A meeting of teams from the British Isles seemed nearly inevitable, and the draw served up perhaps the best encounter possible, with England and Wales drawn together in Group B.
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The runner-up of Group C will play the second-place team of Group A, likely Switzerland, in the last 16. Spain is the only team to repeat as EURO champions, and can claim an unprecedented third consecutive title with another win.
“I’ve just said jokingly that I was looking forward to the draw a hour and a half ago and maybe not so sure now but listen, I tell you what, I think the fans will rise to the occasion and rather than being disappointed, I think they will feel enthused by the difficulty of the games”.
“Croatia have extraordinary players that play in the best teams in Europe and we saw their value in the last European Championship”.
Hodgson added that Slovakia, who England will meet in their final group game on June 20 in Saint-Etienne, could not afford to be underestimated either, especially after a “fantastic qualifying and spectacular opening” with victories over defending European champions Spain and Ukraine setting the tone for a successful campaign. I’m very excited. There’s some hot competition, all the top teams have earned the right to be here.
“As far as I’m concerned let’s bring it on now and I only hope on the night my team will perform at the level I hope they can perform at”, the 68-year-old said on Saturday. With English Premier League stars Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany, Belgium is expected to go deep in the tournament, while Italy will count on its traditional stubbornness to advance despite some aging players.
Glenn said: “I think we’re going to have a good Euros”. “But it’s all become very real and it will be a really tasty game against England, no doubt about it”.
Roy Hodgson’s England start against Russian Federation in Marseille on June 11.
“I’m a big believer that people learn”, Glenn said. So it’s a hard one for us but we look forward to it. The closest contender is Italy, who have 13/8 odds to overtake Belgium in Group E. Looking for an upset? “The most important message is that Roy has the full backing of the FA and the full support to deliver and go on”.
Glenn hinted that England assistant Gary Neville could be a contender to replace Hodgson.
Russian Federation coach Leonid Slutski would rule out the possibility of any of the four teams making the knockout stage.
“Will it enhance his prospects? It really is”, Coleman said.
“We will not have time to grow into the tournament”.
“(However), our tournament experience is not quite so good. Sweden have a top player in Ibrahimović and everything revolves around him. Germany got its own back, winning 3-1, when they met again in Frankfurt this September.
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“Russia has an experienced team but it’s an acceptable opponent for us because it didn’t have stable form at the last major tournaments”.
