel Pantilimon 01/02/1987 22 0 Watford

2 DF Alexandru Mățel 17/10/1989 16 0 Dinamo Zagreb

3 DF Răzvan Raț 26/05/1981 110 2 Rayo Vallecano

4 DF Cosmin Moți 03/12/1984 7 0 Ludogorets Razgrad

5 MF Ovidiu Hoban 27/12/1982 19 1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva

6 DF Vlad Chiricheș (captain)

14/11/1989 40 0 Napoli

7 MF Alexandru Chipciu 18/05/1989 20 3 Steaua București

8 MF Mihai Pintilii 09/11/1984 30 1 Steaua București

9 FW Denis Alibec 05/01/1991 3 1 Astra Giurgiu

10 MF Nicolae Stanciu 07/05/1993 4 3 Steaua București

11 MF Gabriel Torje 22/11/1989 49 10 Osmanlıspor

12 GK Ciprian Tătărușanu 09/02/1986 35 0 Fiorentina

13 FW Claudiu Keșerü 02/12/1986 12 4 Ludogorets Razgrad

14 FW Florin Andone 11/04/1993 5 1 Córdoba

15 DF Valerică Găman 25/02/1989 13 1 Astra Giurgiu

16 DF Steliano Filip 15/05/1994 4 0 Dinamo București

17 MF Lucian Sânmărtean 13/03/1980 19 0 Al-Ittihad

18 MF Andrei Prepeliță 08/12/1985 9 0 Ludogorets Razgrad

19 FW Bogdan Stancu 28/06/1987 39 9 Gençlerbirliği

20 MF Adrian Popa 24/07/1988 13 0 Steaua București

21 DF Dragoș Grigore 07/09/1986 19 0 Al-Sailiya

22 DF Cristian Săpunaru 05/04/1984 12 0 Pandurii Târgu Jiu

23 GK Silviu Lung Jr. 04/06/1989 3 0 Astra Giurgiu


The favoured formation is likely to be 4-2-3-1 as the central midfielders are tasked with protecting the back four while the wide players look to join in the attack. This can easily be tweaked to a 4-4-1-1 if the Romanians are up against stronger opposition.

Romania Key Personnel

Anghel Iordanescu Date of Birth 04/05/1950

Place of Birth Romania

Appointed October, 2014 Total Record

W5-D6-L0

Iordanescu is currently in his third spell as Romanian manager and the highlight of his career with the national team so far was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup. He’s a vastly experienced manager both at the club and international level and since he’s unbeaten in his current spell with Romania, he’ll hope for a good showing in these championships.

Vlad Chiriches CB

Napoli

39 Caps, 0 Goals

26 Years Old

The former Spurs man struggled to break into the Napoli team this season, but he remains a key player for Romania, having played every minute of their unbeaten qualification campaign and he was also handed the captaincy in recent times.

Nicolae Stanciu AM

Steaua Bucharest

3 Caps, 2 Goals

23 Years Old

Stanciu’s had an excellent start to his international career with two goals in three appearances and he had a similarly good season with Steaua as he managed nine goals and six assists in 20 league starts.

Gabriel Torje RW

Osmanlispor

48 Caps, 9 Goals

26 Years Old

Torje is the joint highest scorer in Romania’s squad, along with Bogdan Stancu. He had an excellent start to the season with Osmanlispor, with two goals and four assists in his first six games, but his campaign was hit by injury and now that he’s returned to full fitness, he’ll hope to get back to the level he showed at the start of the campaign.

Group Analysis Romania are rated as 1.83 third favourites to make it out of Group A, where France and Switzerland are very much expected to be the ones to finish first and second. Indeed, the gap in our gradings between the top two and the others in this group is larger than any other group and with that in mind an upset looks unlikely. Expectations

While Romania might have come through qualifying

unbeaten they were in a very easy group, which saw

Northern Ireland and Hungary also advance.

Furthermore, they actually won only half their 10

matches while scoring just 11 times. However,

Iordsnescu has made them hard to beat and they did

pick up draws with Italy and Spain in friendlies in

November and March. Their lack of goals though will

make it tough for them to win matches and could also

let them down if they are challenging for a knockout

spot as a third-placed side.

Form

05/06/2016 Serbia – Russia FRI

01/06/2016 Russia – Czech Republic FRI

29/03/2016 France 4-2 Russia FRI

26/03/2016 Russia 3-0 Lithuania FRI

17/11/2015 Russia 1-3 Croatia FRI

14/11/2015 Russia 1-0 Portugal FRI

12/10/2015 Russia 2-0 Montenegro EQ

09/10/2015 Moldova 1-2 Russia EQ

08/09/2015 Liechtenstein 0-7 Russia EQ

05/09/2015 Russia 1-0 Sweden EQ

14/06/2015 Russia 0-1 Austria EQ

07/06/2015 Russia 2-4 Belarus FRI

31/03/2015 Russia 0-0 Kazakhstan FRI

27/03/2015 Montenegro 0-3 Russia EQ

18/11/2014 Hungary 1-2 Russia FRI

15/11/2014 Austria 1-0 Russia EQ

12/10/2014 Russia 1-1 Moldova EQ

09/10/2014 Sweden 1-1 Russia EQ

08/09/2014 Russia 4-0 Liechtenstein EQ

03/09/2014 Russia 4-0 Azerbaijan FRI

26/06/2014 Russia 1-1 Algeria WC

22/06/2014 Russia 0-1 Belgium WC

17/06/2014 Russia 1-1 Korea Republic WC

06/06/2014 Russia 2-0 Morocco FRI

31/05/2014 Russia 1-1 Norway FRI

26/05/2014 Russia 1-0 Slovakia FRI

05/03/2014 Russia 2-0 Armenia FRI

19/11/2013 Russia 2-1 Korea Republic FRI

15/11/2013 Russia 1-1 Serbia FRI








ENG

0

0

0

0

0

RUS

0

0

0

0

0

WAL

0

0

0

0

0

SVK

0

0

0

0

0

RUSSIA FIFA Ranking: 27


Coach: Leonid Slutsky


Russia Squad


1 GK Igor Akinfeev 08/04/1986 86 0 CSKA Moscow

2 DF Roman Shishkin 27/01/1987 10 0 Lokomotiv Moscow

3 DF Igor Smolnikov 08/08/1988 12 0 Zenit Saint Petersburg

4 DF Sergei Ignashevic 14/07/1979 115 8 CSKA Moscow

5 DF Roman Neustädter 18/02/1988 0 0 Schalke 04

6 DF Aleksei Berezutski 20/06/1982 57 0 CSKA Moscow

7 MF Igor Denisov 17/05/1984 52 0 Dynamo Moscow

8 MF Denis Glushakov 27/01/1987 42 4 Spartak Moscow

9 FW Aleksandr Kokorin 19/03/1991 37 11 Zenit Saint Petersburg

10 FW Fyodor Smolov 05/02/1990 12 5 Krasnodar

11 MF Pavel Mamayev 17/09/1988 10 0 Krasnodar

12 GK Yuri Lodygin 26/05/1990 10 0 Zenit Saint Petersburg

13 MF Aleksandr Golovin 30/05/1996 3 2 CSKA Moscow

14 DF Vasili Berezutski 20/06/1982 93 4 CSKA Moscow

15 MF Roman Shirokov (Captain)

06/07/1981 53 13 CSKA Moscow

16 GK Guilherme Marinato 12/12/1985 1 0 Lokomotiv Moscow

17 MF Oleg Shatov 29/06/1990 21 2 Zenit Saint Petersburg

18 MF Oleg Ivanov 04/08/1986 3 0 Terek Grozny

19 MF Aleksandr Samedov 19/07/1984 28 3 Lokomotiv Moscow

20 MF Dmitri Torbinski 28/04/1984 28 2 Krasnodar

21 DF Georgi Shchennikov 27/04/1991 7 0 CSKA Moscow

22

FW Artyom Dzyuba 22/08/1988 16 8 Zenit Saint Petersburg

23 DF Dmitri Kombarov 22/01/1987 38 2 Spartak Moscow


Despite the injury to key man Dzagoev in central midfield, Slutsky is unlikely to tinker with his formation too much and will bring in a more defence minded midfielder to sit deeper with Denisov allowing Shirikov and the wingers to push forward.

