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With just 2 more days to go for Euro 2016 to kick off, bookies have marked their favourites for the tournament. The likes of Germany and Spain always enter a tournament as hot-favourites and it is no different this time either.
However, France, England and Belgium are also going with some superb players under their banner and it won’t be a matter of surprise if any of these teams went on to lift the trophy by the end of the tournament.
But this is football—and it is full of surprises. Just a little over a decade ago, Greece surprised everyone with their triumphant 2004 European Championship campaign. Who’s to say something similar won’t happen this time? After all, this has been a year of surprises with Leicester City winning a topsy-turvy Premier League campaign.
All the teams have prepared in earnest for the tournament. The most interesting aspect of major tournaments for fans, apart from their team’s performance itself, is to wear the national colours and show their support.
Some jerseys like the Republic of Ireland’s beautiful green, designed by Umbro for Euro 2016, contain some very intriguing features, such as the shiny diagonal stripe, which adds a dash of glamour to the classic green colour. There are also flashes of white and orange on the collar and side panels, which act as an homage to jerseys of the past.
The sheer number of teams and unpredictability makes this a tournament that could flabbergast people. And here are 5 teams most capable of causing an upset at the tournament:
Republic of Ireland
This name might surprise many at the outset, but a deeper look at their team would suggest that they are not your regular pushovers like it has been touted.
With some really good players, coupled with great team spirit and experience—the Republic of Ireland are perfectly capable of causing an upset at the Euros.
Another important feature on show at the European Championships will be the varied range of football shoes on display, with Richard Keogh wearing Umbro’s Medusae 4th Colourway, one of the most attractive and innovative boots that’ll be in use at the tournament.
While this is not to claim that they could go all the way, they could certainly shock many with their performances. The trio of Shane Long, Jonathan Walters and Jeff Hendrick have caused plenty of problems for defenses during the qualification campaign and they will be a handful for opposition defenses.
Jeff Hendrick is somewhat of an unknown quantity, but the Germans will know of his talent after his very strong display against them as a substitute player. James McCarthy is an admirable protector of the backline while possessing the ability to make valuable contribution to the attack—something he doesn’t do very often, but is good at when he does venture forward.
Both the full-backs, Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady are very good going forward, and will have a key role to play providing the team with some much needed pace and crossing down the flanks.
Overall, with a sturdy midfield and fluent attack, Martin O’Neill’s men could do a fine job in the tournament.
Wales
While Wales is being labeled as the one-man army of Gareth Bale, there is so much more to them than just the Real Madrid man. With players like Aaron Ramsey, Ashley Williams, Ben Davies and Joe Allen, Wales have a very talented core of footballers who could take them very far in the tournament.
Ramsey’s scoring might have gone down in recent months, but his cunning runs from deep midfield always cause the opposition problems and they will have to be alert in order to stop him.
However, the main man is Gareth Bale. Wales’ success in the qualifiers was predominantly down to the genius of the Real Madrid man. His blistering pace, power and ability to play with freedom in Wales’ system makes him a game-changer; he’s someone who can turn the game on its head at any moment all by himself.
As history books have showed us, there have been some fine displays of individual performances which proved to be match-winning. Whether or not Bale can do it for the whole tournament is questionable, but if he plays to his best in every single game, there is a good chance Wales could go all the way.
Poland
A look at Poland’s roster would tell everyone that the squad is one full of intriguing prospects and there isn’t a limit to what they could possibly achieve at the Euros.
For starters, they have Robert Lewandowski. Regardless of how many superlatives one uses to describe the abilities of the Poland captain, they will fall short of truly representing him. With 34 international goals in 76 games, he is the one on whose shoulders the hopes of Poland progressing rest on.
However, he is not alone. With players like Jakub Blaszczykowski, Lukasz Piszczek and Grzegorz Krychowiak, Poland have a good core that could take them really far in the tournament.
Tactically, the most important player is Krychowiak. The Sevilla midfielder had his best season as a player, protecting the backline with grace while guiding Sevilla to Europa League glory. His incredible ability to read the game and avert danger before it arises remains his greatest skill.
A lot will depend on him if Poland are to make it far in the tournament—and they most definitely have the team to do so.
Croatia
If there was a line between dark horses and favourites, then Croatia would be sitting on it. Their team is filled with some players who are some of the finest footballers the world has right now.
Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mario Mandzukic, Dario Srna, Mateo Kovacic, Sime Vrsaljko, Tin Jedvaj… their team is filled with talented players from defense to attack. With Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mateo Kovacic, it wouldn’t far-fetched to claim that their midfield is among the very best in the tournament.
Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Perisic’s presence in attack gives them two brilliant forwards, whereas with Vedran Corluka and captain Srna in defense, they have a well-rounded team. The Croatians have already made a statement by beating San Marino 10-0 in a pre-Euro friendly game.
Among all the teams enlisted here, they have the best squad and are the most likely to go all the way to win the tournament.
Austria
After England, they were the team that garnered the most points from the qualification rounds with 9 wins out of 10 games, including the 4-1 thrashing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden at Stockholm. They finished top of a group that contained Russia and Sweden and look like one finely drilled team heading into the tournament.
The obvious star of the team is Bayern Munich’s David Alaba. For his nation, he plays in midfield and stamps his authority on the team’s system, but he isn’t the only one capable of winning them games.
Towering forward Marc Janko scored 7 goals during qualifying. They also have Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic to support him in attack. Finally, in defense, Premier League winning left-back Christian Fuchs comes off the back of a stellar campaign—where he made the most interceptions (98) in the Premier League among all players, as well as creating 45 chances going forward.
Manager Marcel Koller has done a fantastic job in drilling a fine-tuned system for his team. Austria play very well as a unit, which could make them a surprise package this summer.
