You might expect the Swedes to be most wary of a side whose biggest win in qualifying comfortably eclipsed anything they managed on the way to France.
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Manager: Antonio Conte is the man in charge of Italy and is considered to be one of the game’s brightest young managers, guiding Juventus to three consecutive Serie A titles during his time in charge of the Old Lady.
“Croatia have extraordinary players that play in the best teams in Europe and we saw their value in the last European Championship”.
And the Welsh play as a team, not as individuals, whereas for England it is the other way around.
“They are a very good team, Chris [Coleman] has done a very good job”. They had to work hard. I’d been counting on them since June and yet still haven’t seen hide nor hair of them since June. ‘The pressure is always on England to do better at tournaments.
The Republic of Ireland were drawn with Belgium, Italy and Sweden, while Northern Ireland will face world champions Germany, Poland and Ukraine.
“Knowing Baley, knowing his mentality, he will take it in his stride”.
“You want to go there and make a mark”.
England maintained a 100 percent record in qualification, and after a shocking performance in the 2014 World Cup, the team gave plenty of chances to youngsters during their qualification campaign. But you need some luck. It is not a case of “didn’t we do great against England and we are coming home”.
Belgian FA president François De Keersmaecker said that and much more with when he told the media after the draw: “I think that first game against Italy will direct the show”. “We’ll be hopeful of getting through that group”, he said.
Another of the major tournament newcomers are Iceland, who will come up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in their first game in Group F before also facing Austria and Hungary. Fortunately Russia normally go into tournaments and are poor even if their expectations are high.
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has tipped Roy Hodgson to lead England to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 but insists suggestions of a new contract for the head coach are premature.
With such lofty opponents, Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said: “It couldn’t get tougher. I just hope there’s no fear”.
Similarly, Northern Ireland have had some unbelievable results in qualifying so you can’t rule them out of progressing.
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“The belief is there with the team and the fans and I’d like to see them do something special to put Wales on the map”.
