Hosts France have been pooled alongside Switzerland, Romania and tournament debutants Albania in a group that has the balance tipping in favour of Les Bleus, who won the competition the last time they hosted it in 2000.
Highlights: Two-time winners and hosts France head into the Euros in what will be their first competition since their elimination in the World Cup quarter-finals to Germany in 2014. Switzerland make their 4th appearance in Europe’s biggest stage as they look to dash the duck on their miserable record of never having surpassed the group stages of the competition. Romania and tournament debutants Albania complete an interesting Group A. Arsenal duo Olivier Giroud and Granit Xhaka, Juventus playmaker Paul Pogba, Stoke City star Xherdan Shaqiri and Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann are some of the star names that will be on display in this group.
UEFA decided to extend the number of teams in the 2016 edition to 24 wherein the top two sides progress from each of the six groups who are then joined by four of the best 3rd placed sides to complete the lineup for the round of 16. With points and goal-difference set to decide the fate of even the third placed side in the group, we can be assured of action all around till the very last group fixture.
With less than a day to go before France gets us underway at St.Denis, TheHardTackle takes a look at the four members of group A and analyzes each side’s prospects and chances going into the competition.
France
Rocked by sex scandals and claims of racism, head coach Didier Deschamps has been forced to axe some of his big-guns in addition to losing crucial players to injury heading into the competition. France of-course aren’t new to such drama having courted numerous controversies over the past decade. That said, the French still enter the competition as favourites to win it, with an immensely talented squad at their disposal. Les Bleus also boast a terrific record as hosts of major competitions, having gone on to win two of the last three major competitions they organized. With home support and their star-studded line-up France will be primed to lead a group featuring Switzerland, Romania and Albania.
Didier Deschamps’ side’s strength lies in it’s dynamic midfield with a blend of pace, control, vision and passing ability from the likes of Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Dimitri Payet and Blaise Matuidi. Experienced campaigner Olivier Giroud looks set to lead a young batch of attacking talent in the form of Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann. With some cracking ability in midfield to service some instinctive forwards up-front, this French side have a lot of goals in them even in the absence of Real Madrid star, Karim Benzema. Deschamps is expected to field his side in a standard 4-3-3 formation after previous experiments with a 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2(diamond) didn’t bear fruit.
Undoubtedly France’s weakness lies in their defence. With two aging first-choice full backs in Patrice Evra and Bacary Sagna for whom pace isn’t the biggest asset, the French stand the risk of being undone on the flanks by sides with physical and pacy wingers. With first-choice center-backs Raphael Varane and Mamadou Sakho absent along with Aymeric Laporte and Jeremy Mathieu due to injury, Deschamps faces a serious lack of quality in defence. Premier League campaigners, Laurent Koscielny and Eliaquim Mangala along with Sevilla’s Adil Rami and Lyon’s uncapped defender, Samuel Umtiti, will have to step up in the absence of the big guns at the back.
Squad
Goalkeepers : Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Benoit Costil
Defenders : Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny, Adil Rami, Samuel Umtiti, Eliaquim Mangala, Patrice Evra, Lucas Digne, Christophe Jallet
Midfielders : Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet, N’Golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Yohan Cabaye, Morgan Schneiderlin, Moussa Sissoko
Forwards : Antoine Griezmann, Kingsley Coman, Anthony Martial, Olivier Giroud, Andre-Pierre Gignac
Star Player – Paul Pogba
Switzerland
The six-year reign of Ottmar Hitzfeld took the Swiss to great heights in international football. Following their elimination in the last 16 of the World Cup against Argentina in 2014, the German retired and handed over the mantle to Vladimir Petkovic. The Croatian-Bosnian with an abundance of talent in his squad, has overseen a successful qualification campaign securing his side’s ticket to France.
Switzerland have made it to the European Championships thrice and has never once survived their group being eliminated early in all their previous appearances. However with talent at disposal against lesser known Romania and debutants Albania, and a possibility of even a 3rd place finish sealing a knock-out place, the Swiss have a good chance at breaking their duck in Europe’s biggest stage this time around.
Petkovic at club level was known to fancy a 3-4-3 formation, however with the national side he has preferred to go ahead with four at the back and defensive midfielders sitting in front of them in either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation. Like the French, the Swiss will consider midfield to be their strongest area with new Arsenal man Granit Xhaka sitting deep while Xherdan Shaqiri takes position further up top. Xhaka has made that defensive midfield position his own in the absence of Gokhan Inler, and will be key to the Swiss taking control of the proceedings in the center of the park.
In defence, Djourou and Fabian Schar are most likely to be the center-halves with Wolfsburg’s Ricardo Rodriguez and captain Stephan Lichtsteiner embracing their full-back roles. The Swiss don’t have any glaring worries heading into the tournament, although the pace of their first-choice center-backs may be one. Petkovic’s side have to keep an eye as they could stand the risk of being outrun at the back by opposition attackers.
Petkovic has claimed he’d like his side to have progressed from the group by virtue of their results in the first two games itself against Romania and Albania and a lot of how that pans out depends on how the forwards’ deliver up-front. The Swiss have three forwards to chose from their arsenal in Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic and Eren Derdiyok of whom Embolo may be tasked with leading the attack.