Russia Key Personnel

Leonid Slutsky Date of Birth


Russia Appointed

August, 2015 Total Record

W6-D0-L2

Slutsky is doing the national team job in conjunction with his position as CSKA Moscow, where he’s had a highly successful spell in charge, winning the Russian title three times since he took over in 2009/10. He had an excellent start with the national team, winning his first five games, but he’s since suffered a couple of friendly defeats against Croatia and France.

Igor Akinfeev GK

CSKA Moscow

86 Caps, 0 Goals

30 Years Old

A one-club man, Akinfeev has regularly been linked with a move away from CSKA to one of Europe’s top clubs, but has resisted their overtures. He has more professional clean sheets than any other Russian keeper and as a result has reasonable claims to be his country’s greatest ever shot-stopper.

Aleksandr Kokorin RW

Zenit Saint Petersburg

37 Caps, 11 Goals

25 Years Old

A versatile attacking player that can play on either wing or through the middle, Kokorin has 43 goals and 23 assists in 181 appearances in Russia’s top division and his record in competitive internationals is similarly impressive as he’s managed eight goals and two assists in 21 appearances.

Artem Dzyuba ST

Zenit Saint Petersburg

16 Caps, 8 Goals

27 Years Old

All eight of Dzyuba’s international goals came in qualification, though five of these were against Liechtenstein. He had an excellent season with Zenit as he managed 15 goals and nine assists in 30 appearances and he was also very impressive in the Champions League as he managed six goals and two assists in just eight games.

Group Analysis

We rank England as the second worst of the six group

favourites but they’ve been handed a fantastic draw as

we have the average grading of the other three teams

in their group as lower than in any other. Russia are

the second best team in this group according to our

gradings and are 1.4 second favourites behind England

to make it to the knockout stages.

Expectations

Russia bring the oldest squad with them and look to be

a team on a downward trajectory. They scored 11

times in their two qualifying wins over Moldova but

just 10 goals in their other eight matches, as they went

W4-D2-L2. Since making the semis at Euro 2008, their

tournament form has been poor as they failed to

qualify for the 2010 World Cup and won just one of six

group matches at Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 as

they failed to reach the knockouts at either. However,

there is some hope for them in their improved form

since Leonid Slutsky took over from Fabio Capello in

August. They should make it out the group but may

well have to do in 3rd as both Wales and Slovakia look

capable of upsetting them.

Form

04/06/2016 Slovakia – Northern Ireland FRI

29/05/2016 Germany – Slovakia FRI

27/05/2016 Slovakia – Georgia FRI

28/03/2016 ROI 2-2 Slovakia FRI

24/03/2016 Slovakia 0-0 Latvia FRI

17/11/2015 Slovakia 3-1 Iceland FRI

13/11/2015 Slovakia 3-2 Switzerland FRI

12/10/2015 Luxembourg 2-4 Slovakia EQ

09/10/2015 Slovakia 0-1 Belarus EQ

08/09/2015 Slovakia 0-0 Ukraine EQ

05/09/2015 Spain 2-0 Slovakia EQ

14/06/2015 Slovakia 2-1 FYR Macedonia EQ

30/03/2015 Slovakia 1-0 Czech Republic FRI

27/03/2015 Slovakia 3-0 Luxembourg EQ

18/11/2014 Slovakia 2-1 Finland FRI

15/11/2014 FYR Macedonia 0-2 Slovakia EQ

12/10/2014 Belarus 1-3 Slovakia EQ

09/10/2014 Slovakia 2-1 Spain EQ

08/09/2014 Ukraine 0-1 Slovakia EQ

04/09/2014 Slovakia 1-0 Malta FRI

26/05/2014 Russia 1-0 Slovakia FRI

23/05/2014 Slovakia 2-0 Montenegro FRI

05/03/2014 Israel 1-3 Slovakia FRI

19/11/2013 Slovakia 0-0 Gibraltar FRI

15/11/2013 Poland 0-2 Slovakia FRI








ENG

0

0

0

0

0

RUS

0

0

0

0

0

WAL

0

0

0

0

0

SVK

0

0

0

0

0

SLOVAKIA FIFA Ranking: 32


Coach: Jan Kozak


Slovakia Squad


GK Ján Mucha 05/12/1982 45 0 Slovan Bratislava

GK Matúš Kozáčik 27/12/1983 15 0 Viktoria Plzeň

GK Ján Novota 29/11/1983 2 0 Rapid Wien

DF Martin Škrtel (captain) 15/12/1984 79 5 Liverpool

DF Ján Ďurica 10/12/1981 77 4 Lokomotiv Moscow

DF Peter Pekarík 30/10/1986 65 2 Hertha BSC

DF Tomáš Hubočan 17/09/1985 44 0 Dynamo Moscow

DF Kornel Saláta 24/01/1985 36 2 Slovan Bratislava

DF Dušan Švento 01/08/1985 36 1 1. FC Köln

DF Norbert Gyömbér 03/07/1992 12 0 Roma

DF Milan Škriniar 11/02/1995 0 0 Sampdoria

MF Marek Hamšík 27/07/1987 85 17 Napoli

MF Stanislav Šesták 16/12/1982 63 13 Ferencváros

MF Miroslav Stoch 19/10/1989 52 6 Bursaspor

MF Vladimír Weiss 30/11/1989 50 4 Al-Gharafa

MF Juraj Kucka 26/02/1987 45 4 Milan

MF Viktor Pečovský 24/05/1983 30 1 Žilina

MF Róbert Mak 08/03/1991 26 7 PAOK

MF Ondrej Duda 05/12/1994 9 1 Legia Warsaw

MF Patrik Hrošovský 22/04/1992 9 0 Viktoria Plzeň

MF Ján Greguš 29/01/1991 5 0 Baumit Jablonec

FW Michal Ďuriš 01/06/1988 23 3 Viktoria Plzeň

FW Adam Nemec 02/09/1985 20 4 Willem II


Slovakia generally set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation during qualification as two midfielders protected the back four allowing Hamsik to push further forward. Kozak has flirted with a 4-5-1 in more recent friendlies but went back to this more familiar system when defeating Germany 3-1 and it is likely that he’ll stick to that.

Slovakia Key Personnel

Jan Kozak Date of Birth


Czechoslovakia Appointed July, 2013


Kozak has an excellent record with Slovakia, leading them to their first European Championships thanks to an excellent qualification campaign, the highlight of which was a 2-1 at home against Spain. As a player he was part of a Czechoslovakia side that managed to finish third in the 1980 Euros but it is slightly concerning that he’s only managed to pick up a single Slovak Cup in his last 10 years of management.

Martin Skrtel CB

Liverpool

79 Caps, 5 Goals

31 Years Old

Slovakia’s skipper, Skrtel’s season with Liverpool was hit by injury, but with over 300 appearances for the Anfield club, he is a vastly experienced defender and will be key to Slovakia’s chances at this tournament.

Juraj Kucka CM

AC Milan

45 Caps, 4 Goals

29 Years Old

Kucka was a regular for Milan this season after making the move from Genoa and he is something of a ‘midfield hard-man’, having picked up 11 yellow cards over the course of the season which meant he had to serve two suspensions. However, he does offer a threat going forward and found the net in the victory over Spain in qualification.

Marek Hamsik CM

Napoli

85 Caps, 17 Goals

28 Years Old

Hamsik is the highest goalscorer in Slovakia’s squad and managed five goals in qualification. He had another good season as Napoli’s skipper with six goals and 11 assists in Serie A, to go with the seven goals and 13 assists he managed in 2014/15.

