Spotlight back on the pitch for Euros
All eyes on hosts France
Belgian national soccer players Dries Mertens (left), and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (right), attend a training of the Belgian national soccer team in Lausanne, Switzerland on May 23.
(AP)
LONDON, May 24, (RTRS): Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France on June 10 — 210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people.
It should have been a proud moment for former UEFA president Michel Platini.
The France great, who inspired his country’s 1984 title on home soil, achieved his wish of expanding the tournament to a record 24 nations. But a four-year ban, handed down after becoming engulfed by the FIFA corruption scandal that has rocked the sport, means he will be a notable absentee.
Against such a backdrop it can only be hoped that the tournament, the first since the sleaze hit the fan last summer and the last with a single host before it goes continent-wide in 2020, can deliver some memorable moments on the pitch.
It certainly has the potential to do so with 51 matches in 31 days spread across France from the coal-mining country of Lens in the north to the Mediterranean port of Marseille.
MADRID, May 24, (AFP): Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane’s chances of representing France on home soil at Euro 2016 remain in the balance after Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed he will be out for up to three weeks with a hamstring injury.
Varane will definitely miss Real’s Champions League final against Atletico Madrid on Saturday and faces a race against time to be fit for France’s opening Euro 2016 game against Romania on June 10.
“It is sure that he will be injured for Saturday,” said Zidane on Tuesday.
“I expect he will be out for two or
France, winners in 1984 and 2000, will carry the hopes of a nation still coming to terms with last year’s militant attacks.
Manager Didier Deschamps has some enviable quality at his disposal in Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and forwards Kingsley Coman and Antoine Griezmann.
World champions Germany will be targeting a first Euro title in 20 years while England seek their first international success since the World Cup of 1966.
Roy Hodgson’s youthful side went through qualifying with a 100 percent record and have real goal threat in the form of Jamie Vardy, one of the stars for unlikely champions Leicester City, and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.
One consequence of the fatter format means only eight teams will be eliminated from the six initial groups of four, with even third place likely to seal a last-16 spot.
Spain’s group looks the toughest on
three weeks. I hope for him it isn’t as severe as anticipated.
“I hope he’ll have the chance to do something at the Euros.
“For sure it is a big blow, but above all for him. I am very disappointed for him.”
Sevilla defender Adil Rami was called up to Didier Deschamps squad on Monday as cover in case Varane is ruled out of the tournament.
Deschamps is already without a key defender as Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho was left out of his 23-man squad for the tournament due to a provisional doping ban.
paper, with the Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia, while France should comfortably top a section including Albania, Romania and Switzerland.
Italy will also have to be on their guard against a dangerous-looking Belgium squad, Ireland and Sweden who in Zlatan Ibrahimovic have one of the tournament’s A-listers.
Others vying for the limelight include Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo who endured a disappointing World Cup and is running out of time to claim a first title for his country.
Of the debutants, Iceland’s appearance will add novelty value although having finished above the Netherlands in qualifying they will need to be taken seriously by group rivals Portugal, Austria and Hungary.
Wales, too, will not just be making up the numbers if talisman Gareth Bale, who has led them to their first finals since the 1958 World Cup, is fit and firing.
In this July 1, 2012 file photo, Italy’s Mario Balotelli (center), and Spain’s Jordi Alba fight for the ball during the Euro 2012 soccer championship final between Spain and Italy in Kiev, Ukraine. Four years after his goals propelled Italy into the European Championship final, Mario Balotelli won’t even get a chance to
play in this year’s tournament. (AP)