Group C
Germany
The qualifying campaign was a bit unsatisfying after their conquests in the world cup. There is no doubt in the fact that they have, hands down, one of the best squads in the competition.
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Bernd Leno (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Emre Can (Liverpool), Jonas Hector (FC Koln), Benedikt Howedes (FC Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund/Bayern Munich), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Antonio Rudiger (AS Roma)
Midfielders: Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich),Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray), Andre Schurrle (VfL Wolfsburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United),Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards: Mario Gomez (Besiktas), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (FC Schalke)
Northern Ireland
A team consisting of mostly championship players. It will be interesting to how they fare in the tournament.
Goalkeepers: Alan Mannus (St Johnstone), Michael McGovern (Hamilton Academical), Roy Carroll (Linfield)
Defenders: Craig Cathcart (Watford), Jonathan Evans (West Bromwich Albion), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Luke McCullough (Doncaster Rovers), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town), Lee Hodson (MK Dons), Aaron Hughes (Free agent), Patrick McNair (Manchester United), Chris Baird (Derby County)
Midfielders: Steven Davis (Southampton), Oliver Norwood, (Reading), Corry Evans, (Blackburn Rovers), Shane Ferguson (Millwall), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest)
Forwards: Kyle Lafferty (Norwich City), Conor Washington (Queens Park Rangers), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock), Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic)
Poland
All eyes will definitely be on a certain Robert Lewandowski. But, even besides him they have a strong squad. If Robert can replicate his Bayern form, then we are talking qualification.
Goalkeepers: Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Wojciech Szczesny (AS Roma), Artur Boruc (Bournemouth).
Defenders: Thiago Cionek (Palermo), Kamil Glik (Torino), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Michal Pazdan (Legia Warsaw), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Bartosz Salamon (Cagliari), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Lechia Gdansk).
Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Fiorentina), Kamil Grosicki (Rennes), Tomasz Jodlowiec (Legia Warsaw), Bartosz Kapustka (Cracovia), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla), Karol Linetty (Lech Poznan), Krzysztof Maczynski (Wisla), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Filip Starzynski (Zaglebie Lubin), Piotr Zielinski (Empoli).
Forwards: Arkadiusz Milik (Ajax), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Mariusz Stepinski (Ruch Chorzow).
Ukraine
Yevhen Konoplyanka is one of those known names in the squad. With a lack of quality especially in the attack, it will be interesting to see how far they progress in the tournament.
Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar), Denys Boyko (Besiktas), Mykyta Shevchenko (Zorya).
Defenders: Evhen Khacheridi (Dynamo Kiev), Bohdan Butko (Amkar), Artem Fedetskyi (Dnipro), Oleksandr Karavaev (Zorya), Oleksandr Kucher (Shakhtar), Yaroslav Rakytskyi (Shakhtar), Vyacheslav Shevchuk (Shakhtar).
Midfielders: Serhiy Rybalka (Dynamo Kiev), Denys Garmash (Dynamo Kiev), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Dynamo Kiev), Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev), Evhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla), Ruslan Rotan (Dnipro), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar), Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar), Anatolyi Tumoschuk (Kairat), Oleksandr Zinchenko (UFA).
Forwards: Evhen Seleznyov (Shakhtar), Pylyp Budkovskyi (Zorya), Roman Zozulya (Dnipro).
Group D
Croatia
Let me just address one thing, Luca Modric is a beast. His performance in the Champions League final against midfielders a lot stronger and bigger than him, proved that. Besides him in midfield will be Rakitic and Kovacic, and I am already salivating at the prospect. Impressed already? I didn’t even mention Mandzukic as the focal point in attack. Keep an eye on this space.
Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Lovre Kalinic (Hajduk Split), Ivan Vargic (Rijeka).
Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Domagoj Vida (Dynamo Kiev), Sime Vrsaljko (Sassuolo), Gordon Schildenfeld (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Strinic (Napoli), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen).
Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan), Marko Rog (Dinamo Zagreb), Ante Coric (Dinamo Zagreb).
Strikers: Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Nikola Kalinic (Fiorentina), Marko Pjaca (Dinamo Zagreb), Duje Cop (Dinamo Zagreb), Andrej Kramaric (Leicester).
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic topped their group consisting of France and the Netherlands. Arsenal stopper has announced his retirement from International Football, and it might as well be the last international tournament for Tomas Rosicky. Those two’s experience will be key for Czech’s chances in the competition.
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Arsenal), Tomas Vaclik (Basle), Tomas Koubek (Slovan Liberec)
Defenders: Theodor Gebre Selassie (Werder Bremen), Roman Hubnik (Viktoria Pilsen), Pavel Kaderabek (Hoffenheim), Michal Kadlec (Fenerbahce), David Limbersky (Viktoria Pilsen), Daniel Pudil (Sheffield Wednesday), Marek Suchy (Basle), Tomas Sivok (Bursaspor)
Midfielders: Vladimir Darida (Hertha Berlin), Borek Dockal (Sparta Prague), Jiri Skalak (Brighton) Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Pilsen), Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), David Pavelka (Kasimpasa), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), Josef Sural (Sparta Prague)
Forwards: David Lafata (Sparta Prague), Tomas Necid (Burkaspor), Milan Skoda (Slavia Prague)
Spain
There is little to say about the brilliant Spanish squad, they have lifted the Euro in each of the last two occasions. The likes of Xavi and Xabi has passed the mantle to the likes of Koke and Thiago. There seems to be an absence of a big name up front, and bulk of the scoring would have to be done from the midfield. I do have a feeling that they will oblige.
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto), David De Gea (Man United), Sergio Rico (Sevilla).
Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba, Marc Bartra (all Barcelona), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Mikel San José (Athletic Bilbao), Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid).
Midfielders: Bruno (Villarreal), Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta (both Barcelona), Thiago (Bayern Munich), David Silva (Manchester City), Pedro, Cesc Fábregas (both Chelsea), Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid).
Forwards: Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Nolito (Celta Vigo), Álvaro Morata (Juventus).
Turkey
A very talented Turkish side (though they finished behind Iceland and the Czech Republic in the Qualifying). Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan and dead-ball specialist and Çalhanou are men to watch out for.
Goalkeepers: Volkan Babacan (Medipol Basaksehir), Onur Recep Kivrak (Trabzonspor), Harun Tekin (Bursaspor)
Defenders: Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Sener Ozbayrakli (Bursaspor), Semih Kaya (Galatasaray), Ahmet Calik (Genclerbirligi), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Caner Erkin (Fenerbahce), Ismail Koybasi (Besiktas)
Midfielders: Mehmet Topal (Fenerbahce), Selcuk Inan (Galatasaray), Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahce), Oguzhan Ozyakup (Besiktas), Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen), Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund), Arda Turan (Barcelona), Olcay Sahan (Besiktas), Volkan Sen (Fenerbahce), Emre Mor (Nordsjaelland)
Strikers: Burak Yilmaz (Beijing Guoan), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Yunus Malli (Mainz)
