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Saturday 18 June 2016

Euro 2016: The Three outsiders

Obviously, a few of Europe's giants like Spain and Germany will be up there as the favourites to win this years Euro 2016 tournament. There are however, some rank outsiders who have shown great ability in the early stages of the tournament, who could not only upset some of the bigger Nations, but also have the capability to win the tournament. Here are my 3 outsiders with a chance of winning Euro 2016, and here is why they may win.

1. Croatia
Croatia have a very strong midfield. In fact they have a very strong team, they overpowered Turkey in their opening game of the tournament, after they got the goal they looked defensively strong and held out the 1-0 lead. They also looked comfortable in their second match of the group stage, in fact their fans may have prevented them getting all 3 points after crowd trouble had the game stopped, leading to Czech Republic coming back into the game after the restart. They have 2 incredibly influential players in midfield in Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, both of these players have performed incredibly well so far and are solid assets to the Croatian side, they bond the midfield together. As well as this, wide man Ivan Perisic is a great outlet down the wing, enabling the spread of play to a wider position to create threat from a different angle. As long as the defence remains strong i think Croatia are really in with a chance of taking this tournament away from one of the favourites. They still have to work hard in their next game however against holders Spain, so we shall see just how good they after that game.

2. Italy
Strangely, Italy haven't been spoken about much this summer. It is believed that they have their weakest ever squad, but still they have began their Euro 2016 campaign with 2 wins, against the highest ranked side in the tournament Belgium, and Sweden. Two tough opponents. Once again part of their success is their midfield, but it is not my any means the strongest of Midfield's an Italy side has ever had, but still they show their capability leading to two wins. A fantastic goal by Eder showed that playing two upfront was helpful, with Italy being one of the only sides at the tournament to set out that way, and they could indeed cause upset. Their defence is remarkably strong as well as their goalkeeper. With all of them starring for Italian giants Juventus this season, they are totally used to playing just like they do for their club, without the difficulty of them having to get used to each other. They have a great chance because not only do they have ability, but after two wins they have confidence. Could this be their year?

3. Poland
Poland believe it or not actually boast a rather strong team. Talisman Robert Lewandowski no doubt helps, but after catching my eye in a draw against Germany, I wouldn't be too surprised if they went far this summer, maybe if not winning, stopping teams capable of doing so. They have a lot of strength in their decide, many of their players play at a top level of club football, and this has certainly helped develop the Polish team. They have the right to be optimistic being on 4 points in a tough group. They do need to now try and see out the group with a big performance in their last group game, but with the surprising depth they have, it wouldn't surprise me to see them frustrate opposition and go far in this tournament.

Obviously most teams are still in contention to progress past the group stages, but are any team really showing the ability to go on and win it? let me know leave a comment below! or tweet me! Good luck to all teams.

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