RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group A Austria France Iceland Ukraine Group B England Germany Norway Serbia Group C Belgium Finland Italy Romania Group D Greece Holland Republic of Ireland Switzerland Group E Croatia Spain Sweden Wales Group F Poland Portugal Russia Turkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group A Austria World Ranking: 15th Star Player: David Alaba (Bayern Munich) - 45 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Andreas Ivanschitz (4 goals) Manager: Marcel Koller Austria come into this years Euros hoping to surprise everyone. They slip under the radar a little, but are ranked as one of the top 15 teams in World Football today, and went through the qualifying campaign unbeaten, only conceding four goals in ten games. They'll rely on Alaba, a clear star in the team, to provide quality at both ends of the park, and will hope the solid backline of Klein, Prodl, Dragovic and Fuchs can continue the remarkable form of the Qualifiers. A goalscorer will be the main problem, with 32 year old Seattle midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz having a final fling at this level the main goal threat before the tournament. Ideally the likes of Stokes Marko Arnautovic and Stuttgarts Martin Harnik would step up and provide the firepower they seem capable of. They should qualify, providing they can hold off Ukraine, and further progress wouldn't be unthinkable due to the defensive strength, but the lack of a genuine goal threat will hinder them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group A France World Ranking: 33th Star Player: Paul Pogba (Juventus) - 32 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: NA Manager: Didier Deschamps France come into this with all the pressure of being the Host Nation, they also have the pressure of being considered one of the favourites. They have an almost disgusting wealth of talent, with the likes of Pogba, Griezmann, Benzema, Giroud and Lacazette capable of winning games for them, thats excluding the talents of Kante, Martial and Payet who all miss out on the squad. The only noticeable weakness is in the full back areas, where old timers Evra and Sagna seem to have been ousted, replaced by the inexperience of Layvin Kurzwa, whos recently had a high profile move to PSG, and Djibril Sidibie of Lille. They both have nine caps apiece, but have never experienced an International tournament before, and won't get any protection from the likes of Griezmann or Menez. Will stroll the group, unless they completely self destruct, and have more than enough quality to win the whole tournament. The inexperience in defence may cost them against the better sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group A Iceland World Ranking: 22nd Star Player: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) - 38 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Bjorn Sigurdarson (3 goals) Manager: Lars Lagerback Expected to be the whipping boys of the group due to the fact they stumbled through the qualifying group, and then stumbled past Denmark in the Play-Off aswell. Its worth paying them some respect, as you soon realise that their front three is as potent as they get at the International stage. Sigurdarson, Finnbogason and Sigurdsson are all perfectly aligned, and are capable of that one moment of magic that can make all the difference at this level. Theres also experience, with eleven of the twenty three chosen having more than 20 caps to their name. I expect they'll be fortunate to pick up a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group A Ukraine World Ranking: 24th Star Player: Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev) - 59 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Andriy Yarmolenko (3 goals) Manager: Mykhaylo Fomenko A hard team to predict. They cruised through qualifying, and gave Spain a battering in Kiev, but in the warm up fixtures to the tournament have looked dreadful. Strong selections were thoroughly embarrassed firstly by Italy, who beat them 3-1, then by Germany, who went one better and scored four. Its the last thing they needed before being thrust into a competitive group. An attacking focus has been demanded by the fans, and promised by the manager, as Ukraine try and get the best out of Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka. This would normally be a suicidal tactic, but Ukraines hidden strength is in their backline. Rakitskiy and Khacheridi are the two centre halves, and both have just had the seasons of their lives, add in the fact both are complete with all the right attributes and both have over 40 caps, its easy to see why the attacking focus is acceptable. Could bomb out in the groups, or could be the surprise side of the tournament. A lot depends on their two wide mens performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group B England World Ranking: 8th Star Player: Harry Kane (Tottenham) - 7 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Daniel Sturridge (5 goals) Manager: Roy Hodgson As expected England strolled through their group, although goalless draws at home to both Switzerland and Slovenia suggest overconfidence may be an issue for this group of players. That combined with pre-tournament draws with Austria, Poland and Ukraine have tempered the usually over-exuberant expectations. The strength of the team lies in their attack, with Kane, Sturridge, Welbeck and Rooney all involved in the squad, and the likes of Sterling capable of creating numerous chances. Defence is the obvious worry, and a settled one has not been found yet, it looks like Manchester United pairing Smalling and Jones will start as the first choices in the centre. Should qualify stress free from the Group, the now traditional Quarter Final exit seems likely, but the attacking options they have could propel them further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group B Germany World Ranking: 2nd Star Player: Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) - 75 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Thomas Muller (4 goals) Manager: Joachim Low Heavy favourites, thanks to the fact they currently hold the World Cup, and few can envisage them not reaching the Final. Much like France they have a true embarrassment of riches. Yet again they head into a tournament with only one real centre forward in the squad, this year its Wolfsburg striker Max Kruse, who bagged 11 Bundesliga goals this season, but once again it looks likely the striking role will be taken up by a more unconventional player. Muller is usually the one given the role, but Schurrle, Gotze and Volland all featured there in the Qualifiers, and all make the squad. There seems no real weak point, and pre-tournament dismantlings of Sweden, France, Ukraine, Bosnia and Ukraine sent a clear warning to the rest of Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group B Norway World Ranking: 30th Star Player: Martin Odegaard (Real Madrid) - 13 