The Underdogs
Italy
Since winning the
2006 World Cup , the Azuri have had an indifferent time at major international competitions . They were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of Euro 2008 and failed to get out of their group for two consecutive World Cups in 2010 and 2014 , the first time that has happened to them for almost 60 years . However , they did reach the final of Euro 2012 , only beaten by then World Champions Spain . Their squad is considerably weaker than it once was , but , like Germany , you can never rule the Italians out .
Belgium
In recent years Belgium have perhaps been the victim of their players ’ own individual success at club level . Or , as most Belgium fans will tell you , the victim of their manager ’ s selections . While some of Belgium ’ s biggest names have failed to perform on the big stage , manager Marc Wilmots has neglected potential key players in the past , encapsulated by his decision to leave Radja Nainggolan out of their 2014 World Cup squad . His reluctance to give players opportunities based on club form has damaged Belgium ’ s hopes since their fresh talent pool ’ s rise to prominence in the last few years . The nation ’ s chances of success at this upcoming tournament rely on Wilmots changing his ways and putting faith in some of Europe ’ s top performers this season , including Romelu Lukaku , Michy Batshuayi , Kevin De Bruyne and Moussa Dembélé .
England
Everybody knows
England ’ s international competitions record has been verging on embarrassing in recent years , especially given that the nation is home to the world ’ s most lucrative league . As usual , there ’ s an air of optimism among England fans . Some might say they ’ ve not learnt their lesson from every other year , when high levels of optimism have been met with supreme levels of disappointment come England ’ s eventual elimination . The Euro 2016 squad is likely to contain a lot of new faces compared to the squad that went to the 2014 World Cup , with the likes of Dele Alli , Eric Dier , Jamie Vardy , Danny Drinkwater and Harry Kane all having sensational seasons with their club sides . This new-look England side is bound to give fans renewed hope , but there are still big questions as to whether they ’ ll be able to cope in the European spotlight .
Group A Group B Group C
Group D Group E Group F 9