The attacks on Paris made UEFA officials reassess whether or not it was safe to host Euro 2016 in France next year. Now that they’ve reaffirmed that the tournament will go ahead as planned, we can get back to the more trivial parts of the world landscape such as who will actually be participating in the tournament. With the second legs of the four playoff matchups finishing up over the past two days, we finally have our twenty-four team field for France 2016. Here’s how it all breaks down.
The participants in the tournament are broken down into four pots of six teams each. The pots are based on the UEFA National Team Coefficient Rankings with the exception of the host nation France who was slotted into Pot 1 even before the qualifying process began.
POT 1
France (Host Nation, Did Not Need To Qualify)
Spain (Group C Winner)
Germany (Group D Winner)
England (Group E Winner)
Belgium (Group B Winner)
Portugal (Group I Winner)
As you would expect, Pot 1 is the creme de la creme of European football. Current World Cup holders Germany and reigning and two time defending European champions Spain both sit in Pot 1. Spain is looking to rebound from a miserable World Cup showing to win an unprecedented third consecutive Euros. The Germans are looking to retain their momentum from their fourth World Cup crown and add another piece of silverware to an already overflowing trophy case.
England, a perennial underachiever at major tournaments, comes off one of the most dominant qualifying runs in recent memory. The Three Lions won all ten of their qualifiers, a hard task even against what was deemed by some as weaker competition, and produced a 31-to-3 goals scored to goals conceded ratio.
Portugal took advantage of the one team less in Group I, and they go as Cristiano Ronaldo goes. No “elite” team in world football relies more on one man than A Selecção does on CR7.
Belgium is a sneaky dark horse entering this tournament. The Belgians didn’t qualify for Euro 2012, but they put on quite the show in Brazil with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and Thibaut Courtois glistened in the world spotlight. They are hoping their young stars can make that next leap into the pantheon of world powers in France.
The team that will now be playing for the most next year is the host nation. France has had support rallied for them around the world following the recent tragedies, but Les Bleus had lofty expectations even before then. They have some of the most dynamic talent in the world, but since their World Cup win as hosts in 1998 the French have folded in the biggest moments. They have the talent, and now they’ll have the support of every neutral fan coming into the tournament.
POT 2
Italy (Group H Winner)
Switzerland (Group E Runner-Up)
Croatia (Group H Runner-Up)
Austria (Group G Winner)
Russia (Group G Runner-Up)
Ukraine (Playoff Winner)
Even with Italy in its midst, Pot 2 is filled with complete wild cards. All six nations here could make a deep run in this competition but just as easily be knocked out in the group stages.
The Italians have seemed to be a one tournament on, one tournament off team lately. That tournament on has been the Euros as of late. They have been knocked out by Spain in the last two Euros, in the 2008 quarterfinals on penalties and in the 2012 final, sandwiched around two miserable World Cups. But the Azzurri did win the World Cup in 2006 and when they are fully healthy there aren’t many more well organized teams in Europe.
The Swiss have been quietly hovering around the top ten in the world rankings for years now, but they have yet to make their mark on even the European scene. They don’t possess many household names in their starting XI, but rest assured players such as Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri and Juventus’ Stephan Lichsteiner won’t back down from any of the big dogs come next summer.
Croatia and Russia were both expected to do better in their qualifying groups, but both rallied late to guarantee themselves automatic qualification. Like Switzerland, both of these nations have produced some wonderful players that play in the top leagues all over the globe. Neither have that one defining win though on a stage like the Euros that takes them from a good team to a great one.
Austria hasn’t been viewed as a successful football side since the 1950’s. This is only their second time ever qualifying for the Euros, but the Austrians did it with style. They had the fifth best goal differential in qualifying and showed a cohesiveness as a squad that could allow them to spring a few more upsets come France 2016.
Ukraine finished off their qualification yesterday with a gritty 1-1 draw against Slovenia. They tied with Norway with the most points by a third placed team in qualifying (19) and have a plethora of attacking talent at their disposal. However, they are prone to bouts of mindlessness that end up costing them the chance at bigger things.