Group Analysis




in their group as lower than in any other. Slovakia are

the 2.25 outsiders to make it out of a Group that looks

fairly evenly matched with the exception of England.

Expectations

Slovakia beat both Spain and Ukraine in qualifying as

they made it to their second major Finals. Much like

Wales they are a squad built around one star player in

Marek Hamsik. The Napoli star also top scored for his

nation in qualifying but, as with Wales, against better

teams the lack of support elsewhere in the team is

likely to be exposed. As a result, Slovakia could

struggle to make it out the group.

Form

07/06/2016 Spain – Georgia FRI

01/06/2016 Spain – South Korea FRI

29/05/2016 Spain – Bosnia-Herzegovina FRI

27/03/2016 Romania 0-0 Spain FRI

24/03/2016 Italy 1-1 Spain FRI

13/11/2015 Spain 2-0 England FRI

12/10/2015 Ukraine 0-1 Spain EQ

09/10/2015 Spain 4-0 Luxembourg EQ

08/09/2015 FYR Macedonia 0-1 Spain EQ

05/09/2015 Spain 2-0 Slovakia EQ

14/06/2015 Belarus 0-1 Spain EQ

11/06/2015 Spain 2-1 Costa Rica FRI

31/03/2015 Netherlands 2-0 Spain FRI

27/03/2015 Spain 1-0 Ukraine EQ

18/11/2014 Spain 0-1 Germany FRI

15/11/2014 Spain 3-0 Belarus EQ

12/10/2014 Luxembourg 0-4 Spain EQ

09/10/2014 Slovakia 2-1 Spain EQ

08/09/2014 Spain 5-1 FYR Macedonia EQ

04/09/2014 Spain 0-1 France FRI

23/06/2014 Spain 3-0 Australia WC

18/06/2014 Spain 0-2 Chile WC

13/06/2014 Spain 1-5 Netherlands WC

07/06/2014 Spain 2-0 El Salvador FRI

30/05/2014 Spain 2-0 Bolivia FRI

05/03/2014 Spain 1-0 Italy FRI

19/11/2013 South Africa 1-0 Spain FRI

16/11/2013 Equatorial Guinea 1-2 Spain FRI








CRO

0

0

0

0

0

CZE

0

0

0

0

0

SPA

0

0

0

0

0

TUR

0

0

0

0

0

SPAIN FIFA Ranking: 6


Coach: Vicente del Bosque


Spain Squad


GK Iker Casillas (captain) 20/05/1981 166 0 Porto

GK David de Gea 07/11/1990 8 0 Manchester United

GK Sergio Rico 01/09/1993 0 0 Sevilla

DF Sergio Ramos 30/03/1986 131 10 Real Madrid

DF Gerard Piqué 02/02/1987 75 4 Barcelona

DF Jordi Alba 21/03/1989 41 6 Barcelona

DF Juanfran 09/01/1985 17 0 Atlético Madrid

DF César Azpilicueta 28/08/1989 13 0 Chelsea

DF Marc Bartra 15/01/1991 8 0 Barcelona

DF Mikel San José 30/05/1989 5 0 Athletic Bilbao

DF Héctor Bellerín 19/03/1995 1 0 Arsenal

MF Andrés Iniesta (VC) 11/05/1984 107 13 Barcelona

MF Cesc Fàbregas 04/05/1987 103 14 Chelsea

MF David Silva 08/01/1986 96 23 Manchester City

MF Sergio Busquets 16/07/1988 82 2 Barcelona

MF Koke 08/01/1992 22 0 Atlético Madrid

MF Thiago 11/04/1991 8 0 Bayern Munich

MF Bruno Soriano 12/06/1984 6 0 Villarreal

MF Lucas Vázquez 01/07/1991 0 0 Real Madrid

FW Pedro 28/07/1987 55 16 Chelsea

FW Álvaro Morata 23/10/1992 8 1 Juventus

FW Nolito 15/10/1986 7 2 Celta Vigo

FW Aritz Aduriz 11/02/1981 3 1 Athletic Bilbao


Under Del Bosque, Spain’s tika-taka philosophy will always remain the same. Given the lack of a stand-out striker in the squad there is no doubt they will pack the midfield as Busquets will sit deep while the likes of Iniesta, Fabregas and Silva dictate play. The exclusion of Diego Costa means they could even go with a 4-3-3 with Fabregas in the ‘false nine’ role. However, they’ve played with a front man throughout the qualifiers so a 4-5-1 formation is more likely.

Spain Key Personnel

Vicente Del Bosque Date of Birth


Spain Appointed July, 2008


One of the greatest of all time, Del Bosque is the only manager to have won the Champions League, European Championship and World Cup. Following the disappointment of the 2014 World Cup there was some uncertainty as to whether Del Bosque would continue with the job but he’s stayed on and this will be arguably one of his biggest tests, with some of the stalwarts from his previous successful sides now retired and some youngsters to bleed.

Sergio Ramos CB

Real Madrid

131 Caps, 10 Goals

30 Years Old

The youngest Spaniard to reach 100 caps, Ramos is a highly decorated player both at the international and domestic level and is certainly up there with the best centre-backs in the world. Indeed, he was named the man of the match in Real’s Champions League triumph over Atletico and he’ll be keen to add another European Championship to his collection at this tournament.

Andres Iniesta CM

Barcelona

107 Caps, 13 Goals

32 Years Old

Iniesta has garnered the reputation of being a big match player having been named the man of the match in the 2010 World Cup Final, the 2012 Euros (where he was also player of the tournament) and the 2015 Champions League Final. Indeed, he also picked up the man of the match in this year’s Copa del Rey Final and he will certainly be the player Spain look to should they reach the latter stages of the tournament.

Alvaro Morata ST

Juventus

8 Caps, 1 Goal

23 Years Old

Morata only has one international goal to his name and has not enjoyed a prolific season with Juventus; scoring just 11 times in 46 games in all competitions. However, he was impressive in the Champions League, where he scored in Juve’s opening two games and came up with a pair of assists against Bayern in the last 16. He was also instrumental in Juve’s Coppa Italia success as he scored a brace against Inter in the semis and came off the bench to score the winner in extra-time in the final against AC Milan.

Group Analysis

This is undoubtedly the toughest of all the groups, with all four teams ranked in our top 13 of the 24 sides here. Spain are 1.1 to qualify but more importantly 1.73 to win the group

Expectations

Spain lost half their eight games following the shock exit in Brazil but three of those were friendlies and the ‘old’ Spain has shown itself since then. Indeed, they’ve conceded just once in their last nine European Championship matches and that is likely to be their strength again with a back four of Juanfran, Ramos, Pique and Alba surely the best in the tournament. Winning Group D would certainly improve Spain’s chances massively. That would mean their route to the semis is only blocked by a third-placed side and then either of the runners-up from Groups A or C – neither of whom looks overly tough. However, should the Spaniards suffer an upset in the groups, as they did when losing their opening game at the 2010 World Cup, and go through as runners-up, itwould create a situation where the three main favourites are all in the bottom half of the draw when we reach the knockouts.

