After a long and grueling club football season, footballers
look forward to a nice long break in the summer, spending time with their
families, going on holidays and lazing around their mansions. The ones looking
for new clubs work with their agents on wheeling and dealing for a switch.
However, this summer, starting tonight, for 552 footballers, there won’t be any
lazy days for the next 30 odd days. The European Championships kick off at
12:30 AM IST on 11th June (10th June in Europe) and this
is the first entry of my blog post on it. I plan to post as regularly as
possible about the tournament till its climax. Hoping everyone will enjoy
reading it.
France is still
recovering from the horrors of the terrorist attack it suffered last year.
There is a lingering feeling of uncertainty as citizens get ready to play host
to what is the country’s biggest footballing event since they hosted the 1998
World Cup. The country has extremely fond memories of that tournament, having
won it. This time again, they’ll be one of the top favourites, boasting some
incredible talents in their squad. Through this post I will present my point of
view of how I think the tournament will pan out, the teams I believe are the
favourites, the dark-horses and the top players to watch out for.
Favourites
France
One cannot look past the hosts as being the favourites. They have an extremely strong squad, even with injuries and exile for a couple of top players. The absence of Benzema and Valbuena is unlikely to be felt as the new generation of Griezman and Pogba are ready to take up their mantle. The home fans are split in their opinion about Giroud, but his recent scoring record is tremendous. These three are sure to start and will be complemented by the brilliant Dmitri Payet and the impeccable N’Golo Kante, a solid defense and other exciting youngsters like Kingley Coman and Samuel Umtiti, France should go deep into this tournament. Anything less than a semi-final appearance for them will be considered a failure.
Key Players: Antoine Griezman, Paul Pogba, Dmitri Payet, N’Golo
Kante
Germany
It’s a big tournament. How can Germany not be one of the favourites? It is really remarkable how they keep themselves at the top of the sport year after year after year. The team is not first-choice, with the like of Reus and Gundogan missing out again with injury. Recently, Antonio Rudiger also had to withdraw. Mats Hummels and Bastian Schweinsteiger are not fully fit but have travelled with the squad. Despite missing these key men, Germany still possess the verve and passion to go all the way. Their strength lies in ruthless pressing and super-smooth counter attacking. Injuries have made the defense short on options but if Joachim Loew can get Hummels back fit, a lot of his headaches will be gone. Their group should not be very tough to get through, with only Poland likely to cause some problems. They too should be looking at going into the final week of the tournament.
It’s a big tournament. How can Germany not be one of the favourites? It is really remarkable how they keep themselves at the top of the sport year after year after year. The team is not first-choice, with the like of Reus and Gundogan missing out again with injury. Recently, Antonio Rudiger also had to withdraw. Mats Hummels and Bastian Schweinsteiger are not fully fit but have travelled with the squad. Despite missing these key men, Germany still possess the verve and passion to go all the way. Their strength lies in ruthless pressing and super-smooth counter attacking. Injuries have made the defense short on options but if Joachim Loew can get Hummels back fit, a lot of his headaches will be gone. Their group should not be very tough to get through, with only Poland likely to cause some problems. They too should be looking at going into the final week of the tournament.
Key Players: Thomas Mueller, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos, Jerome
Boateng
Spain
Spain went 11 games unbeaten before losing to minnows
Georgia, ranked 131 places below them, in their last friendly leading up to
this tournament. The two-time defending champions will be looking to create
history, becoming the first team to win 4 European Championships and also the
first team to win it 3 times in a row. Their lack of options in attack is
highlighted by the selection of 35 year old Aritz Aduriz, albeit after an
excellent season with Bilbao, for his first ever international tournament. No
Torres and no Villa mean the forward line has an unrecognizable look. A lot of
goal scoring responsibility will fall on the young but able shoulders of Alvaro
Morata. In midfield, Xavi’s retirement and Xabi Alonso’ absence means the new
members have huge shoes to fill. Whoever is called on the play needs to be
absolutely perfect to reach the duo’s lofty standards. The defense is their
strongest suit this time, but the players, especially, Sergio Ramos and Gerard
Pique, the favoured center back pairing, need to put their club rivalries
aside. Otherwise this can really blow up in their faces. Tough to call how far
they’ll go but Del Bosque guile and experience at the top level could see them
reach the semi-finals too.
Key Players: Andreas Iniesta, Alvaro Morata, Sergio Ramos,
David Silva
Dark Horses
Poland
Boasting perhaps the best forward in Europe at the moment in the form of Robert Lewandowski, Poland go into this tournament with their best squad in a long time. Many of Poland’s squad have plied/ply their trade in the German Bundesliga, so they’ll be well versed with the German way of playing. Their game against their neighbours is likely to decide the outcome of the group. Given the squad, on their day, Poland is capable of pulling off wins against more fancied opponents. Expecting them to go to the quarter-finals, or even the semi-finals, if the draw favours them.
Boasting perhaps the best forward in Europe at the moment in the form of Robert Lewandowski, Poland go into this tournament with their best squad in a long time. Many of Poland’s squad have plied/ply their trade in the German Bundesliga, so they’ll be well versed with the German way of playing. Their game against their neighbours is likely to decide the outcome of the group. Given the squad, on their day, Poland is capable of pulling off wins against more fancied opponents. Expecting them to go to the quarter-finals, or even the semi-finals, if the draw favours them.
