Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) It's finally here, and Euro 2016 gets under way tonight with France vs Romania! It's the biggest European Championship tournament ever, expanded from 16 teams in 2012 to 24 this time around. The usual suspects are among the favourites for the crown, with France, Germany and Spain all expecting to go far in to competition. Thanks in part to the expanded format, it's also the first finals appearance for several nations, with Wales, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Albania and Slovakia having qualified for the first time. The tournament promises to be an exciting festival of football, kicking off tonight at the Stade De France and culminating in the Final on July 10th in the same venue. Some of the worlds best players will be on show, with the likes of Ronaldo, Bale, Muller, Lewandowski, Iniesta, Griezmann, De Bruyne and Ibrahimovic all hoping to lead their country to glory. There are also lots of interesting sub plots to the competition, not least the tournament taking place less than a year after the terrible atrocities that were committed across Paris in November. The French security forces will be doing all they can to ensure the safety of fans and members of the public and the French national team will have even more impetus to go on and win the tournament to honour the victims of the attacks. These forums have a wide range of nationalities represented, who will you be supporting? How do you think the big guns will fare? And could one of the minnows cause an upset? Allez Europe! Edited June 10, 2016 by killthenet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 I so hyped for this! I wore my England footy shirt to work today and have been singing Vindaloo for the best part of the day. Lets do this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Can't wait for tonight : peace: 3 hours before the kick off the lady and I will go to a restaurant which has Japanese/Chinese/Mongolian buffets. It's my all you can eat dream. (really hope the food there is decent...never been to that restaurant). And after that it's time to watch the opening match. I'm obviously all for Germany winning the tournament : peace: Pretty sure that we'll see no surprises at all. My preditctions for teams that will reach the final rounds: France - proceed to quarter finals - proceed to semifinals England - proceed to quarter finals Germany - proceed to quarter finals - proceed to semifinals - proceed to final - Champion Spain - proceed to quarter finals - proceed to semifinals - proceed to final Belgium - proceed to quarter finals Portugal - proceed to quarter finals - proceed to semifinals Switzerland - proceed to quarter finals Wales Poland Croatia Italy Austria - proceed to quarter finals Russia Turkey Ukraine Iceland Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 I wasn't hyped about this until today actually. C'mon England!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) Can't wait for this! My predictions: 1. France 2. Switzerland 3. Romania 4. Albania 1. England 2. Wales 3. Slovakia 4. Russia 1. Germany 2. Poland 3. Northern Ireland 4. Ukraine 1. Spain 2. Croatia 3. Turkey 4. Czech Republic 1. Belgium 2. Italy 3. Sweden 4. Ireland 1. Portugal 2. Iceland 3. Austria 4. Hungary 1. Austria (F) 2. Turkey (D) 3. Slovakia (B) 4. Sweden (E) Winners in BOLD Switzerland vs Poland Spain vs Slovakia England vs Turkey Portugal vs Italy Germany vs Austria Belgium vs Croatia France vs Sweden Wales vs Iceland Poland vs Spain England vs Italy Germany vs Belgium France vs Wales Spain vs Italy Germany vs France France have only beaten Spain twice in the last 10 years (last 7 fixtures), so poor picks (no Hatem Ben Arfa or Benzema) as well as injuries (Varane) will culminate in a Spanish revolution and French heartbreak. Spain 2 - 0 France Edited June 10, 2016 by Julius Caesar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 I drew the Czech Rep. at the work sweepstakes and I'm ok with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 I stayed away from the sweepstakes because only 3 teams out of 24 have a chance of winning in my opinion (Germany, France and Spain). I think Germany will win, their team is just too good. I've got £20 on Muller being top scorer too and I get a free bet every time he scores too. France 3-0 Romania. They'll be far too strong for them and wanting to impress in their first match. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 I stayed away from the sweepstakes because only 3 teams out of 24 have a chance of winning in my opinion (Germany, France and Spain). Well aren't you a bundle of fun. I wish my office did sweepstakes, but no one gives a shit about football. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Erm...has anyone else seen this news about DDG?! Looks like he's been involved in a sex scandal - looks quite serious as the girls are claiming that they were forced into it. Can't post a link from my phone as I'm in between meetings but...wow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Disappointing news that, why are footballers so often sexattackers or perverts? My hope for the Euros is that the home nations teams can make it to the knockout stage, and I think they've all got a reasonable chance. England should make it into the top two, Wales will be primed to qualify if they can get a result against Slovakia and Northern Ireland are a well organised team who are tough to beat and have one or two players who can produce magic when it matters, like Steven Davis, so despite their tough group I think they'll at least come out of the tournament with their heads held high. I think it will be a similar story for the Republic of Ireland too, with their first game against Sweden being the most important. Of the home nations teams, I think England are the least like an actual team. Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have squads that have played together consistently and have a real game plan, with each of them having stand out stars in Bale, Hoolahan and Davis who can pull a goal out of nothing. England have the better players on the whole, but Roy Hodgson clearly doesn't know his best team and the constant chopping and changing means there isn't a settled, comfortable side. I also don't think Hodgson has complete trust in his players, as was evidenced by the defensive shape he took against Portugal. I hope that England's young players can play without those shackles and play the exciting, attacking football we all crave, then I think England can go quite far in the competition. As with others, I think France will do a professional job against Romania tonight, it would be a real shock if they don't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Oh, and just so we all know what should have been the official Euro 2016 song... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Just finished watching the Mike Bassett movie. I'm officially ready. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Erm...has anyone else seen this news about DDG?! Looks like he's been involved in a sex scandal - looks quite serious as the girls are claiming that they were forced into it. Can't post a link from my phone as I'm in between meetings but...wow. I'm gutted and I'll be ruined if this turns out to be true. Hope to God that it's false... I've joined this little competition with my school and have put in my predictions for the first round of games. I've put France down as winning 3-0 tonight. I've got a feeling they're going to get the competition off to a great start. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Euro 2016 and E3 = Happy days. I drew Switzerland at work, any hope? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Euro 2016 and E3 = Happy days. I drew Switzerland at work, any hope? I would be surprised if they didn't make the knockout stages, but I can't see them getting much further that that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Very shaky start for France, but they came into their own for the last 25 minutes or so. Pogba's showing a lot of confidence, but this Romanian defence has been fairly rigid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Yeah, decent first half. I will say there were some questionable decisions in favour of France down the right side. Standard bias by the refs for the hosts. Shame that early chance by Romania didn't go in. It would have really shaken the crowd up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Yeah, decent first half. I will say there were some questionable decisions in favour of France down the right side. Standard bias by the refs for the hosts. Shame that early chance by Romania didn't go in. It would have really shaken the crowd up. If that went in, I reckon France would begin the inevitable thrashing... Though I'm not too keen of the French forward. Shout out to my boy RAT. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) Yeah, decent first half. I will say there were some questionable decisions in favour of France down the right side. Standard bias by the refs for the hosts. Shame that early chance by Romania didn't go in. It would have really shaken the crowd up. Yeah, reminded me immediately of Brazil's opening game 2 years back; some very questionable decisions in favour of the hosts there, too. If that went in, I reckon France would begin the inevitable thrashing... Though I'm not too keen of the French forward. Shout out to my boy RAT. I'm not too sure about a thrashing, I think the cap on this one looks to be 2 goals. Yes, Romania's qualifying group wasn't the toughest, but it's still remarkable that they conceded only 2 goals in 10 games. Also, there's reportedly an 87% chance that a team that draws their three games 0-0 will go through. Just an interesting little fact of the evening. Well, there we go. Brilliant shot from Pogba (other than being straight down the middle), Payet has finally started tinkering away and that was a great header by Giroud. Oh dear. That lead was awfully short lived. France have shown a lot of quality tonight. If they can keep going, they should win it. What the hell was Evra thinking? Edited June 10, 2016 by Julius Caesar Automerged Doublepost Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Game back on! Very well taken penalty. TBH, I'm surprised the pen was given. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 I was beginning to get nervous for France. Never mind. Well, there we go! I'm a very happy man right now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Superb goal from Payet : peace: I haven't actually seen him all that much this year playing for West Ham but I was very impressed with him! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Portugal is unlikely to win the whole thing, but if we manage to beat one of Spain, France or Germany, I'll be quite happy. I'll be looking forward to see if a smaller team can surprise us. If The Netherlands can finish after Iceland, Turkey and the Czech Republic, anything can happen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Gutted that France won. Cracking goal, though. I think their defence will struggle against a more attacking thinking team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2016 Is Razvan Rat the best name in football? Could be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
