With Euro 2016 rapidly approachin we are today taking a look at the main contenders to win the European Championships in France this summer – can Germany do the World and European double?
It’s going to be an interesting month when the European Championships roll around in June. The added teams in the competition means there will likely be a whole host of surprises. Can Gareth Bale and his Welsh side power past England? Can the Polish cause a shock against the Germans? There will be plenty of questions asked of most nations.
Still there are a handful of teams who are already tipped for the Henri Delaunay Trophy. Here’s our brief guide to just who we think will be there or there abouts in France.
The Main Contenders to win Euro 2016:
Germany
The Germans are the current world champions, yet they only sit at number four in the FIFA World Rankings behind Belgium and Spain, so it shows just how tight it’ll be this summer.
However, you’d never bet against the Germans and with players like Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, and Toni Kroos in their team alongside Joachim Low at the helm, success is something all too familiar.
The nation struggled against Poland in qualifying but their tournament pedigree should see them through the tricky tie at the Stade de France, and equally Ukraine and Northern Ireland shouldn’t be too much of a problem for Die Maanschaft. They were runners up in 2008 and semi-finalists in 2012. Could this be their year?
Belgium
It’ll be an interesting tournament for Belgium. Whilst many are calling them dark horses, it’s hard to see how the world number one ranked side could possibly be given that label. The squad is jam-packed full of world class talent including Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romelu Lukaku, but they’ve yet to really prove themselves at an international tournament.
The World Cup was no finer example of this, scraping past the USA in the Round of 16 before limping out to Argentina in the Quarter Final. If they’re to remain at the top of the tree they’ll need to prove themselves this summer, but with the multitude of talent in their ranks, that’s very possible.
France
France have a bit of a habit when it comes to winning on home soil. The nation stormed to World Cup glory at France ’98 and the last time they held a Euros back in 1984 they found themselves lifting the trophy thanks to inspired performances from Michel Platini.
This year it’ll be the turn of Paul Pogba, and if he can pull out some of the magic we know he has, then the French could find themselves at the Stade de France on July 10. Home advantage hasn’t contributed to the competition since France in the 80s. Do we sense a little history repeating?
Spain
Despite a less than desirable World Cup, Spain are still expected to be one of the teams to beat this summer. After all, when you’ve Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, and Diego Costa in your team, not to mention the whole host of other stars, that’s hardly surprising.
They cruised through qualifying conceding only three goals and losing just the once, and should they win the competition again it’ll be their third in a row, a staggering feat and period of dominance which has already placed this Spain team well and truly amongst the footballing greats.
Thatsagoal.com Team
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