2016 UEFA European Championship | Preview

2016 UEFA European Championship | Preview

Finn Schuemann '17, Staff Writer

Every four years, UEFA organizes a tournament played by select national soccer teams across Europe known as the UEFA European Championship. The competition for the 2016 tournament began with knock-out qualifications in September of 2014 and went through November of 2015. The remaining teams join each other and are organized into groups, where they will then face off in the group stage. This stage consists of twenty-four of Europe’s best squads. The group stage begins in June 2016 and extends into the following month, with the group winners and runner-ups advancing into the knockout stages. The 2016 UEFA European Championship is almost here; it will be hosted by France.

Ever since their remarkable victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Germany have been the popular choice to win this competition. Although the hype for their potential victory is immensely high, they are not the hands-down favorite to take the cup home. In the knock-out stages, Germany suffered losses from Poland and the Republic of Ireland. Even worse, Germany played against England in a friendly match in which they lost 3-2, with many critics citing the lack of effort and poor performances by Germany throughout the game. Despite these hindrances, Germany did end up winning Group D.

Standing in the way of Germany are another powerhouse, the host of the tournament, France, who have made a big impression on the world ever since their stellar performance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Even though they lost to Germany in the quarter-finals back in 2014, it seems that they have grown from their losses and will be quite the challenge for Germany and the rest of the teams in the tournament. Although France automatically qualified for the tournament because they are the host, it is safe to assume that they will perform well and do have a great chance of winning.

Three other teams that performed notably well over the course of the qualifying stages were England, Austria, and Italy. Having shown a notable improvement since the 2014 World Cup, England seems to be a strong contender for the cup as seen in their perfect record when qualifying in Group E, which was surprisingly the best out of all the teams trying out. With a new breed of players picking up the mantle from previous players’ glory days, such as Jamie Vardy replacing the stardom of Wayne Rooney, Vardy has scored twenty-four goals over the course of thirty-five games. Austria’s performance in the Euro Cup is positive in Group F, with Portugal being their main opponent. Even though they did perform well in the qualifying rounds, it should be noted that no major national team competed with them, but rather only average squads. Finally, 2016 may be the year in which Italy can prove their worth in soccer as they did ten years ago in their victory of the 2006 FIFA World Cup back in Germany. While they did beat the likes of Croatia, Norway, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, and Malta in the qualifying stages, they were dealt a severe loss against Germany in a friendly match back in April, where they lost 4-1. Looking into the group stages, Italy will have a tough time trying to progress as they face a strong competitor in Belgium in Group E.

Two years after the World Cup, it is interesting to see how there is no team that seems destined to win the competition. Instead, many young and experienced teams alike seem to be setup for games that will make for an entertaining viewing. Only time will tell which European country will take the UEFA Euro Cup home.