Group A: France, Switzerland, Romania, Albania
France
France hosts its first major international tournament since the 1998 FIFA World Cup and heads into EURO 2016 as a favourite. Coach Didier Deschamps, who captained the host to glory in 1998, has an extremely talented squad at his disposal with arguably the most dynamic midfield.
Paul Pogba is the headline act of this midfield and the Juventus man will be desperate to make his mark on the international stage. With Blaise Matuidi beside him, the 23-year-old will look to run the show and feed the likes of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann.
Karim Benzema’s exclusion has taken some of the sting out of the French attack, but Giroud and Griezmann, along with the exciting Anthony Martial should be able to cope.
Defence is a slight worry where both the starting full-backs, Bacary Sagna and Patrice Evra, are in the twilight of their careers and Laurent Koscielny will have make do with a new defensive partner after Raphael Varane’s injury and Mamadou Sakho’s drug ban.
Switzerland
The Swiss have assembled a very competitive squad with a blend of youth and experience. With a majority of the players plying their trade in the Bundesliga, Switzerland is expected to make the knockout stage without much of a fuss.
The goalkeeping department is extremely well-stocked with three terrific shot-stoppers in Yann Sommer, Roman Burki and Marwin Hitz. Captain Stephan Lichtsteiner and Ricardo Rodriguez will make the flanks their own with the experienced Johan Djourou sitting alongside the cultured Fabian Schar in the heart of defence.
New Arsenal signing Granit Xhaka will patrol the midfield and pull the strings with the help of Valon Behrami and Blerim Dzemaili. Up front, it will be all about Xherdan Shaqiri and the pocket dynamo will be given the freedom to roam and provide the attacking threat.
Romania
Romania is back in the European Championships after failing to qualify for the 2012 edition. Its successful qualification was largely due to a miserly defence which conceded just three goals throughout the whole campaign. It will be hoping to keep that kind of streak going in France to have any chance of making it to the knockout stages.
Former Tottenham defender Vlad Chiriches, now playing for Napoli, is Romania’s defensive mainstay and leader. Alongside him will be the former Porto defender Cristian Sapunaru and the experienced Razvan Rat.
In midfield, the main creative responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Gabriel Torje and the veteran Lucian Sanmartean. The speedy Adrian Popa will look to run at opposing full-backs to provide good service for the likes of Bogdan Stancu.
Romania struggled for goals in the qualifying stages and this could continue as it likes to sit back and avoid conceding rather than taking on the opposition head-on.
Albania
Albania will be making its first appearance at a major international tournament after finishing ahead of Denmark in the qualifiers. Coach Gianni de Biasi has put together a squad with players scattered all over the continent, playing for Napoli all the way to the Azerbaijani Premier League.
In captain Lorik Cana, Albania has a very experienced player who has played at top European clubs over the last decade or so. He will be vital in defence with the ever impressive Napoli full-back Elseid Hysaj. In what is one of the stories of the tournament, Basel midfielder Taulant Xhaka will come up against his younger brother Granit when Albania takes on Switzerland. The elder Xhaka will be aided by Ergys Kace, who has made a name for himself playing for PAOK in the Greek League.
The Albanian team likes to press its opponents high up the pitch and in Sokol Cikalleshi, it has a striker, who fits this model perfectly. His energy in the final third will be vital to a side which is not expected to advance, let alone win a single match.
To conclude, playing on home soil, France will be expected to dominate and win every game and it is very much capable of doing so. Switzerland will play second fiddle to the French, but still should not have any trouble making the knockout stages. Romania and Albania have proven themselves difficult to beat, but the French and the Swiss have too much quality and there aren’t likely to be any upsets in Group A.
The squads
FRANCE:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Benoit Costil.
Defenders: Bacary Sagna, Christophe Jallet, Laurent Koscielny, Eliaquim Mangala, Adil Rami, Samuel Umtiti, Patrice Evra and Lucas Digne.
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, Morgan Schneiderlin and N’Golo Kante.
Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Dimitri Payet, Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman and Andre-Pierre Gignac.
SWITZERLAND:
Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer, Roman Burki and Marwin Hitz.
Defenders: Stephan Lichtsteiner, Nico Elvedi, Michael Lang, Johan Djourou, Steve von Bergen, Fabian Schar, Francois Moubandje and Ricardo Rodriguez.
Midfielders: Valon Behrami, Blerim Dzemaili, Gelson Fernandes, Fabian Frei, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Denis Zakaria.
Forwards: Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic, Admir Mehmedi, Eren Derdiyok and Shani Tarashaj.
ROMANIA:
Goalkeepers: Ciprian Tatarusanu, Costel Pantilimon and Silviu Lang.
Defenders: Cristian Sapunaru, Alexandru Matel, Vlad Chiriches, Valerica Gaman, Dragos Grigore, Cosmin Moti, Razvan Rat and Steliano Filip.
Midfielders: Mihai Pintilii, Ovidiu Hoban, Andrei Prepelita, Adrian Popa, Gabriel Torje, Alexandru Chipciu, Nicolae Stancu and Lucian Sanmartean.
Forwards: Claudiu Keseru, Bogdan Stancu, Florin Andone and Denis Alibec.
ALBANIA:
Goalkeepers: Etrit Berisha, Alban Hoxha and Orges Shehi.
Defenders: Lorik Cana, Arlind Ajeti, Mergim Mavraj, Amir Rrahmani, Elseid Hysaj, Ansi Agolli, Frederic Veseli and Naser Aliji.
Midfielders: Ledjan Memushaj, Ergys Kace, Andi Lila, Migjen Basha, Odise Roshi, Burim Kukeli, Taulant Xhaka and Armir Abrashi.
Forwards: Bekim Balaj, Sokol Cikalleshi, Armando Sadiku and Shkelzen Gashi.
Comments
SHARE