Form

05/06/2016 Sweden – Wales FRI

30/05/2016 Sweden – Slovenia FRI

28/03/2016 Sweden 1-1 Czech Republic FRI

24/03/2016 Turkey 2-1 Sweden FRI

10/01/2016 Sweden 3-0 Finland FRI

06/01/2016 Sweden 1-1 Estonia FRI

17/11/2015 Denmark 2-2 Sweden EQ

14/11/2015 Sweden 2-1 Denmark EQ

12/10/2015 Sweden 2-0 Moldova EQ

09/10/2015 Liechtenstein 0-2 Sweden EQ

08/09/2015 Sweden 1-4 Austria EQ

05/09/2015 Russia 1-0 Sweden EQ

14/06/2015 Sweden 3-1 Montenegro EQ

08/06/2015 Sweden 0-0 Norway FRI

31/03/2015 Sweden 3-1 Iran FRI

27/03/2015 Moldova 0-2 Sweden EQ

18/01/2015 Sweden 1-0 Finland FRI

15/01/2015 Sweden 2-0 Ivory Coast FRI

18/11/2014 France 1-0 Sweden FRI

15/11/2014 Montenegro 1-1 Sweden EQ

12/10/2014 Sweden 2-0 Liechtenstein EQ

09/10/2014 Sweden 1-1 Russia EQ

08/09/2014 Austria 1-1 Sweden EQ

03/09/2014 Sweden 2-0 Estonia FRI

01/06/2014 Sweden 0-2 Belgium FRI

28/05/2014 Sweden 0-1 Denmark FRI


21/01/2014 Iceland 0-2 Sweden FRI

17/01/2014 Moldova 1-2 Sweden FRI








BEL

0

0

0

0

0

ITA

0

0

0

0

0

IRE

0

0

0

0

0

SWE

0

0

0

0

0

SWEDEN FIFA Ranking: 36


Coach: Erik Hamren


Sweden Squad


1 GK Andreas Isaksson 03/10/1981 129 0 Kasımpaşa

2 DF Mikael Lustig 13/12/1986 51 2 Celtic

3 DF Erik Johansson 30/12/1988 8 0 Copenhagen

4 DF Andreas Granqvist 16/04/1985 51 3 Krasnodar

5 DF Martin Olsson 17/05/1988 34 5 Norwich City

6 MF Emil Forsberg 23/10/1991 16 1 RB Leipzig

7 MF Sebastian Larsson 06/06/1985 83 6 Sunderland

8 MF Albin Ekdal 28/07/1989 21 0 Hamburger SV

9 MF Kim Källström 24/08/1982 127 16 Grasshopper

10 FW Zlatan Ibrahimović (captain)

03/10/1981 112 62 Paris Saint-Germain

11 FW Marcus Berg 17/08/1986 37 10 Panathinaikos

12 GK Robin Olsen 08/01/1990 3 0 Copenhagen

13 DF Pontus Jansson 13/02/1991 8 0 Torino

14 DF Victor Lindelöf 17/07/1994 3 0 Benfica

15 MF Oscar Hiljemark 28/06/1992 10 1 Palermo

16 MF Pontus Wernbloom 25/06/1986 51 2 CSKA Moscow

17 DF Ludwig Augustinsson 21/04/1994 3 0 Copenhagen

18 MF Oscar Lewicki 14/07/1992 9 0 Malmö FF

19 FW Emir Kujović 22/06/1988 3 1 IFK Norrköping

20 FW John Guidetti 15/04/1992 8 0 Celta Vigo

21 MF Jimmy Durmaz 22/03/1989 31 2 Olympiacos

22 MF Erkan Zengin 05/08/1985 20 3 Trabzonspor

23 GK Patrik Carlgren 08/01/1992 1 0 AIK


Hamren’s favoured formation is a traditional 4-4-2 with the two central midfielders staying compact and the two wide men getting back to help their full-backs. They will be looking to Ibrahimovic, in what is likely to be his last major tournament, for inspiration.

Sweden Key Personnel

Erik Hamren Date of Birth


Sweden Appointed

November, 2009 Total Record W43-D12-L21

After missing out on World Cup qualification via the playoffs at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, this time around Sweden had more luck in their playoff agaisnt Denmark. Prior to taking the Sweden job, Hamren had a very successful spell with Rosenborg in Norway, winning the league title in both his seasons there and he will hope to make more of an impact at a major international tournament after his side were knocked out at the group stages of the last Euros.

Andreas Granqvist CB

Krasnodar

50 Caps, 3 Goals

31 Years Old

Granqvist skippered Krasnodar to an excellent 4

th place finish in

Russia’s Premier Liga to follow 3rd

in 2014/15 and he’s missed just four league games in that time. He missed just a single game in qualification due to suspension and having been part of Sweden’s squad in Euro 2008 and 2012, his experience will be key this time around.

Pontus Wernbloom

DM CSKA Moscow

50 Caps, 2 Goals

29 Years Old

Wernbloom was a regular feature in CSKA’s title winning side this season and the only games he missed were due to suspension. Indeed, he picked up 24 yellow cards in 41 matches in all competitions and he could pick up a few more in this competition as he sits in front of the defence and is tasked with breaking up the play.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic ST

PSG

112 Caps, 62 Goals

34 Years Old

Ibrahimovic finished the season with 50 goals in 51 PSG games as he set a personal best tally for goals. He’s hinted that he’ll retire from international football after this and he’ll want to bow out on a high. Whilst he’s failed to score a World Cup goal in five appearances, his record at the Euros is much better as he’s scored twice in the last three tournaments.

Group Analysis





eliminated at the group stage. Indeed, Sweden are the

ones expected to occupy that third spot by

bookmakers as they’re 1.83 third favourites to make it

out the group.

Expectations

We also have Sweden ranked third out of the four

teams in this group but only Group A has a larger gap

in our gradings between the second and third best

teams. In truth, there’s very little between the Swedes

and the Republic of Ireland and the result of their

meeting in the first group game should decide who

comes third.

Form

03/06/2016 Switzerland – Moldova FRI

28/05/2016 Switzerland – Belgium FRI

29/03/2016 Switzerland 0-2 Bosnia-Herz. FRI

25/03/2016 ROI 1-0 Switzerland FRI

17/11/2015 Switzerland 2-1 Austria FRI

13/11/2015 Slovakia 3-2 Switzerland FRI

12/10/2015 Estonia 0-1 Switzerland EQ

09/10/2015 Switzerland 7-0 San Marino EQ

08/09/2015 England 2-0 Switzerland EQ

05/09/2015 Switzerland 3-2 Slovenia EQ

14/06/2015 Lithuania 1-2 Switzerland EQ

10/06/2015 Switzerland 3-0 Liechtenstein FRI

30/03/2015 Switzerland 1-1 USA FRI

27/03/2015 Switzerland 3-0 Estonia EQ

18/11/2014 Poland 2-2 Switzerland FRI

15/11/2014 Switzerland 4-0 Lithuania EQ

14/10/2014 San Marino 0-4 Switzerland EQ

09/10/2014 Slovenia 1-0 Switzerland EQ

08/09/2014 Switzerland 0-2 England EQ

01/07/2014 Switzerland 0-0 Argentina WC

25/06/2014 Switzerland 3-0 Honduras WC

20/06/2014 Switzerland 2-5 France WC

15/06/2014 Switzerland 2-1 Ecuador WC

03/06/2014 Switzerland 2-0 Peru FRI

30/05/2014 Switzerland 1-0 Jamaica FRI

05/03/2014 Switzerland 2-2 Croatia FRI

15/11/2013 Korea Republic 2-1 Switzerland FRI








ALB

0

0

0

0

0

FRA

0

0

0

0

0

ROM

0

0

0

0

0

SWI

0

0

0

0

0

SWITZERLAND FIFA Ranking: 14


Coach: Vladimir Petkovic


Switzerland Squad


1 GK Yann Sommer 07/12/1988 17 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

2 DF Stephan Lichtsteiner (Captain)

16/01/1984 80 5 Juventus

3 DF François Moubandje 21/06/1990 10 0 Toulouse

4 DF Nico Elvedi 30/09/1996 0 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

5 DF Steve von Bergen 10/06/1983 49 0 Young Boys

6 DF Michael Lang 08/02/1991 15 2 Basel

7 FW Breel Embolo 14/02/1997 9 1 Basel

8 MF Fabian Frei 08/01/1989 7 1 Mainz 05

9 FW Haris Seferović 22/02/1992 29 7 Eintracht Frankfurt

10 MF Granit Xhaka 27/09/1992 41 6 Borussia Mönchengladbach

11 MF Valon Behrami 19/04/1985 64 2 Watford

12 GK Marwin Hitz 18/09/1987 2 0 FC Augsburg

13 DF Ricardo Rodríguez 25/08/1992 35 0 VfL Wolfsburg

14 MF Denis Zakaria 20/11/1996 0 0 Young Boys

15 MF Blerim Džemaili 12/04/1986 46 6 Genoa

16 MF Gélson Fernandes 02/09/1986 55 2 Rennes

17 MF Shani Tarashaj 07/02/1995 2 0 Grasshoppers

18 FW Admir Mehmedi 16/03/1991 40 3 Bayer Leverkusen

19 FW Eren Derdiyok 12/06/1988 50 10 Kasımpaşa

20 DF Johan Djourou 18/01/1987 59 2 Hamburger SV

21 GK Roman Bürki 14/11/1990 4 0 Borussia Dortmund

22 DF Fabian Schär 20/12/1991 19 5 1899 Hoffenheim

23 MF Xherdan Shaqiri 10/10/1991 51 17 Stoke City


Switzerland set up in a 4-3-3 formation for the majority of their qualifiers and have continued to do so in their friendlies since. The three midfielders will stay compact and will look to win back the ball allowing the front three to play on the counter-attack.

