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Spain, Croatia, Turkey and the Czech Republic will square off in the Euro 2016 Group D, with Spain as the obvious favorites to dominate. However, each of the other three teams have a case to challenge for a qualifying position and with Spain not looking very impressive right now, Group D seems to be pretty much open to any outcome.
SPAIN – odds to win Group D: 1.67 @ Ohmbet
Spain remains one of the favorites to win the Euro 2016 title according to the bookies and past results, but, in truth, “La Furia Roja” is not quite the side it used to be. Spain does not have a striker like Torres or Villa anymore and they have to experiment between Aduriz and Morata. They are on the back of a 0-1 home loss to Georgia, looking as bad as you could possibly imagine Spain looking. The Spaniards should still have enough to win this group, especially as they dominated the qualifiers against Ukraine and Slovakia, showing they can still put lesser sides in their place. But all in all, I would not bet on Spain do to damage in this event – no matter how you look at it, Spain doesn`t seem to be title winning material, particularly against more explosive and fast teams like France, Germany or even England.
- Key players: Andres Iniesta, Sergio Ramos
- Strong spots: Individual quality, Defense, Midfield, Ability to hold possession, Keeper position
- Weak spots: Lack of world class striker, Offense, Slow pace
CROATIA – odds to qualify: 1.43 @ Ohmbet
Croatia presents no surprise ahead of this tournament. They are the same solid, well organized side with a few players capable of making a difference. They barely achieved direct qualification for Euro 2016 in spite of Norway, finishing second behind Italy and the team is not showing signs that it can do better than in previous final tournaments. Croatia remains a solid team and a deserving favorite to finish second in Group D, but their results over the last few years do now show that they can do real damage in the tournament. Croatia can surely snatch a draw against Spain, but on the other hand there are absolutely no guarantees that they will beet Turkey or the Czech Republic.
- Key players: Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic
- Strong spots: Midfield, Pragmatism, Individual quality, Discipline, Chemistry
- Weak spots: Mediocre form, Lack of killer instinct, Offense
TURKEY – odds to qualify: 1.90 @ BWIN
It has been an insane qualifying campaign for Fatih Terim’s Turkey. After a horrible start, they slowly started to achieve results and managed to comfortably surpass Netherlands for the third place in the end, finishing behind Iceland and the Czech Republic. The last three matches in the group were wins to nil against Netherlands, Iceland and the Czech Republic, which allowed Turkey to qualify directly from the 3rd place, without having to enter the playoffs. Turkey kept up the strong form in friendlies and seems to be in excellent shape coming into Euro 2016. Nevertheless, their inconsistency must be always taken into account and they might struggle against slow paced, consisistent sides like the opponents in Group D.
- Key players: Arda Turan, Burak Yilmaz
- Strong spots: Great form, Mentality, Midfield, Coaching
- Weak spots: Keeper position, Lack of overall individual quality, Lack of depth up front, Dependent on key players
CZECH REPUBLIC – odds to qualify: 2.00 @ Betfair
Czech Republic reached Euro 2016 mainly due to a great run at the beginning of the qualifiers, winning 4 games out of 4, including beating all 3 main rivals in the qualifying group. Czech Republic’s form has dipped since then, their defense looked particularly shaky and the team won just 6 of the last 14 games. If their offense will not work at the top level, Czech Republic is in some trouble, as they are a side that does not know how to defend properly. Czech Republic kept a single clean sheet in the last 22 games and that was against Malta. The Czechs don`t have top individual quality in their ranks, but they do have plenty of experience, being the 3rd oldest team in the tournament – which could end up being a downside as well. All in all, they seem outsiders but must not be disregarded.
- Key players: Petr Cech, Tomas Rosicky
- Strong spots: Offense, Experienced key players, Keeper position
- Weak spots: Defense, Old age, Inconsistent form, Lack of depth, Not much individual quality
Group is highly unpredictable, look for goals in Czech Republic’s matches
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.
