5 Ridiculously early predictions for Euro 2016

European football leagues are still in full swing and there are still more than 2 months left to go until the 10th of June, when the biggest football event of the year will make its debut. Definitely far too early to come up with picks and tips on the tournament, or is it? We couldn’t help ourselves, so here is Rostick’s list of 5 Ridiculously premature predictions for Euro 2016.

1. England will finally have a tournament to shout about

Always favorites coming into the big competitions, England has made it a habit of letting British fans down with exits in group stages or in the 1st KO stage. So why would it be different now?

England was utterly dominant in the qualification tournament, though it`s not the first time it happens and the group was easy. But a similarly accessible Euro 2016 group with Russia, Wales and Slovakia should give them a head start and build their confidence early. They should finish first, which means another very accessible game in the Round of Last 16 against a third placed team. Belgium might be waiting in the quarters. I can see England playing at least a semifinal in France, which will provide three times the money at Unibet.

But what really stands out about this English team is the fact that, for the first time in many years, they seem to have enthusiasm and youth. England is expected to field a starting lineup with no player over 30 years old. The likes of James Vardy and Harry Kane up front are in the form of their lives, brimming with confidence and ambition, which should lift up a team that had trouble scoring in the last few final tournaments.

Not lastly, it tends to be forgotten that England is playing well for some time now. They were unlucky in the 2014 World Cup, creating tons of chances in the deciding match against Uruguay and they won 13 of 16 matches since then, losing just once.

2. Albania has a real shot at qualifying from the group stage

Generally considered to be the weakest team in the tournament, Albania might end up surprising a lot of people. They have an honest chance at qualifying from a group with France, Romania and Switzerland.

Despite the lack of experience and big names, this is a team that finished second in a preliminary group which featured Portugal, Denmark and Serbia,

They can match Romania in quality player for player and Switzerland is not a scary opponent either. It should also not be forgotten that in 2015 Albania defeated a France team which featured most of its stars, 1-0 in a friendly played at Elbasan Arena. With the possibility of qualifying even from the third place, betting on the Albanians to reach the Round of Last 16 with odds 5.50 by Unibet might end up being a very profitable investment.

3. Back the under in France’s matches

The fact that France is by far the top team in group A will determine their opponents to park the bus – especially with the likes of Romania & Albania being known as ultra defensive sides.

As the tournament progresses, the stakes will become increasingly higher and, as it is often the case with top level football, risks will not be taken. France is not an all out attacking team anyway, so expect 0-0, 1-0 and 2-0 all the way for Les Bleus until they get knocked out. They will not win the tournament!

4. It’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance and he might take it

The Real Madrid ace is 31 years old and we know that Portugal is not good enough to be relevant in the next World Cup, so this is the last chance for Ronaldo to impress on the big International stage.

In a group with two high scoring sides like Iceland and Austria, alongside a very poor Hungary, Ronaldo should be expected to score some goals, especially as he`s the undisputed free kick and penalty taker for his team.

Barring injury, Ronaldo could lead Portugal with his goals into the quarter finals or even beyond and he might represent an excellent investment to finish top scorer at odds 9.00.

5. It will not be a tournament to remember

With 24 teams qualified for France, the quality is vastly diluted. Based on common sense and on what we have seen in the qualifiers, teams like Albania, Romania, Hungary, Northern Ireland and some others will be involved in horrible, low scoring matches, parking the bus and hoping to snatch 0-0 draws – or at least keep the score respectable. Sorry fans of these teams, but you did not prove anything different over the last years.

One aspect that may not seem relevant now, but will probably become obvious during the tournament, is refereeing. More matches and a wider variety of teams means more referees, including from 2nd and 3rd tier countries. You saw it happen in the World Cup, you will see it happen again. As a Romanian, I know that we will send one guy to Euro 2016 and he will definitely ruin some matches, as he`s used to stopping play every 5 seconds and penalizing any tiny contact. Top class refereeing is a huge facilitator of quality, free flowing matches and there will be some umpires that will not allow this.

What might end up being the biggest disappointment will be the number of empty seats – which, we can anticipate, will be larger than usual. One reason would be the vast number of teams that don`t draw interest and the other is, well, obvious – terrorist threats. Let’s just hope that it will be safe and I am confident it will be.

You will find all of our pre – tournament articles, banter, betting talk and predictions in the Euro 2016 topic. When it all starts on June 10th, make sure to check out our Euro 2016 tips, as we will have predictions for all the matches in France.