Switzerland Key Personnel

Vladimir Petkovic Date of Birth


Yugoslavia Appointed July, 2014


After winning the Coppa Italia with Lazio, Petkovic landed the Switzerland job after the retirement of Ottmar Hitzfeld. The German’s certainly a tough act to follow and he certainly overachieved with Switzerland, making it to the last-16 before they lost out to eventual runners-up Argentina in the 118

th minute.

Petkovic lacks the experience of Hitzfeld at the international level, but he has been involved with Swiss football, having spent time at several Super League clubs.

Ricardo Rodriguez LB

Wolfsburg

35 Caps, 0 Goals

23 Years Old

Rodriguez is one of the best left-back prospects in world football. He managed five goals in nine assists in 2013/14, six goals and five assists in 2014/15 but only two goals and three assists this season as Wolfsburg struggled to an 8

th place finish. He’ll be keen to show his

attacking threat at the international level as he’s yet to score a goal and only has five assists.

Granit Xhaka CM

Arsenal

41 Caps, 6 Goals

23 Years Old

Arsenal fans will be keeping a close eye on Xhaka after he joined the Gunners for £35m. Despite only being 23, he already has 41 international appearances to his name and also captained Monchengladbach last season as they managed to finish fourth in the Bundesliga after a slow start to the season.

Breel Embolo ST

Basel

9 Caps, 1 Goal

19 Years Old

Embolo was very impressive in qualification as he had a goal and four assists in five appearances. He had a strong season with Basel as he managed 10 goals and seven assists in 27 appearances and is certainly one of the young players to look out for at this tournament.

Group Analysis Switzerland are rated as 1.33 second favourites to make it out of Group A, as they and France are very much expected to be the ones to go through in first and second. Indeed, the gap in our gradings between the top two and the others in this group is larger than any other group and with that in mind an upset looks unlikely. Expectations

Switzerland lost both clashes with England in qualifying

but won seven of eight otherwise while scoring three

goals per game. They went into the last World Cup

with hopes of upsetting France in the group stages but

were on the end of a 5-2 hammering (they were 5-0

down going into the final 10 minutes). However, they

did still advance to the knockouts where they took

Argentina to extra-time. We certainly don’t see a total

upset in the game between Switzerland and France,

with the Swiss having won just one of their 10 games

away against teams in the top 50 of our rankings since

2011 and with France having a higher ranking than any

of those sides (which had an average rank of 34th).

Nonetheless, they should have enough to finish 2nd

and set up a knockout clash with the runner-up from

Group C, most likely to be Poland or Ukraine.

Form

05/06/2016 Slovenia – Turkey FRI

29/05/2016 Turkey – Montenegro FRI

22/05/2016 England - Turkey FRI

29/03/2016 Austria 1-2 Turkey FRI


17/11/2015 Turkey 0-0 Greece FRI

13/11/2015 Qatar 1-2 Turkey FRI

13/10/2015 Turkey 1-0 Iceland EQ

10/10/2015 Czech Republic 0-2 Turkey EQ

06/09/2015 Turkey 3-0 Netherlands EQ

03/09/2015 Turkey 1-1 Latvia EQ

12/06/2015 Kazakhstan 0-1 Turkey EQ

08/06/2015 Turkey 4-0 Bulgaria FRI

31/03/2015 Turkey 2-1 Luxembourg FRI

28/03/2015 Netherlands 1-1 Turkey EQ

16/11/2014 Turkey 3-1 Kazakhstan EQ

12/11/2014 Turkey 0-4 Brazil FRI

13/10/2014 Latvia 1-1 Turkey EQ

10/10/2014 Turkey 1-2 Czech Republic EQ

09/09/2014 Iceland 3-0 Turkey EQ

03/09/2014 Turkey 2-1 Denmark FRI

01/06/2014 Turkey 1-2 USA FRI

29/05/2014 Turkey 2-0 Honduras FRI

25/05/2014 Republic of Ireland 1-2 Turkey FRI

21/05/2014 Kosovo 1-6 Turkey FRI


19/11/2013 Turkey 2-1 Belarus FRI

15/11/2013 Turkey 1-0 Northern Ireland FRI








CRO

0

0

0

0

0

CZE

0

0

0

0

0

SPA

0

0

0

0

0

TUR

0

0

0

0

0

TURKEY FIFA Ranking: 13


Coach: Fatih Terim


Turkey Squad


GK Volkan Babacan 12/08/1988 16 0 İstanbul Başakşehir

GK Onur Recep Kıvrak 01/01/1988 12 0 Trabzonspor

GK Harun Tekin 17/06/1989 0 0 Bursaspor

DF Mehmet Topal 03/03/1986 58 1 Fenerbahçe

DF Gökhan Gönül 04/01/1985 55 1 Fenerbahçe

DF Caner Erkin 04/10/1988 46 2 Fenerbahçe

DF Hakan Kadir Balta 23/03/1983 45 2 Galatasaray

DF Semih Kaya 24/02/1991 23 0 Galatasaray

DF İsmail Köybaşı 10/07/1989 18 0 Beşiktaş

DF Şener Özbayraklı 23/01/1990 8 0 Fenerbahçe

DF Ahmet Yılmaz Çalık 22/06/1994 4 0 Gençlerbirliği

MF Arda Turan (Captain) 30/01/1987 90 17 Barcelona

MF Selçuk İnan 10/02/1985 51 8 Galatasaray

MF Nuri Şahin 05/09/1988 48 2 Borussia Dortmund

MF Olcay Şahan 26/05/1987 23 2 Beşiktaş

MF Ozan Tufan 23/03/1995 23 1 Fenerbahçe

MF Hakan Çalhanoğlu 08/02/1994 18 6 Bayer Leverkusen

MF Oğuzhan Özyakup 23/09/1992 19 1 Beşiktaş

MF Volkan Şen 07/07/1987 16 0 Fenerbahçe

MF Emre Mor 24/07/1997 1 0 FC Nordsjælland

FW Burak Yılmaz 15/07/1985 43 19 Beijing Guoan

FW Cenk Tosun 07/06/1991 9 3 Beşiktaş

FW Yunus Mallı 24/02/1992 5 0 1. FSV Mainz 05


Terim’s preferred formation during the qualifiers was a 4-3-3 with the two wide men often drifting infield. He’s since experimented with a 4-2-3-1 system in more recent friendlies against the likes of England and could stick with this system for the championships. There will be two holding midfielders while Turan will start on the left but be allowed to venture infield to get on the ball as much as possible.

Turkey Key Personnel

Fatih Terim Date of Birth


Turkey Appointed

August, 2013 Total Record W20-D4-L6

Now in his third spell in charge of Turkey, Terim will hope he can repeat the feat of his last European Championships when he made it to the semi-finals in 2008. He’s spent the majority of his managerial career at Galatasaray where he had great success, winning six league titles and a Uefa Cup.

