Arkadiusz wrote:
Hello everyone, I created an account just to comment on this post. I've recently become a fan of cycling but i've been a football fan for ages. So I'd like to share my opinion with you all.
Firstly, I'll let you know that i'm portuguese, but that won't influence my analysis.
Now, for the actual thing: My favourites are (I will explain why):
Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and maybe England.
Outsiders: Croatia, Austria, Turkey and Poland.
Everyone else can only expect to arrive at the quarter-finals at best. ( Let's not forget that for the first time ever there will be a round of 16).
Croatia has a real good shot at the title combining experience with talent. They have the veteran srna in their defence, goalscorer mandzukic and kalinic on attack. But their strong point is the middlefield. Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic. Since they will have srna commanding their defence and that middlefield serving mandzukic, they have a real shot at the title. Key player: Modric.
Austria: this team has a great team spirit backed with some talent from wonder boy Alaba and Arnautovic. They dont have much speed on attack but Marc Janko's 1m96 will definitly be a threat. Key player: Alaba
Turkey: who doesn't remeber turkey's euro 2008 campaign? They qualified to euro2016 with a 90 minute free kick goal but despite that, they have a really strong team, even stronger than Austria's. They play better when cornered. Key player: Çalhanoglu.
Poland: Oh well, Poland. What is there to say? They have 3 able keepers but the starter will be Szczesny. Their defence is rather week but they have Piszczek to remediate things. Krychowiak has to be on top form if they want to succeed.
Then, they have Lewandowski and Milik in attack. Two goalscoring machines.
Key player: Lewandowski.
England: England is a really fun team to watch in this type of tournaments. And as a portugues I can tell that they aren't that good at penalty scoring which can be crucial in an Euro. They always have great teams and I risk to say that this team is better than their golden generation, from the team spirit point of view.
They have a real chance, if hogdson leaves Rooney out and if kane and vardy are on top form. Key player: Harry Kane.
Germany: This guys are always favourites, whatever happens. They just haven't found a leader yet, after klose, mertesacker and lahm went in to retirement. When they, do they will be unstoppable. Butm if that doesn't happen soon, they wont win this EURO. Key player: Marco Reus.
France: The coach left Benzema out, that reduces their chances in this tournament as well has varane's injury. I chose them as favourites because they will be playing home, otherwise I wouldn't because their defence without varane is really weak. Plus, Mathieu got injured too. They have a strong middlefield and that might be the key to have a successful campaing. With griezman on attack every thing can happen. Key player: Paul Pogba.
Spain: They're back with their great performances from 2012. Their front line is rather week and Vincente left some good players out. They have an imperial middlefield and a solid defence. Carvajal injury is a major set-back and they will have to overcome it if they want to win.
Key Player: Iniesta.
Italy: Seriously, I dont even know why I picked them. Without Verrati and Marchisio they have a weak middlefield. They can only trust in juventus' trio, Bonnuci, Barzagli and Chiellini, and of course Buffon. If they manage to keep clean sheets, they can try to score from corners or free kicks, because without ballotelli it will prove difficult to score. They are really strong in the air, and that is the key to win games with this team.
Buffon will have a major role commanding the team from behind the back line that's why I chose him as the key player for this team.
Portugal: Key Player: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now, from what I've read here and on other forums, people think that Portugal = Ronaldo. I wont lie, since 2006 it has been like that. But since the 2014 WC ( which sucked for us), Portugal has undergone major changes. We changed the coach and he bet on the young ones to take this team foward. They have helped us a great deal and I can say for sure that this team is on the same level as the 2004's team (figo, maniche, costinha...). Portugal proved yesterday that they can play without ronaldo. 3-0 against norway. Quaresma was the man of the match and he has proven to be a secret weapon during the qualifiers. Of course everything revolves around ronaldo but the ace to win this euro will be Joao Mario, mark my words. As a portuguese i've never once said that we could win an EURO or a WC but this time, I dont know why, I feel confident. The major change is: Before Ronaldo was the core of this team. Right now, he is a PLUS, because we have a solid team overall and great team spirit. The only real problem is the speed of our center backs. ( carvalho, pepe, fonte, bruno alves). They are all over 30 years old and it was easy to notice this weakness agains Norway, imagine if it was against spain or germany... If the Fernando Santos manages to find a solution,
Portugal will be my main favourites to win this EURO together with Spain.
Thank you for reading.