POT 3
Czech Republic (Group A Winner)
Sweden (Playoff Winner)
Poland (Group D Runner-Up)
Romania (Group F Runner-Up)
Slovakia (Group C Runner-Up)
Hungary (Playoff Winner)
Pot 3 brings the most mystery to the competition but also two of the most prolific goal scorers the European scene has to offer at the moment.
The Czechs are the only group winner in Pot 3, but the fact that they were able to win Group A and keep the Netherlands out of the competition altogether is an impressive accomplishment. Goalkeeper Petr Cech will captain the club heading to France, but if they hope to advance they’ll need to improve directly in front of him. Czech Republic were the leakiest defense (14 goals conceded) among all group winners.
Sweden dared to Zlatan one last time and the Swedish great granted them entrance into their fifth consecutive European Championships. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a soccer nomad, but has always been a talisman for his country. He can still score from free kicks, open play, and from the spot and as long as he can keep his temper in check he may keep the Blågult in this tournament longer than people expect.
Speaking of guys who score in bunches, emerge from under your rock if you are unaware of the unconscious run that Poland’s Robert Lewandowski is currently on. He is the leading scorer for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga with 14 goals and led all players in scoring during qualifying with 13 more. The Poles are becoming a more complete team as they bring a more experienced squad to France. But if they want to continue to shock the world, Lewandowski’s boot needs to continue to smolder.
The three remaining teams are where the mystery really comes into play. Slovakia makes their Euro debut but they raised eyebrows when they pushed the Netherlands to the limit in the 2010 World Cup Round of 16. Romania and Hungary have made the European Championships before, but the former missed out in 2012 and the latter hasn’t made the cut since 1972. Both emerge from Group F where favorite to win Greece finished rock bottom of the group, even beneath the Faroe Islands.
POT 4
Turkey (Best Ranked 3rd Place Team)
Ireland (Playoff Winner)
Iceland (Group A Runner-Up)
Wales (Group B Runner-Up)
Albania (Group I Runner-Up)
Northern Ireland (Group F Winner)
Pot 4 sees some new blood infused into the tournament with four of the six teams in it participating for the first time. The other two may just boast the most passionate travelling fanbases that Europe has to offer.
Northern Ireland stunned everybody in the football world by winning Group F. They hadn’t qualified for any competition since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. West Brom fans will be the most in tune with this squad as three of Northern Ireland’s starting XI (Chris Brunt, Jonny Evans, and Gareth McAuley) play for the Baggies in the Barclays Premier League.
Turkey got to sit out the playoff round as the best ranked third placed team through eight games (since one group had just five teams). They finished third at both the 2002 World Cup and the 2008 Euros, but have been very spotty otherwise. Soon to be Barcelona man Arda Turan will show up, but it remains to be seen if his teammates will follow suit.
Iceland and Ireland may be just one letter apart in name, but their roads to qualification were very far apart. Iceland was the third team to earn their spot in the field in early September while the Irish had to scrape through the playoffs like they did in 2012, besting Bosnia and Herzegovina. Iceland has just over 300,000 people in their nation so road support may be tough. That is no such case for the Irish who never disappoint with their supporter contingent and the amount of noise they can produce.
Wales and Albania round out the field. The two Euro debutants placed second in their respective groups. Little is expected of each come next summer, but each has a player up front that warrants attention. You should know Wales’ primary attacker, Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. The most influential Welshman since Ryan Giggs has Wales in their first international competition since the 1958 World Cup. Albanian striker Rey Manaj may not have the same name recognition as Bale right now, but he scored on his international debut and his manager at Inter Milan, Roberto Mancini, has called him the “Next Ibrahimovic”.
The draw for Euro 2016 will take place in Paris on December 12th. The tournament itself will run from June 10th to July 10th, 2016. The winner receives a berth in the 2017 Confederations Cup ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.