Arda Turan AM

Barcelona

89 Caps, 17 Goals

29 Years Old

Having been an integral part of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side, Turan has unsurprisingly been on the fringes at Barcelona, but he is certainly the main man when it comes to the national team. He’s been in good form for Turkey, with four goals and six assists in his last 11 appearances and he also netted twice in their last Euros back in 2008 when they made it to the semis.

Hakan Calhanoglu AM

Bayer Leverkusen

16 Caps, 5 Goals

22 Years Old

Calhanoglu has had a strong start to his international career with five goals already and he comes into this tournament after a good season with Leverkusen. He managed three goals and six assists in the Bundesliga and more impressively two goals and five assists in just six Champions League appearances in a group with Barcelona and Roma.

Cenk Tosun ST

Besiktas

7 Caps, 3 Goals

24 Years Old

Tosun has hit the ground running as far as his international career is concerned, most significantly scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Sweden. He had a good season with Besiktas, managing eight goals and four assists and despite not featuring a great deal in qualification, he looks set to lead the line in this tournament.

Group Analysis

This is undoubtedly the toughest of all the groups, with all four teams ranked in our top 13 of the 24 sides here. The bookmakers can’t choose between Czech Republic and Turkey as they’re both 2.45 to qualify behind favourites Spain and Croatia.

Expectations

Turkey were in the same qualifying group as the

Czechs but only got here as the best of all third-placed

finishers. After taking just one point from their

opening three games that represented an excellent

recovery though, and they were unbeaten in 13 games

with 10 wins prior to their warm-up defeat to England

when both teams were missing key players. This is the

first major tournament they’ve qualified for since Euro

2008 and that is reflected in a youthful squad as Fatih

Terim has turned to a new generation to take them

forward. They reached the semis in 2008 and this team

certainly has an unknown quality to them that could

trouble other sides. With the quality of Arda Turan and

Hakan Calhanoglu on the wings they should certainly

offer a threat going forward and look potential dark

horses and since four of the six third-placed finishers in

the group stages make it through, we expect Turkey to

make it out the group.

Form

03/06/2016 Albania – Ukraine FRI

29/05/2016 Romania – Ukraine FRI

28/03/2016 Ukraine 1-0 Wales FRI

24/03/2016 Ukraine 1-0 Cyprus FRI

17/11/2015 Slovenia 1-1 Ukraine EQ

14/11/2015 Ukraine 2-0 Slovenia EQ

12/10/2015 Ukraine 0-1 Spain EQ

09/10/2015 FYR Macedonia 0-2 Ukraine EQ

08/09/2015 Slovakia 0-0 Ukraine EQ

05/09/2015 Ukraine 3-1 Belarus EQ

14/06/2015 Ukraine 3-0 Luxembourg EQ

09/06/2015 Ukraine 2-1 Georgia FRI

30/03/2015 Ukraine 1-1 Latvia FRI

27/03/2015 Spain 1-0 Ukraine EQ

18/11/2014 Ukraine 0-0 Lithuania FRI

15/11/2014 Luxembourg 0-3 Ukraine EQ

12/10/2014 Ukraine 1-0 FYR Macedonia EQ

09/10/2014 Belarus 0-2 Ukraine EQ

08/09/2014 Ukraine 0-1 Slovakia EQ

03/09/2014 Ukraine 1-0 Moldova FRI

22/05/2014 Ukraine 2-1 Niger FRI

05/03/2014 Ukraine 2-0 USA FRI








GER

0

0

0

0

0

NI

0

0

0

0

0

POL

0

0

0

0

0

UKR

0

0

0

0

0

UKRAINE FIFA Ranking: 22


Coach: Mykhaylo Fomenko


Ukraine Squad


GK Andriy Pyatov 28/06/1984 63 0 Shakhtar Donetsk

GK Denys Boyko 29/01/1988 4 0 Beşiktaş

GK Mykyta Shevchenko 26/01/1993 0 0 Zorya Luhansk

DF Vyacheslav Shevchuk 13/05/1979 53 0 Shakhtar Donetsk

DF Oleksandr Kucher 22/10/1982 50 2 Shakhtar Donetsk

DF Artem Fedetskyi 26/04/1985 47 2 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

DF Yevhen Khacheridi 28/07/1987 41 3 Dynamo Kyiv

DF Yaroslav Rakitskiy 03/08/1989 39 4 Shakhtar Donetsk

DF Bohdan Butko 13/01/1991 16 0 Shakhtar Donetsk

MF Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Captain)

30/03/1979 142 4 Kairat Almaty

MF Ruslan Rotan 29/10/1981 87 7 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

MF Andriy Yarmolenko 23/10/1989 58 24 Dynamo Kyiv

MF Yevhen Konoplyanka 29/09/1989 52 13 Sevilla

MF Taras Stepanenko 08/08/1989 28 2 Shakhtar Donetsk

MF Denys Harmash 19/04/1990 26 2 Dynamo Kyiv

MF Serhiy Sydorchuk 02/05/1991 11 2 Dynamo Kyiv

MF Serhiy Rybalka 01/04/1990 9 0 Dynamo Kyiv

MF Oleksandr Karavayev 02/06/1992 3 0 Zorya Luhansk

MF Oleksandr Zinchenko 15/12/1996 2 1 Ufa

MF Viktor Kovalenko 14/02/1996 2 0 Shakhtar Donetsk

FW Yevhen Seleznyov 20/07/1985 49 11 Shakhtar Donetsk

FW Roman Zozulya 17/11/1989 25 4 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

FW Pylyp Budkivskyi 10/03/1992 6 0 Zorya Luhansk


Ukraine generally stuck to a 4-2-3-1 during qualifying and although Fomenko has experimented with a 3-4-3 and a 4-4-2 since, it’s likely that he’ll revert to their usual style come the first match. The holding players will sit deep allowing the full-backs to bomb forward, and out wide is certainly where Ukraine’s threat lies as the wingers will look to come inside and shoot.

Ukraine Key Personnel

Mykhaylo Fomenko Date of Birth


Ukraine Appointed


After failing to qualify for the World Cup, Fomenko will take Ukraine to his first major international tournament as a manager, thanks to a playoff victory over Slovenia. His managerial career in the Ukrainian league wasn’t the best as he only has one league title to show for his efforts, but as a player he made it to the final of the 1972 Euros and will no doubt be using that to inspire his players this time around.

Yaroslav Rakitsky CB

Shakhtar Donetsk

37 Caps, 4 Goals

26 Years Old

Rakitsky is Ukraine’s best defender and poses a threat from set-pieces, with four international goals to his name already. He was a regular for Shakhtar this season as they finished second in the league, won the Ukrainian Cup and were knocked out in the semi-finals of the Europa League by eventual winners Sevilla.

Yevhen Konoplyanka

LW Sevilla

51 Caps, 11 Goals

26 Years Old

Konoplyanka impressed in his first season with Sevilla as he managed four goals and seven assists in the league and he was also impressive in Europe as he found the net against both Monchengladbach and Man City in the Champions League. He scored a couple of goals in qualification and Ukraine will be looking to him to add to his tally here.

Andriy Yarmolenko

RW Dynamo Kyiv

57 Caps, 23 Goals

26 Years Old

Ukraine’s threat definitely comes from the wings with Konoplyanka and Yarmolenko, who is in excellent form for his country, with three gaols in his last four appearances. He had another excellent season with Dynamo Kyiv as he managed 13 goals and 10 assists in 23 league appearances and he also scored a couple of goals in the Champions League group stages.

Group Analysis

The gap in our gradings between Germany and the second best team in Group C, Ukraine, is a massive 36.7 points which is virtually the same as the difference between the best and worst teams in Group A, France and Albania. So Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland should be playing for second place here. There’s little to choose between the Ukraine and Poland in terms of ‘to qualify’ prices, with the Poles marginal favourites in most places and Northern Ireland clear outsiders.