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Veton Berisha (6 goals) Manager: Per Mathias Hogmo Harshly put into a group involving England and Germany, which severely stunts their chance of progression, they'll need a superb showing to be in contention for the trophy. Positives for them are the victory over Italy in the Qualifiers, the fact Berisha was the top scorer in the Qualifiers and having the mercurial talents of Odegaard to call on. Thats about it though. Their attacking talents can look special on their day, but mostly against weaker sides, while the defence is poor. A strong team spirit will be relied on, as will some luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group B Serbia World Ranking: 61st Star Player: Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) - 31 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Filip Djordjevic (2 goals) Manager: Radovan Curcic Qualified despite losing as many games as they won, while only scoring six goals in eight games. They seem to be the weakest side in this Group backed up by a dreadful draw with Greece before the tournament began. They play with two solid defensive midfielders camped right on top of the defence, with only Kolarov given any licence from those six players to get forward. Kostic and Ljajic are more than capable of creating problems, but are often left isolated on the wings and don't get the chances required to influence things. A more adventurous manager may have been able to use those talents, combined with Matics defensive strength, and create a team capable of getting out of this group. Curcics negativity will deny them that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group C Belgium World Ranking: 3rd Star Player: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - 65 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Christian Benteke (4 goals) Manager: Marc Wilmots The "Golden Generation" seem to have been around for ages now, but realistically this is the nearing maturity. You struggle to believe a team containing the talents of Benteke, Lukaku, Batshuayi, De Bruyne, Hazard, Kompany and Courtois will never win one of these tournaments, and this could be their year. A stroll through Qualifying then an impressive pre-tournament showing suggests they players also believe this is their year. A reluctance from the manager to move away from a holding midfielder means only three of the attacking players listed will start matches, which is a shame. Its maybe wise to try and protect the backline though, who are prone to moments of madness. Winning this tournament has to be the goal for Belgium, they seem capable on paper, but still lag behind Germany, France and Spain in reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group C Finland World Ranking: 38th Star Player: Roman Eremenko (CSKA Moscow) - 76 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Timo Furuholm (4 goals) Manager: Hans Backe Were fortunate to land such a weak Qualification Group, haven't been so lucky to draw Belgium and Italy. A selection of Scandinavian based players mixed with those based in Germany makes up the squad, with around three quarters of them being regulars for their clubs, Furuholm, for instance, didnt play a single game for his club side, who play in the German Third Division. This all means they'll be heavily reliant on Eremenko to create chances for them, perhaps worryingly they've started using him a deeper role, which nullifies all his attacking threat, and as such they've struggled to create anything. One hopes its just an experiment gone wrong, as they'll be doomed without him further forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group C Italy World Ranking: 11th Star Player: Marco Verratti (PSG) - 19 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Ciro Immobile/Mario Balotelli (4 goals) Manager: Antonio Conte Perennial qualifiers, and perennial challengers, this year should be no different. A stroll through Qualifying was very Italy-esque, with Contes 3-5-2 that he perfected at Juventus in full flow. In the past we usually have Pirlo as the deepest midfielder, and while the evergreen playmaker makes the squad, its more likely that the more rugged De Rossi will occupy that position. The attack will be key to Italys chances,with Balotelli, Immobile, Zaza, Insigne and Eder all in good form, and all bringing something different to the table. You'd expect them to go far, and it would be nice to see Buffon and Pirlo lift the trophy in what will surely be their final tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Group C Romania World Ranking: 13th Star Player: Stefan Radu (Lazio) - 22 caps Top Scorer in Qualifying: Ciprian Marica (3 goals) Manager: Anghel Iordanescu Have all the elements to surprise a few teams, and could easily steal something from Belgium or Italy, but also lack a real goal threat. An attacking 4-4-2 formation is played to try and counteract that, but against higher quality sides, they'll struggle to find the correct balance between defence and attack. Their hopes lie with Ciprian Marica, whose seven goals for FC Steaua represent his most prolific season since 2009/10. In defence Radu and Chiriches give them some quality, with both semi-regulars in Serie A, but most of the players come from Eastern European sides, and most look weaker than whats required at this level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Wee Villa Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I'm reading it RG. Ignore the H8TRZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Wee Villa Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Ah hang on just realised last post was ages ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 I saved over the save and couldn't be arsed starting again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartan Dave Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 I went Scotland and took them to the EURO 2016 final only to be beat 3-2 by England. I don't know how to do screenshots etc, but I was using a 3 at the back with 2 wingbacks. One holding mid, 2 centre mids and 2 strikers. Scores were 4-1 loss to Switzerland - Danny Wilson goal 1-0 Win over Serbia - Rhodes 2-1 over Denmark - Rhodes and Steven Fletcher Last 16 3-2 over Germany- Rhodes x2, Griffiths 1-0 Over italy - Rhodes in the 90th minute 3-1 Over france- Rhodes, Wilson, Fletcher 2-3 Defeat to England- Griffiths with both. Was gutting to lose the final mainly because I assumed I'd win cause I seemed to be beating teams I had no right to beat. Fitness was main issue with my wingbacks Robertson and Anya having about 70% fitness going into game, Had to play Paterson and Tierney in their place. Continued into World Cup campaign where I'm miles behind England and Slovenia, I've since gave up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartan Dave Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartan Dave Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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