Europe's prestigious soccer tournament begins tomorrow in the French city of Saint-Denis as France welcomes Europe's best teams to France for soccer's biggest party in 2016.
It's not quite the World Cup, but the anticipation is still quite high and it will stay that way as for the first time ever, 24 teams will be competing for not only the European Cup but also Qualification for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia next June.
I filled out a UEFA bracket last week, I had Portugal defeating Germany in the Final. As of last week, Portugal was 20-1 odds of winning to Euro Cup. Therefore, it is very tempting to put down $5 and see what happens.
Germany is the easy bet this time around but not by much. Spain always has a chance to win and the hosts France would surprise no one if they won. In 1998, France captured the World Cup Title two days before France's annual Independence Day. (Bastille Day July 14th, 1789). It would be a fairytale ending if France came on top this time four days before the Final that goes on July 10th.
The team that I cheer for is Sweden, in 2006, in the weeks leading up to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, I decided to follow Sweden as I liked that they were a really good team with very little population. Fast forward a decade and their team is just getting by. After almost missing Euro 2016 for the first time since England hosted the Euros in 1996. Sweden isn't expected to fair strongly this time around, Zlatan Ibrahimović will likely not be enough to carry the team to the Quarterfinals as the supporting cast around him is very inexperienced.
Zlatan Ibrahimović's last go around won't be the only storyline in this months Euro Cup. The tournament has been expanded to 24 teams and that has opened the door for teams like Albania, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Wales who will all be making their European Cup debut.
That's not all. France 2016 will be the last Euro Cup for any host teams. After the 2018 World Cup in Russia, UEFA will have a massive overhaul in their completion that will change the Qualifying process for the revamped 2020 Euro.
My surprise team in the tournament is Wales. Team to watch out on is Croatia and my underachieving team this June is Spain. Enjoy the tournament as it comes and good luck to your ancestors country. In soccer, one goal can flip a tournament upside down.
All this considered, there is a lot to look for at the Euro Cup. Given the strength of UEFA, in someways it is harder to win the Euro's than the World Cup. The gap between the strong and the powerhouse teams is really strong right now which should make for amazing soccer.
LOL! Your predictions weren't all that far off with Portugal winning the tournament and Wales being the Cinderella team of Euro 2016. All around, a great Euro Cup full of upsets and firsts. Really looking forward to see how Euro 2020 will play out with multiple European cities hosting the tournament instead of a traditional host country.
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