The process for the Euro 2016 draw was a little different than in past year’s although similar staples remained with the host side France benefitting from being labeled as a top seed. Meanwhile, those in charge did their best to spread the talent pool around as best as they could. However, as is the case at every one of these major tournaments, there is a clear disparity among some of the groups including in particular this year’s Group of Death, which could be up for debate with two potential candidates. Here is a look at four key takeaways from the Euro 2016 draw.
Group D Deserves To Be Considered Group Of Death
A lot was made in the hours following the draw about how Group E would be considered the Group of Death with Belgium, Italy, Ireland and Sweden. However, the reality is the most difficult group appears to be Group D, which will feature Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia. Spain will be considered the obvious favorite to advance from that group but all four teams will have a very good shot at making it through the group stage with intriguing matchups in all six games. Spain should still be able to find a way to advance but if they stumble early on, it wouldn’t be a shock to see any combination of Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia advance in their place. Turkey would appear to be the weakest link but considering they’re considered to be the fourth-place team in the group, that shows just how strong this group is from top to bottom.
Hosts France Will Have Easiest Group Stage Schedule
While the Group of Death label will be up for debate, there will be no doubt about which side has the easiest path through the group stage. The hosts France being placed in Group A along with Romania, Albania and Switzerland. The host side received about as good of a draw as it could have possibly imagined and should have no problem making it through with Romania likely the biggest challenge for France. Switzerland plays a defensive-minded approach and often lacks the offensive pop necessary to get the job done. They’ll likely be the biggest challenge for Romania in terms of advancing. Meanwhile, Albania is a weakling that’s likely to be the doormat in this group.
Group C Filled With Intrigue
There was a lot of talk about how the expanded tournament structure might impact the group stage and take away from some of the matchups but that certainly won’t be the case at all in Group C where every matchup should provide plenty of intrigue. Germany is undoubtedly the favorite in that group but every one of its matchups should be interesting with Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland all intriguing games for very different reasons. Meanwhile, Ukraine is expected to be the second seed in that group but Poland certainly can’t be overlooked and is it really that crazy to think that Northern Ireland can shock the world at Euro 2016? Regardless of the result, it should be an interesting group stage.
England, Wales To Clash In Group C
Speaking of intrigue in the group stage, the anticipation is already building for the most important matchup in recent history between neighboring sides from England and Wales with the result from that game to have a major impact on how the tournament plays out for both sides. England will be in tough with Russia and Slovakia in Group B as well and the rivalry with Wales means they won’t have any easy games at the Euro 2016 tournament.
2016 Euro Groups
Group A
Albania
France
Romania
Switzerland
Group B
England
Russia
Slovakia
Wales
Group C
Germany
Northern Ireland
Poland
Ukraine
Group D
Croatia
Czech Republic
Spain
Turkey
Group E
Belgium
Italy
Republic of Ireland
Sweden
Group F
Austria
Hungary
Iceland
Portugal
