EUROPE AT WAR
great football. If the players are the artists, then the stadiums are their canvasses and this year’s tourney will be blessed with some fantastic arenas hosting the action.
From the classic Stade de France that will play host to the first and last match of the tournament to the upgraded stadium in Marseille and the brand new stadium in Lyon — Euro 2016 will be a spectacle on and off the pitch Euro 2016 will provide the opportunity for several young players to step up and fire their countries to glory while catapulting themselves to global stardom at the same time.
On home soil, midfield player Paul Pogba and winger Kingsley Coman have the perfect opportunity to write their own chapter of football history.
Coming off the back of a breakthrough season in the English Premier League, Dele Alli of England will get the chance to strut his stuff on the international stage.
Belgium’s Kevin de Bruyne and N’Golo Kante of France are other young guns who will be central to their respective nations’ fortunes.
Belgium will be out to prove they are worthy of their No 2 overall Fifa ranking, second only to the mighty Argentina and best among the European nations. A 5000-1 outsider has just walked away with the Premier League title over 38 games.
It only takes seven games to lift the European Championship, so there will be plenty of unfancied nations eyeing the chance to cause a Leicester-like shock in France.
Heading that group will be Wales, who in Gareth Bale, boast the world’s most expensive player, with proven Premier League pedigree alongside Aaron Ramsey and Ashley Williams.
Even minnows such as Iceland, in their first major tournament appearance, will take inspiration from Leicester City who proved that in football anything really is possible. Everywhere you look there are potential Hollywood storylines waiting to be written.
Can striker Jamie Vardy deliver a spectacular footnote to his rags-toriches narrative and end England’s 50-year wait for an international trophy? Can Cristiano Ronaldo bring glory to Portugal to go with another stellar club season and his three Champions League titles?
Can his Real Madrid teammate Bale steer Wales to an unlikely victory in their first tournament finals appearance since 1958?
Can what’s left of the allconquering Spain team dust off their World Cup disappointment to claim an unprecedented third European Championship in succession?
Or can Belgium deliver on their undoubted promise to lift a first major international title? In its new expanded 24-team format, this year’s European Championships will present 51 games over an entire month. That means only eight teams will depart after the group stages, so almost every match will have something riding on it.
Teams could enter their final game knowing that even after two defeats a win could see them progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
The introduction of the round of 16 knockout stage adds eight more sudden-death matches where anything can happen and presents an extra opportunity for England to lose in a penalty shoot-out! Reigning world champions? Check. Reigning European champions? Check. Five of the top-10 ranked teams in the world? Check. All are present for Euro 2016. No doubting the pedigree, but will the winners come from this elite group? We have 51 games to find out. There was a degree of harrumphing in certain quarters about Uefa’s decision to expand the finals to 24 teams, but there can be no denying it spiced up the qualification process.
Many more teams were given the belief they could qualify and for five nations that belief translated into reality.
This year’s tournament will welcome no less than five nations on debut at the finals of a European Championship and who is to say we won’t see Iceland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Albania or Slovakia go on to write a new chapter in their nation’s footballing history by causing a major upset or two in the finals? Major tournament final matches are high-stakes, high-pressure affairs, but add in some local derbies and these games guarantee drama at any stage of the competition.
Wherever you turn in Euro 2016, you will see neighbouring countries with scores to settle and bragging rights to be won.
Look at Wales striving to upset England, Germany hoping to see off Poland or the too-close-to-call Austria versus Hungary clash and it’s easy to see the classics coming early in the competition. Every great football tournament deserves a great ball and adidas have delivered for Euro 2016.
The players will be working their magic with the Beau Jeu and fans all over the world will be hoping it lives up to its translated name of The Beautiful Game. — fourfourtwo.com