Key Players: Robert Lewandowski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jakub
Błaszczykowski, Łukasz Piszczek
Wales
The talk before the tournament about Wales revolves around one man, Gareth Bale. The hype is justified, even more so when he pulls on the national jersey. Recently, a famous journalist commented that he turns into a ‘dragon’ when playing for Wales, and there was not an ounce of exaggeration in that statement. However, concentrating only on Bale will be a mistake for their opponents. Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen are capable enough to influence a game on their own. Ramsey has been in good form coming into the tournament and this is an excellent opportunity for him to showcase his talent on the world stage. Joe Allen is loved by all it seems, with captain Ashley Williams declaring that the team have a ‘Joe Allen Appreciation Day’ at least once a week. Although said in jest, such eventshelp in building togetherness among team-mates and Wales look like a team with strong bonds among everyone. Chris Coleman has done an excellent job getting them so far, and it remains to be seen how far they can go in the tournament proper. Personally, I think they’ll top their group, despite England’s presence, and should get to the Quarter Finals.
The talk before the tournament about Wales revolves around one man, Gareth Bale. The hype is justified, even more so when he pulls on the national jersey. Recently, a famous journalist commented that he turns into a ‘dragon’ when playing for Wales, and there was not an ounce of exaggeration in that statement. However, concentrating only on Bale will be a mistake for their opponents. Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen are capable enough to influence a game on their own. Ramsey has been in good form coming into the tournament and this is an excellent opportunity for him to showcase his talent on the world stage. Joe Allen is loved by all it seems, with captain Ashley Williams declaring that the team have a ‘Joe Allen Appreciation Day’ at least once a week. Although said in jest, such eventshelp in building togetherness among team-mates and Wales look like a team with strong bonds among everyone. Chris Coleman has done an excellent job getting them so far, and it remains to be seen how far they can go in the tournament proper. Personally, I think they’ll top their group, despite England’s presence, and should get to the Quarter Finals.
Key Players: Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Ashley
Williams
Portugal
It seems strange projecting Portugal as dark horses. They’ve been among the favourites for almost every tournament for the past decade and boast the best player in Europe in their squad. The problem in the past few tournaments has been the over-reliance on Ronaldo. The others seem to put their hands up when it comes to taking responsibility in big tournaments. This attitude seems to have changed recently. The team performed well without Ronaldo in the build up to the Euros. More players seem to be taking the initiative in pulling the weight of the team. If they do get their act together, given that they have Ronaldo and a young talented squad, they can upset a few apple-carts along the way. The experience and cool head of Carvalho in the heart of the defense will be an important cog in their machine. Hopefully they can stay away from the rough football they tend to get into sometimes and let the flair take over. There is huge potential for success in this team.
It seems strange projecting Portugal as dark horses. They’ve been among the favourites for almost every tournament for the past decade and boast the best player in Europe in their squad. The problem in the past few tournaments has been the over-reliance on Ronaldo. The others seem to put their hands up when it comes to taking responsibility in big tournaments. This attitude seems to have changed recently. The team performed well without Ronaldo in the build up to the Euros. More players seem to be taking the initiative in pulling the weight of the team. If they do get their act together, given that they have Ronaldo and a young talented squad, they can upset a few apple-carts along the way. The experience and cool head of Carvalho in the heart of the defense will be an important cog in their machine. Hopefully they can stay away from the rough football they tend to get into sometimes and let the flair take over. There is huge potential for success in this team.
Key Players: Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho, Ricardo Quaresma, Ricardo Carvalho
My Predictions
Group Stage
TEAM A
|
SCORE
|
TEAM B
|
|
France
|
3
|
1
|
Romania
|
Albania
|
0
|
2
|
Switzerland
|
Wales
|
2
|
1
|
Slovakia
|
England
|
1
|
1
|
Russia
|
Turkey
|
1
|
0
|
Croatia
|
Poland
|
2
|
1
|
Northern Ireland
|
Germany
|
2
|
1
|
Ukraine
|
Spain
|
2
|
0
|
Czech Republic
|
Rep. of Ireland
|
0
|
1
|
Sweden |
1
|
1
|
Italy
|
|
Austria
|
2
|
0
|
Hungary
|
Portugal
|
1
|
1
|
Iceland
|
Russia
|
1
|
2
|
Slovakia
|
Romania
|
0
|
2
|
Switzerland
|
France
|
3
|
0
|
Albania
|
England
|
0
|
1
|
Wales
|
Ukraine
|
0
|
1
|
Northern Ireland
|
Germany
|
1
|
1
|
Poland
|
Italy
|
2
|
1
|
Sweden
|
Czech Republic
|
2
|
1
|
Croatia
|
Spain
|
1
|
1
|
Turkey
|
Belgium
|
2
|
1
|
Rep. of Ireland
|
Iceland
|
2
|
0
|
Hungary
|
Portugal
|
2
|
1
|
Austria
|
Romania
|
2
|
0
|
Albania
|
Switzerland
|
1
|
1
|
France
|
Russia
|
1
|
2
|
Wales
|
Slovakia
|
1
|
2
|
England
|
Ukraine
|
0
|
2
|
Poland
|
Northern Ireland
|
0
|
3
|
Germany
|
Czech Republic
|
2
|
1
|
Turkey
|
Croatia
|
0
|
2
|
Spain
|
Iceland
|
1
|
1
|
Austria
|
Hungary
|
0
|
2
|
Portugal
|
Italy
|
1
|
1
|
Rep. of Ireland
|
Sweden
|
2
|
1
|
Belgium
|
See you at the opening ceremony!!
No comments:
Post a Comment