Betdistrict.com
Ukraine and Poland will smell blood in Group C, as Germany has been struggling lately and doesn`t seem to be the same team that lost the World Cup, but the Mannschaft remains the clear cut favorite to finish on top. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is the obvious outsider in this Group C and even a third place finish looks like a bit of the stretch for them at the moment.
GERMANY – odds to win Group C: 1.45 @ Unibet
A few months ago Germany was considered the favorite to win Euro 2016, but due to their recent disappointing performances their place was taken by France according to the oddsmakers – and by some margin. While Germany obviously remains a world class side and a definite contender for the title, they do seem to have some problems right now. Recent form is very poor for a team of such standing, as Germany lost 4 of the last 7 matches played – a worrying sign, even though most were friendlies. With Klose gone and Gotze not playing at Bayern, Joachim Low has no other option but to rely on Mario Gomez up front and he does seem to be the weak link in this squad, so pressure will be on Muller to deliver the goals. All in all Germany should still win this group, but they will have to be wary of Poland’s threat, a team that beat them in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
- Key players: Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil
- Strong spots: Quality, Mentality, Midfield, Explosiveness, Chemistry, Reigning World champs
- Weak spots: Lack of world class striker, Poor recent form, Defense can be prone to errors
POLAND – odds to qualify: 1.38 @ Ohmbet
Poland could well prove to be the dark horse in this tournament. The Lewandowski – led side lost a single game in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, beat Germany and seemed extremely solid overall. Lewandowski (who could well end up top scorer) is one of those players that always provides the goods at the international level, being as decisive for Poland as Neymar is for Brazil or Bale is for Wales. As such, it`s no wonder that Poland scored 33 goals in the qualifying group, more than any other side in those qualies. Playing Gibraltar helped, but they still scored 9 more than Germany, which competed in the same group. While Poland might not have the quality of the top sides in Europe, they definitely have what it takes to qualify and even fight for the top spot in the Group. A 0-0 draw against Lithuania in the last pre – Euro 2016 test should not be a sign for worry. Poland’s biggest problem seems to be the fact that there are no adequate replacements for their key players.
- Key players: Robert Lewandowski, Grzegorz Krychowiak
- Strong spots: Lewandowski’s impact on the National Team, Offense, Form, Explosiveness
- Weak spots: Defense, Lack of depth, Quality gap between first 11 and reserve players
UKRAINE – odds to qualify: 1.48 @ 1xBet
Ukraine finished 3rd in the qualifying group behind Spain and Slovakia, but made light work of Slovenia in the playoffs to qualify for Euro 2016. The Ukrainians lost 3 matches in that group, 2 against Spain and 1 against Slovakia, all of them 0-1, but they failed to score a single goal against those two sides. The squad is composed mostly of domestic – based players but there are a few guys playing overseas as well, most notably Konoplyanka (Sevilla). An interesting fact is that Ukraine is one of the tallest teams in the Euros, but also one of the slimmest. Their height / weight ratio is the highest among all sides, so they are not very strong and physical. Ukraine is in good form coming into Euro 2016, winning 4 matches in a row and has a good chance to progress from the group stage. If they can defeat Northern Ireland, which they should be able to do, that alone might be enough – but Ukraine can also challenge Poland or even Germany. I can see them qualifying to the quarterfinals via a third place finish in Group C.
- Key players: Yevhen Konoplyanka, Andriy Yarmolenko
- Strong spots: Chemistry, Midfield, Good form, Fast pace
- Weak spots: Keeper position, Struggles against big teams, Limited individual quality, Lack of physicality
NORTHERN IRELAND – odds to qualify: 3.75 @ Ladbrokes
Not only did Northern Ireland qualify for Euro 2016, they did it by winning their qualifying group, which was a marvelous achievement for the Brits. However, it must be said that the main reason for their success was being drawn in the easiest qualifying group, one of the easiest ever – featuring Romania, Hungary and a horrific Greece. Northern Ireland sneaked out results against the last two, but they were outplayed by a poor Romania both home and away, showing their limits. With a few Premier League players carrying the load, expect Northern Ireland to play a physical brand of football, defending in numbers and searching Lafferty with long balls up front – an old school brand of British football that might fail to get them anywhere in this tournament. They will hope that their physicality matches well against the slender Ukrainians, but the Eastern Europeans are much more savvy with the ball. With Lafferty being far from the player that impressed in the past at Rangers or Palermo, Northern Ireland will likely struggle to score goals in Group C.
- Key players: Steven Davis, Jonny Evans
- Strong spots: Defense, Experienced Premier League team backbone, Physicality
- Weak spots: No creativity, Poor offense, lack of depth, Lack of overall individual quality, Low speed
You will find all of our articles, group previews and betting talk in the Euro 2016 blog topic, both pre – tournament and during the tournament. When it all starts on June 10th, make sure to check out Betdistrict’s Euro 2016 tips, as we will have predictions for all the matches in France.
