Italy have been drawn in the “Group of Death” with the Azzurri set to face Belgium, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland at Euro 2016.
Advertisement
“Slovakia are a good team and beat Spain in qualifying so they have a lot to say, Russian Federation are good offensively but they can leak goals”.
Republic of Ireland also face a tricky test next summer after they were drawn alongside Belgium, Sweden and Italy in Group E.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will be confident of adding to his record 26 goals in Euros, including qualifiers, in a Group F featuring Iceland and Hungary, but Austria was unbeaten in qualifying and poses a strong threat.
England manager Roy Hodgson is likely to stay in the role until as late as the 2018 World Cup according to Chief Executive of the FA, Martin Glenn.
Wales and England meet in Lens at 14:00 BST on Thursday 16 June in the second of their three group games.
Sweden’s first game will be against Ireland on June 13th in Saint-Denis, then Italy in Toulouse on June 17th and finally Belgium in Nice on June 22nd.
O’Neill accepts they will have to upset the odds to make an impact in France, but they have already done so by topping their qualifying group. So England will only go into it as favourites due to their big names in the Premier League but it’s tough to go against Wales.
That’s partly because of the expanded nature of this tournament, with four third-placed teams reaching the last 16 alongside the group winners and runners-up. “I remember the feeling when we missed out – it was frightful”.
IT’S an understatement that last night’s Euro 2016 draw could’ve gone better for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Didier Deschamps’ men will open the tournament at the Stade de France against Romania on June 10 before taking on fellow Group A rivals Albania and Switzerland in Marseille and Lille.
“Sweden is a game to look forward to, so let’s go for it. They are not a one-man team, although Ibrahimovic has been a top class player”. It’s good for the Irish fans but hard for us.
The draw for the 2016 European Championships was made on Saturday evening. You look at the team sheet and think they don’t necessarily have enough quality but you put their players in a team and they stick together. The fixtures are to kick off next June, with the final to be held in Paris on 10 July. Firstly, it is a great achievement to qualify for the tournament in itself and realistically being in pot four it was always going to be a tough draw.
Advertisement
Key player: Typically, Italy’s strength lies in defence and there are not many better defenders in world football than Juventus centre-back Giorgio Chiellini who provides leadership and experience to the team along with famous goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, giving Italy a very Juventus-inspired defence.