Squad
Goalkeepers : Yann Sommer, Roman Bürki, Marvin Hitz
Defenders : Stephan Lichtsteiner, Michael Lang, Johan Djourou, Fabian Schär, Jacques François Moubandje, Steve von Bergen, Nico Elvedi, Ricardo Rodriguez
Midfielders : Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Valon Behrami, Blerim Dzemaili, Fabian Frei, Denis Zakaria, Admir Mehmedi, Gelson Fernandes, Shani Tarashaj
Forwards : Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic, Eren Derdiyok
Star Player – Granit Xhaka
Romania
Anghel Iordanescu’s Romania make their 5th appearance in a European Championship having only progressed through to the knockouts once out of four times. A hard-working outfit, goals against the Romanians are hard to come by with the Transylvanian nation conceding only two goals in 10 qualifying matches, the least conceded by any side enroute to the Euros. The side primarily follow a 4-2-3-1 formation with Florin Andone sitting on top of the attack ahead of a crowded midfield.
Romania finished second in qualification in a group featuring Hungary, Euro 2004 winners Greece, Finland and minnows Faroe Islands. While they endured an impressive qualification campaign, Iordanescu will concede his side face a much sterner test against the likes of France and Switzerland in their group encounters. As mentioned earlier, Romania’s defence is their biggest strength with the center-back pairing of Vlad Chiriches and Dragos Girigore along with goal-keeper Ciprian Tătărușanu playing a big part in forming the stingiest defence of the qualification campaign.
While they don’t have too much to worry about at the back, Romania have much concern when it comes to their output at the other end of the park. Goals have been criminally hard to come by for the Romanians with a lack of midfield creativity meaning there aren’t too many opportunities dished out to their frontmen. Relying largely on their counter-attacking sprints, their strikers’ finishing will need addressing too if there is to be any chance of progression into the knock-out stages.
Squad
Goalkeepers : Ciprian Tătărușanu, Costil Pantilimon, Silviu Lung
Defenders : Vlad Chiriches, Dragos Grigore, Alexandru Mățel, Cristian Săpunaru, Valerică Găman, Cosmin Moți, Steliano Filip, Răzvan Raț
Midfielders : Mihai Pintilii, Ovidiu Hoban, Adrian Popa, Gabriel Torje, Lucian Sânmărtean, Nicolae Stanciu, Alexandru Chipciu, Andrei Prepeliţă
Forwards : Claudiu Keșeru, Florin Andone, Bogdan Stancu, Denis Alibec
Star Player – Florin Andone
Albania
Albania come into the tournament for the first time in their history, led by Italian boss Gianni De Biassi who took over from his predecessor in 2011. In a qualifying group featuring tournament regulars Portugal, Serbia, Armenia and Denmark, the Albanians did well to compete and earn a surprising victory over Portugal along the way to secure automatic qualification into the Euros. Of course a 3-0 result against Serbia was earned by virtue of violent conduct on part of the Serbian fans which resulted in the game being abandoned and the result declared in favour of the away side.
Like Romania, the Balkan nation come with a solid defence into the competition and it could prove to be crucial for the newbies if they are to have any chance of extending their dream run in the competition. Inspirational captain Lorik Cana will be key to keeping that back-line air-tight along with Mërgim Mavraj with Etrit Berisha standing between the posts. De Biassi prefers his side to line-up in a 4-3-3 formation that can dynamically shift into a 4-5-1 defensive formation should they look to sit back and keep possession.
The Balkans are capable of pulling off surprises evidenced by their run in qualification and a friendly victory over France. Pitted in the same group as Les Bleus, it’d be foolish to brush aside the prospects of Albania who have fought with a lot of grit and determination to get to where they have and in a year where underdogs have scripted spectacular stories, who’s to say Albania can’t write one of their own?
Although, the only thing stopping them from achieving anything tangible in their maiden run in the competition, is their scoring form. They may be solid at the back and press high up the pitch creating a fair amount of scoring opportunities, however it is their finishing that is taking a hit. The forward trio of Shkëlzen Gashi, Sokol Çikalleshi and Ermir Lenjani have to be at their best in utilizing the services of midfielders like Taulant Xhaka and Ledian Memushaj to full effect. Çikalleshi has to have his scoring boots on against the big sides like France and Switzerland as the Balkans will largely be chasing the ball in such games which in turn means goal-scoring opportunities will be hard to come by.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Etrit Berisha, Orges Shehi, Alban Hoxha
Defenders: Lorik Cana, Mërgim Mavraj, Elseid Hysaj, Ansi Agolli, Arlind Ajeti, Naser Aliji, Frédéric Veseli
Midfielders: Taulant Xhaka, Amir Abrashi, Ledian Memushaj, Migjen Basha, Burim Kukeli, Ergys Kaçe, Andi Lila, Ermir Lenjani, Odise Roshi
Forwards: Shkëlzen Gashi, Sokol Çikalleshi, Bekim Balaj, Armando Sadiku
Star Player – Taulant Xhaka
Is group A capable of springing surprises?
It is all subject to each side playing to their strengths, in which case common sense would take the side of France and Switzerland to go through who, with due respect to Romania and Albania, have a lot of quality in their squads. With home support to bolster the talented squad that they have, there’s no reason why France cannot win the Euros this time around. Switzerland who made it to the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup will want to improve their record in the continental circuit and will come determined to go as far as they can in the competition.
Albania on the other hand enter the competition as the lowest ranked team at #45 and a repeat of their exploits in the qualification campaign could see them work wonders in Europe’s biggest stage. Romania are dark horses and are capable of springing surprises, however as it stands, they will be fighting Albania for that 3rd spot in the group to keep themselves in contention for qualification to the knockouts.