Expectations

Ukraine have not lost to Poland since 2000 and won

both meetings when they met in qualifying for the last

World Cup. However, in their four qualifiers against

Spain and Slovakia, Ukraine failed to score as each

game finished with no more than a single strike. A lack

of goals has been a long-standing problem for this

squad, which comes with lots of experience, but they

are notoriously tough to break down and have

conceded more than once in just one of their last 38

games heading into the Finals (ahead of their pre-

tournament friendlies).

Ukraine’s lack of goals could cost them and we’d

expect Poland to be more ruthless against Northern

Ireland. That should mean that the Poles can afford to

draw when the teams meet in their final group game

and as a result Ukraine may have to rely on going

through in third.

Form

05/06/2016 Sweden – Wales FRI

28/03/2016 Ukraine 1-0 Wales FRI

24/03/2016 Wales 1-1 Northern Ireland FRI

13/11/2015 Wales 2-3 Netherlands FRI

13/10/2015 Wales 2-0 Andorra EQ

10/10/2015 Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 Wales EQ

06/09/2015 Wales 0-0 Israel EQ

03/09/2015 Cyprus 0-1 Wales EQ

12/06/2015 Wales 1-0 Belgium EQ

28/03/2015 Israel 0-3 Wales EQ

16/11/2014 Belgium 0-0 Wales EQ

13/10/2014 Wales 2-1 Cyprus EQ

10/10/2014 Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina EQ

09/09/2014 Andorra 1-2 Wales EQ

04/06/2014 Netherlands 2-0 Wales FRI

05/03/2014 Wales 3-1 Iceland FRI

16/11/2013 Wales 1-1 Finland FRI








ENG

0

0

0

0

0

RUS

0

0

0

0

0

WAL

0

0

0

0

0

SVK

0

0

0

0

0

WALES FIFA Ranking: 24


Coach: Chris Coleman


Wales Squad


GK Wayne Hennessey 24/01/1987 56 0 Crystal Palace

GK Owain Fôn Williams 17/03/1987 1 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle

GK Danny Ward 22/06/1993 1 0 Liverpool

DF Chris Gunter 21/07/1989 66 0 Reading

DF Ashley Williams (captain) 23/08/1984 58 1 Swansea City

DF James Collins 23/08/1983 46 3 West Ham United

DF Neil Taylor 07/02/1989 27 0 Swansea City

DF Ben Davies 24/04/1993 19 0 Tottenham Hotspur

DF James Chester 23/01/1989 10 0 West Bromwich Albion

DF Jazz Richards 12/04/1991 9 0 Fulham

MF Joe Ledley 23/01/1987 61 4 Crystal Palace

MF David Vaughan 18/02/1983 41 1 Nottingham Forest

MF Aaron Ramsey 26/12/1990 38 10 Arsenal

MF Andy King 29/10/1988 32 2 Leicester City

MF David Edwards 03/02/1986 31 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers

MF Joe Allen 14/03/1990 25 0 Liverpool

MF David Cotterill 04/12/1987 23 2 Birmingham City

MF Jonathan Williams 09/10/1993 11 0 Crystal Palace

FW Gareth Bale 16/07/1989 54 19 Real Madrid

FW Sam Vokes 21/10/1989 39 6 Burnley

FW Simon Church 10/12/1988 35 3 Milton Keynes Dons

FW Hal Robson-Kanu 21/05/1989 30 2 Reading

FW George Williams 07/09/1995 7 0 Fulham


Coleman’s preference is to have three at the back with two wing-backs either side in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Two midfielders will sit deep and look to win the ball back and play it forward to Bale and Ramsey to create something. Ramsey will stay more central while Bale will be given a license to roam.

Wales Key Personnel

Chris Coleman Date of Birth


Wales Appointed

January, 2012 Total Record W11-D7-L13

Coleman will lead Wales at their first major international tournamenat since the 1958 World Cup and having had something of a lull in his managerial career after he led Fulham to an unexpected top-half finish in 2003/04 in his first full season in charge, he’ll hope for a good showing from his Welsh side at this tournament.

Ashley Williams CB

Swansea

58 Caps, 1 Goal

31 Years Old

Williams has been a consistent performer for Swansea over the last few seasons, missing just nine of their 190 games since they were promoted to the Premier League. He also played every minute of Wales’ qualification campaign and the skipper will be key to their chances in this tournament.

Aaron Ramsey CM

Arsenal

38 Caps, 10 Goals

25 Years Old

After an outstanding 2013/14 campaign with Arsenal when he managed 10 goals and nine assists in just 23 Premier League appearances, Ramsey has struggled somewhat to live up to those heights since. However, he’s likely to be allowed to play in a more advanced role for Wales than he was at Arsenal where he often played alongside Coquelin with Ozil further forward, and if that it is the case he can once again be an attacking threat in and around the box.

Gareth Bale RW

Tottenham Hotspur

54 Caps, 19 Goals

26 Years Old

Bale has already won two Champions League titles since joining Real Madrid for a world record fee and this season was his best ever in terms of league goals since he made the move to Spain as he found the net 19 times in 23 appearances. He was also excellent in qualification as he scored seven times and he’ll need to be in the goals again if Wales are to make it out of their group.

Group Analysis




in their group as lower than in any other. Wales are

one of the three teams fighting to finish in behind

England, and are rated third favourites at 1.67 to make

it out the group.

Expectations

Wales qualified impressively behind heavyweights

Belgium. They were unbeaten until their penultimate

game and actually took four points off the group

winners. Nevertheless, the rest of the group was weak

and a total of 11 goals scored from their 10 games is a

clue of what we can expect from Chris Coleman’s side.

Gareth Bale gives them a threat in attack, but it’s

virtually the only one as he scored seven of those 11

goals and assisted for two of the others. However,

with a strong defence and support from Aaron Ramsey

in midfield they should at least be tough to beat and

are certainly capable of upsetting Russia and making it

out of the group in second.

