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Belgium and Italy seem to be the favorites in the Euro 2016 Group D, but Sweden and the Republic of Ireland are not to be underestimated, as both sides can defend and proved able to snatch results against the big boys in the last year or so.

BELGIUM – odds to win Group E: 2.10 @ Ohmbet

The current Belgium generation of players would suggest that the team can go on to win any Euro or World Cup tournament and indeed they are one of the favorites to go far in France. A player for player analysis might reveal that Belgium has the most individual talent in the entire Euro 2016 competition. However, the team is yet to prove itself at International level. That`s not to say they did not perform, but there are some way off being deserving favorites to reach the final stages of International tournaments. Belgium had a solid qualifying campaign, winning their group, though they were given a run for their money by Wales. The Belgians haven`t been impressive in the pre – tournament friendlies so they are still a bit of an unknown coming into the Euros. The first couple of matches should determine if Belgium has a team that can try to go all the way here. They will need for one of Lukaku (moody), Benteke (out of form) or Origi (young) to step up as a reliable striker who can finish what the brilliant midfield creates.

• Key players: Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard
• Strong spots: Individual quality, Star Power, Depth, Strong midfield, Creativity, Good defense
• Weak spots: Still not proven at International level, Offense can be inconsistent

ITALY – odds to qualify: 1.35 @ Bwin

Italy won its qualifying group against the likes of Croatia and Norway and might end up surprising a few people in this tournament. Squadra Azzura might not have the quality it once had, but they remain a legit contender for Euro 2016, playing pretty good football under Antonio Conte. With a relatively young and exuberant squad, Italy is showing some entertaining stuff on the pitch, playing with fast pace. Defense was solid as well in the recent friendlies, with Italy beating Scotland and Finland to nil in the weeks before Euro 2016. The lack of world class quality will probably prove fatal along the way though, especially with Italy lacking a reliable striker. The fact that the non inclusion of a MLS stiker (Giovinco) created uproar in Italy talks volumes about the mediocre talent in the squad.

• Key players: Gigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini
• Strong spots: Coaching and tactics, Counter attacking, Good form, Midfield
• Weak spots: No reliable striker, lack of world class quality, Poor recent record vs. top teams

SWEDEN – odds to qualify: 1.66 @ Ohmbet

Sweden has failed to perform at final tournaments in the last few years and with most key players aging, Sweden doesn`t look much better this time around. They do have a destructive weapon in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he always performed for the National team, but it always proved insufficient in the World Cup or the Euros, with Sweden exiting from the group stages (or failing to qualify) in each of the final events held since 2006. That`s not to say that Sweden does not remain a solid side. They only finished 3rd behind Austria and Russia in the qualifying group, but routed Denmark in the playoffs much easier than the 4-3 aggregate score suggest. One thing is certain, Ibrahimovic must be at his best if Sweden is to progress from the group stage – take him away and Sweden most likely ends up 4th – which might happen anyway.

• Key players: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sebastian Larsson
• Strong spots: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Set pieces, Tactical consistency
• Weak spots: No depth, Lack of creativity, Lack of overall quality, Aging key players

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND – odds to qualify: 2.30 @ Betfair

Republic of Ireland has managed to qualify for the second time in a row for the European Championships, but they will certainly aim to do better than last time, as back in 2012 they lost all three matches, allowing 9 goals and scoring only one. Ireland finished 3rd in the Euro 2016 qualifying group (though they did beat Germany at home) and surprisingly routed Bosnia Herzegovina in the playoffs with a 3-1 aggregate win. The Boys in Green are a pretty easy team to read, but not so easy to break down. Tactical consistency (which is a given with Martin O’Neill in charge) and solid defense are the characteristics of Ireland, who is the oldest team in the entire Euro 2016 tournament. No less than 3 players in Ireland`s squad have over 110 caps to their name (Given, O’Shea, Keane) and most key players are over 30 years old.

• Key players: Robbie Keane, James McCarthy
• Strong spots: Defense, Coaching / tactics, Experience
• Weak spots: Old age, Lack of depth, Slow pace, No difference makers, Keeper position

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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

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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.