Euro 2016 Group Draw
By Ty Duffy
UEFA drew its groups for Euro 2016. They are as follows.
Group A: France, Romania, Albania, Switzerland.
Group B: England, Russia, Wales, Slovakia.
Group C: Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Northern Ireland.
Group D: Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, Croatia.
Group E: Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Italy.
Group F: Portugal, Iceland, Austria, Hungary.
The tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams for this cycle. So, the top two teams in each group advance, as well as the top four third-place finishers. Group E – Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Italy – looks like it will be the hardest group. Though, given the format, it’s hard to term that a “Group of Death.”
An intriguing matchup will be the inter-United Kingdom affair between England and Wales. The Welsh have qualified for their first major tournament since 1958. One could argue Wales’ two mega stars, Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, are better players than anyone in the England squad.