Notable Player Absences – Euro 2016

Team Player Reason Importance

Albania None

Austria None

Belgium Vincent Kompany Injury Key

Belgium Nicolas Lombaerts Injury First Team

Belgium Dedryck Boyata Injury Squad

Croatia Alen Halilovic Not Selected Squad

Croatia Dejan Lovren Not Selected Squad

Czech Republic Matej Vydra Not Selected Squad

England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Injury Squad

England Danny Welbeck Injury Squad

England Jack Butland Injury Squad

France Kurt Zouma Injury First Team

France Rafael Varane Injury First Team

France Aymeric Laporte Injury Squad

France Jeremy Mathieu Injury Squad

France Lassana Diarra Injury Squad

France Karim Benzema Suspended Key

Germany Marco Reus Fitness Doubts First Team

Germany Ilkay Gundogan Injury Squad

Germany Karim Bellarabi Not Selected Squad

Hungary None

Iceland None

Italy Marco Verratti Injury Key

Italy Claudio Marchisio Injury Key

Italy Andrea Pirlo Not Selected First Team

Northern Ireland Chris Brunt Injury First Team

Poland Pawel Wszolek Injury Squad

Poland Maciej Rybus Injury First Team

Portugal Fabio Coentrao Injury Squad

Portugal Danny Injury First Team

Republic of Ireland Marc Wilson Injury Squad

Romania Alexandru Maxim Not Selected First Team

Russia Alan Dzagoev Injury First Team

Slovakia None

Spain Diego Costa Not Selected Squad

Spain Juan Mata Not Selected Squad

Spain Santi Cazorla Not Selected Squad

Spain Isco Not Selected Squad

Spain Dani Carvajal Injury Squad

Sweden None

Switzerland None

Turkey None

Ukraine Oleg Gusev Not Selected Squad

Wales None

Total International Caps, Goals and Ages – Euro 2016

Team Total Caps Total Goals Average Age

France 599 51 27.8

Romania 503 36 28.7

Albania 518 25 27.6

Switzerland 684 69 26.1

England 518 78 25.8

Russia 734 64 29.3

Wales 720 56 27.3

Slovakia 828 74 28.9

Germany 925 208 25.9

Ukraine 813 81 27.9

Poland 660 89 27.5

Northern Ireland 743 47 28.5

Spain 962 92 28.1

Czech Republic 804 82 29.2

Turkey 631 65 26.9

Croatia 736 97 26.7

Belgium 695 89 26.4

Italy 728 50 28.9

Sweden 819 114 27.8

Republic of Ireland 952 121 29.8

Portugal 815 107 28.4

Iceland 705 86 27.6

Austria 706 85 27.7

Hungary 666 89 28.0

Competitive Team Form – Euro 2016

Team 2016 Euro Qualifying 2014 World Cup 2014 World Cup Qualifying Euro 2012

Record GF-GA Record GF-GA

Albania W3-D2-L2 7-5 DNP W3-D2-L5 9-11 DNP

Austria W9-D1-L0 22-5 DNP W5-D2-L3 20-10 DNP

Belgium W7-D2-L1 24-5 QF W8-D2-L0 18-4 DNP

Croatia W6-D3-L1 20-5 Group W6-D3-L3 14-9 Group

Czech Republic W7-D1-L2 19-14 DNP W4-D3-L3 13-9 QF

England W10-D0-L0 31-3 Group W6-D4-L0 31-4 QF

France DNP DNP QF W6-D2-L2 18-8 QF

Germany W7-D1-L2 24-9 1st W9-D1-L0 36-10 SF

Hungary W6-D4-L2 14-10 DNP W5-D2-L3 21-20 DNP

Iceland W6-D2-L2 17-6 DNP W5-D3-L4 17-17 DNP

Italy W7-D3-L0 16-7 Group W6-D4-L0 19-9 2nd

Northern Ireland W6-D3-L1 16-8 DNP W1-D4-L5 9-17 DNP

Poland W6-D3-L1 33-10 DNP W3-D4-L3 18-12 Group

Portugal W7-D0-L1 11-5 Group W8-D3-L1 24-11 SF

Republic of Ireland W6-D4-L2 22-8 DNP W4-D2-L4 16-17 Group

Romania W5-D5-L0 11-2 DNP W6-D2-L4 21-16 DNP

Russia W5-D2-L2 18-5 Group W7-D1-L2 20-5 Group

Slovakia W7-D1-L2 17-8 DNP W3-D4-L3 11-10 DNP

Spain W9-D0-L1 23-3 Group W6-D2-L0 14-3 1st

Sweden W6-D4-L2 19-12 DNP W6-D2-L4 21-18 Group

Switzerland W7-D0-L3 24-8 L16 W7-D3-L0 17-6 DNP

Turkey W5-D3-L2 14-9 DNP W5-D1-L4 16-9 DNP

Ukraine W7-D2-L3 17-5 DNP W7-D3-L2 30-7 Group

Wales W6-D3-L1 11-4 DNP W3-D1-L6 9-20 DNP

Under/Over 2.5 Goals – Last 20 Matches*

* As of 31/05/16

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Competitive Under/Over Goals

Under 2.5 Over 2.5

Under/Over 2.5 Goals – Last 20 Matches*

* As of 31/05/16

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Friendly Under/Over Goals

Under 2.5 Over 2.5

Tournament Penalty Shoot-out Records Since 1990

Team Penalties Record since 1990 (most recent first) Most Recent

France LWLW WC 2006 Final - Loss v Italy

Romania LL WC 1994 QF - Loss v Sweden

Albania None N/A

Switzerland L WC 2006 L16 - Loss v Ukraine

England LLLLLWL Euro 2012 QF - Loss v Italy

Russia None N/A

Wales None N/A

Slovakia None N/A

Germany WWW WC 2006 QF - Win v Argentina

Ukraine W WC 2006 L16 - Win v Switzerland

Poland None N/A

Northern Ireland None N/A

Spain WWWLWL Confed Cup 2013 SF - Win v Italy

Czech Republic W Euro 1996 SF - Win v France

Turkey W Euro 2008 QF - Win v Croatia

Croatia L Euro 2008 QF - Loss v Turkey

Belgium None N/A

Italy WLWLWWLLL Confed Cup 2013 3/4 Playoff - Win v Uruguay

Sweden LW Euro 2004 QF - Loss v Netherlands

Republic of Ireland LW WC 2002 L16 - Loss v Spain

Portugal LWW Euro 2012 SF - Loss v Spain

Iceland None N/A

Austria None N/A

Hungary None N/A

European Finalists Form and Gradings 1992-2012

Year Winner Ave Age FFL Grade FFL Ranking FFL Rank (qual'd teams) Previous WC Previous Euros

1992 Denmark 27.3 162.63 12 6/8 DNQ Group

1996 Germany 28.4 169.13 5 4/16 QF 2nd

2000 France 28.5 181.90 2 1/16 1st SF

2004 Greece 28.8 146.06 41 14/16 DNQ DNQ

2008 Spain 26.5 166.45 6 4/16 L16 Group

2012 Spain 27.2 187.40 1 1/16 1st 1st

Year Runner-Up Ave Age FFL Grade FFL Ranking FFL Rank (qual'd teams) Previous WC Previous Euros

1992 Germany 27.1 183.31 1 1/8 1st SF

1996 Czech Republic 27.2 171.24 5 9/16 DNQ DNQ

2000 Italy 27.5 166.53 6 4/16 QF Group

2004 Portugal 27.3 163.59 11 7/16 Group SF

2008 Germany 27.2 161.90 13 3/16 3rd Group

2012 Italy 28.3 159.93 11 6/16 Group QF

Average Ages – Euro 1992-2012

25

25.5

26

26.5

27

27.5

28

28.5

29

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012

Average Squad Age

Winners Runners-Up Semi-Finalists (ave)

Average Goals per Round – Euro 1996-2012

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Group Stage [1] Group Stage [2] Group Stage [3] Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Final

EURO 1996

EURO 2000

EURO 2004

EURO 2008

EURO 2012

Average

Average Goals per Round – Euro 1996-2012

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Group Stage [1] Group Stage [2] Group Stage [3] Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Final

2.25

2.50

2.78

2.00

1.80

2.00

Average Goals per Game – Euro 1992-2012

2.13

2.03

2.68

2.39 2.35

2.45

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

EURO 1992 EURO 1996 EURO 2000 EURO 2004 EURO 2008 EURO 2012

Results of Teams Scoring First – Euro 1992-2012

62% 17%

9%

12%

Win Draw Loss 0-0

Under/Over 2.5 Goals – Euro 1992-2012

0

5

10

15

20

Under/Over 2.5 Goals Euro 2008

Under 2.5

Over 2.5

0

5

10

15

20


Under 2.5

Over 2.5

0

5

10

15

20


Under 2.5

Over 2.5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Under/Over 2.5 Goals 1992-2012

Under 2.5

Over 2.5

Average Group Points per Position – Euros 1992-2012

7 7

8.25

6.75

7.5 7.25

4

4.75 4.5

4.75

5.5 5.2

2.25

4

3.25 3.25

2.25

3.67

2

0.5

1 1.25 1.25 1.25

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

EURO 1992 EURO 1996 EURO 2000 EURO 2004 EURO 2008 EURO 2012

Nu

mb

er

of

Po

ints

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Path to the Final – Euros 1992-2012

50% 50%

Winner

1st 2nd Group Position

67%

33%

Semi-Finalists

1st 2nd

33%

67%

Runner-Up

1st 2nd Group Position

45% 55%

Quarter-Finalists

1st 2nd

Booking Points and Red Cards – Euro 1992-2012

0

7 9

6 3 3

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

Euro 1992 Euro 1996 Euro 2000 Euro 2004 Euro 2008 Euro 2012

Ave Booking Pts Total Red Cards

euro 2016 -...

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