六月到來，全世界將見證世界盃之後世界最盛大的足球盛宴 — the Euro cup. The tournament co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine would kick-start on June 8 and would run till July 1 and would see the best 16 teams from Europe battling it out for the continental supremacy. This is the first time that either of these countries are hosting the Euro Cup and this is also the last time that the tournament would see 16 teams in action as from next edition it would feature 24 teams.
Stakes are high and the temperature reaching ultimate point and with four teams from the top five in the World featuring in the tournament it has become very difficult to predict any favourites or winners.
Here are the teams to watch out for in the tournament and in all likelihood either of these would emerge as the Champion.
西班牙: Ranked World Number, Spain also known as the Red Fury has a little edge over the teams considering they would enter the tournament as the defending champion as well as the reigning World Champion. Coached by Vincente del Bosque they are the only European side to have ever won the World Cup outside their continent. Spain which adapts to roaming movement and positional interchange amongst midfielders, moving the ball in intricate patterns, and sharp, one- or two-touch passing known as the Tiki-taka football would be a major force to reckon to in the tournament. Spain is grouped alongside Italy, 愛爾蘭, and the host Croatia which is an easy grouping for them at least on papers. They might face some challenge from their long standing rivals Italy but considering the momentum they have it should pose a problem to them. Spain’s success in the tournament would largely depend on their keys players like Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa amongst others.
德國: They are currently ranked second behind Spain on the World Rankings they are a major force to reckon in the footballing World. Germany the runners up of 2008 Euro and third place holder in 2010 FIFA World Cup are a serious contender for the title. They are one of the best sides when it comes down to counter-attack and their resiliency is exemplary. They have won the European Championships for three times would be raring to add the third one to their tally. They are placed in the death of group alongside their rivals Netherlands and Portugal. Coached by Joachim Low, the performance of the team would revolve around how they main players like Thomas Mueller, Mario Gomez, Mesut Ozil, Philip Lahm amongst others perform.
荷蘭: Netherlands is the second team in the history of World Football to be ranked the number team in the World, without previously winning a World cup, the other being Spain. Known are ‘Oranje’ they won the European Championship in 1988 and are the runners-up of the 2010 世界杯. 由 Bert van Marwijk 執教, 一直到上一屆歐洲杯的四分之一決賽，肯定會贏得今年的比賽. 他們目前在世界上排名第四，並且在很大程度上取決於 Arjen Robben 之類的球員, 韋斯利·斯奈德, 羅賓·範佩西和克拉斯·揚·亨特拉爾等人在比賽中取得成功.