The group stage of the Copa America Centenario is winding down, but lucky for us football fans another tournament is about to get underway. The European Championships start Friday afternoon in France. The tournament has expanded this year, with 24 teams vying for Euros glory. It all begins with the hosts getting the opening night to themselves against Romania. Les Bleus are one of the tournament favorites, but there are plenty of other teams with aspirations of hoisting that UEFA trophy up high on July 10th. Here are six matches that you are going to want to catch during the group stage.
GROUP E: Republic of Ireland vs Sweden (Monday, June 13th 12:00 PM ET on ESPN)
With the new format in these Euros, four third place teams will advance to the knockout round. That makes games like this one ultra important, as one win could see a side through. And who wouldn’t want either of these sides to get through. The Irish have some of the most ravenous supporters in the world. They always have a chant going and never let their team feel out of it, even if they are. On the field, this tournament is centered around the team’s two strikers. This could be the international swan song for Robbie Keane, a staple of the Republic of Ireland side for over a decade. He’s going to get his opportunities, but if this team is to advance they’ll need just as much production from Shane Long. Speaking of strikers, maybe you have heard about this guy from Sweden, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. While Zlatan’s club future is still undecided, the 34 year old will want to help Sweden get deep into this tournament. Sweden hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals of the Euros since their loss in the 1992 semi-finals on their home soil. This is a game that neither team can afford to lose, with each side throwing an international luminary at one another to ensure they get all three points.
GROUP F: Iceland vs Portugal (Tuesday, June 14th 3:00 PM ET on ESPN)
Portugal has proven over the course of the past few major tournaments that they go only as far as Cristiano Ronaldo can take them. It’s been a banner year for CR7 with Real Madrid, as he netted the deciding penalty to win them their 11th European Cup. In their final tune-up against Estonia, he scored two of Portugal’s seven goals in a footballing clinic. But that type of production isn’t typical of recent Portuguese sides. If Ronaldo wants to add the Euros to his 2016 trophy haul, he’s going to need some help in a group filled with miserly defenses. One of those teams is Iceland who is also making their Euros debut. Iceland beat the Netherlands twice in Euro qualifying and only conceded six goals in ten matches. A nation of 332,529 will be led into battle by Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson and ageless wonder Eidur Gudjohnsen. They showed in qualifying that they will not shy away from a challenge. In the group stage, stopping one of the best in the world will easily be their toughest test.
GROUP B: England vs Wales (Thursday, June 16th 9:00 AM ET on ESPN)
Three of the four members of the United Kingdom made the 2016 European Championships. Northern Ireland, England, and Wales will all attempt to bring the title back to the UK. The latter two will get their hands on one another sooner rather than later as Wales and England were both slotted in Group B. Now the histories of both countries football wise couldn’t be farther apart. Wales is making their debut in this year’s Euros. England will be making their ninth appearance. England come in with fanfare and a perfect record in qualifying, outscoring their opponents 31-3. Wales finished second in their group and had to scrape out many a nail-biting result to do so. With that being said, Wales has just as many European title wins as England. The perennial underachievers could be in for another lost year if they catch Wales firing on all cylinders. Gareth Bale is getting the chance that many of his Welsh predecessors never got in this tournament. He’s showed from his time at Spurs and Real Madrid that he can score goals in pressure filled situations. Can he do it for his country now?
GROUP C: Germany vs Poland (Thursday, June 16th 3:00 PM ET on ESPN)
Germany, fresh off their World Cup victory in Brazil, had ruled over European Championship qualifying for three cycles. They had gone 33 matches without defeat over seven years. They had been even more dominant over Poland, having never lost to their neighbors in 18 meetings. In October 2014 though, the script was flipped. Poland beat Germany 2-0 in Warsaw and put them on a streamlined course towards Euro qualification. While they’d lose in the return leg in Germany, Poland had secured qualification with the help of the leading scorer in qualification, Robert Lewandowski. Now the two will meet again in the actual tournament with even more at stake. Both teams had some lackluster results in tune-up friendlies, but play similar styles of football that should produce quite the spectacle in Saint-Denis. Germany went out of Euro 2012 in the semi-finals, and it gave them the motivation to win the big one two years later. Poland is the hungrier team now. Can they follow in the footsteps of Denmark and Greece and be shock Euros winners?
GROUP A: France vs Switzerland (Sunday, June 19th 3:00 PM ET on ESPN)
There is mounds of pressure on the shoulders of the French National Team. This is probably the best generation of French talent in some time, yet they just can’t get over the hump in major tournaments. In-fighting and scandal took them down at the 2010 World Cup. They lost to eventual champions Germany in 2014 World Cup quarter-finals. They fell at the same stage in the 2012 Euros to eventual winners Spain. They’ll come into this edition of the Euros without Karim Benzema, but still overflowing with goal scorers in Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Anthony Martial, and Dimitri Payet. Their group is fairly easy as well, as is usually the case with hosts, with Switzerland being the only “legitimate” opposition for Les Bleus. The Swiss have slowly worked their way into the upper tier of European teams, but still lack that defining win to solidify their otherwise hollow world rankings. They have playmakers and cohesion, two assets that can be deadly in tournament play. They could be all but qualified for the next round by the time they play France, but a big win heading into the knockout stages would take the snarky quotation marks off of Switzerland’s legitimacy going forward.
GROUP D: Spain vs Croatia (Tuesday, June 21st 3:00 PM ET on ESPN)
We round things up with the two time defending European champions, Spain. There has been significant turnover in the Spanish ranks since those two wins. Their showing at the 2014 World Cup was embarrassing to say the least. But there is still plenty of quality in this Spain team, even if they are in decline. While La Furia Roja may be on the way down, there are several teams in Group D on the way up. The Czech Republic open against Spain while Croatia closes with them. Croatia has one of the more dynamic and pacey midfields in the tournament. Luka Modric is a great general in the back of the midfield. Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic provide great support for striker Mario Mandzukic. Since they aren’t the tightest at the back, Croatia will try to run their opposition into the ground. That is a stark contrast from Spain’s possession football, which may lead to some lightning fast counter attacks and some exciting plays in this one. Let’s just hope both sets of goalkeepers are at their best, because they surely will be tested.
The Euros are always an intriguing competition, and this year should be no different. Who do you think is going to take home the silverware? Do you think any of the debutantes have a chance to make some noise? Let us know in the comments as well as on Twitter @TREVORutley and @sportsftb. You can follow all these games, as well as every other contest at Euro 2016, on GameView. Hopefully you enjoy these games as well as the rest of them in this month long celebration of European football at its finest.