4) Multiple groups of death
When the draw was made last December, many fans wished the tournament started the next day. The post-qualifying seedings, the rapid rise in the technical ability of traditionally weaker teams and the unpredictability of the draw meant that there were multiple groups this time that could be dubbed as the ‘Group of Death’.
England will have to get past Russia and Wales, who have Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Ashley Williams amongst others lining up against them. Belgium, Italy and Sweden have been drawn together, while Spain, Turkey, Croatia and the Czech Republic – will have to fight it out for the top 2 knockout spots (and at least fourth-best of the third-placed teams).
It promises to be an unpredictable group stage, with a couple of favourites definitely going out before the Round of 16. An upset or two from the unheralded teams in the Groups of Death wouldn’t be unwelcome, would it?
