Should such players arrive for the tournament opener against Romania at the Stade de France on Friday in prime form, some of the toxic fallout from Benzema’s omission may begin to dissipate.
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UEFA’s bid to invite its banned president Michel Platini to the European Championship might be thwarted by FIFA’s ethics panel insisting Wednesday that he can not give the impression of still “acting as a football official”.
Note: “Chances of winning” are implied probabilities derived from betting odds made available by the online bookmaker Pinnacle.
Yet life might be tougher than it seems for Low, whose Germany go into the Euros on a run of blah performances which, it must be added, in some ways mirror the German team that power-slammed Brazil and then beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina en route to its first title in any significant global tournament in 18 years.
They reached the last four of Euro 2012, losing 2-1 to Italy in Warsaw, before qualifying unbeaten for the 2014 World Cup finals.
Even allowing for the conspicuous absence of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema due to his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to blackmail worldwide team-mate Mathieu Valbuena – another absentee – the depth of quality at Deschamps’ disposal is arguably the envy of the tournament.
Another French player who has been at his peak this season.
Canadian rapper Drake seems to agree.
Pogba has been the main man in midfield behind another successful season of Juventus.
This means he has been forced to admit he can no longer continue as UEFA president and many wondered if he would even be allowed to attend a tournament he did so much to bring about. Although Die Mannschaft will be without former top players Per Mertesacker and Philipp Lahm, there is still more than enough offensive talent for head coach Joachim Loew to work with. Meanwhile, World Cup golden goal scorer Mario Gotze couldn’t find a regular turn with Bayern Munich, while up-and-coming Julian Draxler has yet to show the sense of timing demanded of the next, great, German player.
Germany will want to cement its place as one of this competition’s teams to beat by finishing in first. I’m sceptical that England has it in them to advance beyond the group stages, let alone make it all the way to the semi-finals, but consider this – in recent years, the Bing crystal ball has successfully predicted the result of the Scottish Referendum, FIFA World Cup, Oscars, and Cricket World Cup.
German federal police say their officers being sent to France to help with security during the upcoming Euro 2016 football tournament will be able to carry their firearms. The biggest question may be in goal as Manchester United’s David De Gea could start over veteran and longtime national captain Iker Casillas.
Spain’s quest for a third successive European title opens against the Czech Republic on Monday in Toulouse.
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“With Europe’s top leagues being awash with money, this is an interesting look at what countries have the most expensive players”.
