Euro 2016 will be contested by 24 teams over 30 days at 10
different venues in France.
The tournament kicks off with France playing Romania on
Friday, 10 June and the final will take place at the Stade de France in Paris
on 10 July. Spain are hoping to retain the title they won in 2008 and 2012.
How does it work?
Good question - because, for the first time, there are 24
teams competing in the finals. That is an increase from the 16 that had taken
part in every edition since it was hosted in England in 1996.
With six groups of four teams, it means the top two will
qualify for the last 16, plus the four best third-placed finishers. In other
words, only eight teams will fail to qualify from the group stage.
One point could be enough to put your team into the last 16
- and from then the tournament goes to a knockout format.
Who is going to win?
As Greece proved by pulling off a sensational triumph at
Euro 2004, trying to predict a winner is a difficult game.
World champions Germany are understandably one of the
favourites, while holders Spain are also short odds with the bookmakers.
Germany finished top of their qualification group but
booking their place in France was not without its hiccups - with defeats by
Poland and the Republic of Ireland. They have been beaten by France and England
since qualifying but remain one to watch.
Spain dominated international football between 2008 and 2012
but failed to qualify from their group at the 2014 World Cup. Could this be a
last hurrah for Vicente del Bosque's ageing but brilliant side?
What are the chances of a home victory?
France won the World Cup as hosts in 1998 - can they repeat
the famous success of the team led by Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane and
Laurent Blanc?
A run into the latter stages by Les Bleus is likely to help
restore national morale in a country still recovering from last year's deadly
Paris attacks.
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France's 1998 World Cup-winning captain Deschamps now
coaches the national side
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France are the bookmakers' favourites to win the whole thing,
but their form is tricky to gauge because they did not have to qualify for this
tournament.
Fast on the counter and unified after years of internal
division, watch out for talented midfielders Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi.
But they cannot call upon prolific Real Madrid striker Karim
Benzema. The French Football Federation (FFF) said he would not be picked after
being investigated for his part in an alleged plot to blackmail Les Bleus
team-mate Mathieu Valbuena, who did not make the squad.
Many new faces?
With the 24-team format offering hope to traditionally
less-successful nations, five countries have taken advantage to secure their
European Championship finals debut.
Northern Ireland and Wales, of course, are two of them.
Slovakia, who have been drawn alongside England and Wales in
Group B, have qualified for the first time as an independent state. A 1-0 win
against Spain showed the 2010 World Cup qualifiers can mix it with Europe's
elite. Beware England and Wales.
Albania have never been near a major finals, but edged out
Denmark - the 1992 champions - in their qualifying group thanks to a shock win
in Portugal. Oh, and because they were awarded a 3-0 win in Serbia by the Court
of Arbitration for Sport after a riot.
With a population of roughly 330,000 (comparable to
Coventry) and only 21,508 registered players, Iceland are unsurprisingly the
smallest nation to ever qualify for the finals.
How did they do that? By beating the Netherlands - 1988
winners and three-time semi-finalists - home and away during qualifying. The
Dutch, for the first time since 1984, will not be there.
Who will be the star players?
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who was voted the
world's second best player behind Argentina's Lionel Messi in the 2015 Ballon
d'Or vote, heads a star-studded cast.
Ronaldo will be leading Portugal's challenge, while Wales
hope his club-mate Gareth Bale - the world's most expensive player - can
transform his impressive La Liga form onto the international stage.
World Cup winners Germany boast a host of stellar names who
have impressed in previous tournaments, most notably Bayern Munich goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer and forward Thomas Muller plus Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos.
France's challenge is set to be driven by energetic Juventus
midfielder Paul Pogba, who is still reportedly courting the attention of
several English Premier League sides.
Belgium are not short of star quality either. Premier League
pair Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne will spearhead their quest for a first
major tournament win, but the Red Devils are without injured captain Vincent
Kompany.
And Sweden superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 34, will be hoping
to illuminate an international tournament for what could be the final time.
The Netherlands' failure to qualify leaves Bayern Munich
winger Arjen Robben watching from home, while his club-mate Franck Ribery was
not named in the France squad, despite suggestions he was considering ending
his international retirement.
Where will the games be played?
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Saint-Etienne and Toulouse were added to the host cities to
cope with Euro 2016's expanded format
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The tournament's 51 games will be staged at 10 locations
across France, including new stadiums in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Nice.
The opening match - between France and Romania on 10 June -
and the 10 July final will be played at the Stade de France in Paris.
Building the new venues and renovating historic grounds such
as Marseille's Stade Velodrome has cost 1.6bn euros (£1.2bn) - modernisation
which was necessary, organisers say, because France did not fully capitalise on
hosting the 1998 World Cup.
Vibrating stands, floating roofs and adjacent slag heaps -
read BBC Sport's venue-by-venue guide
What's new for Euro 2016 (and beyond)?
In March this year, the International Football Association
Board (IFAB) ratified a host of revisions to the laws of the game in an attempt
to remove inconsistencies and meet the needs of the modern game. The changes
came into effect on 1 June, so will apply for Euro 2016.
More than 90 revisions were made, but these are some of the
key changes:
Kick-off: Previously, the ball had to go forward from
kick-off but the rule has been changed to allow it to go in any direction.
Pre-match red cards: Players can now be sent off before a
match gets under way, although they can be replaced by another player in the
match-day squad.
Leaving the pitch after treatment: If a player is injured in
a challenge resulting in a yellow or red card, they no longer have to leave the
field and can have a quick assessment or medical treatment. This change is
designed to prevent situations where a team would be temporarily down to 10
players.
The end of 'triple punishment': A professional foul inside
the area will now normally result in a yellow card for the offender, and not a
red. This is to end the so-called triple punishment of penalty, dismissal and
suspension, which was seen by some as excessive. There are exceptions for when
the offender will receive a red which include holding, pushing or pulling and
violent conduct.
Goalline technology, already established in the Premier
League and elsewhere, will be used at Euro 2016.
What about security at the tournament?
The French government has extended a state of emergency
imposed after the Paris attacks in November to cover Euro 2016.
The coordinated gun and bomb attacks in Paris on 13 November
killed 130 people and were claimed by so-called Islamic State.
The Stade de France, which was targeted by suicide bombers,
will host the opening match of Euro 2016 and the final.
The current state of emergency gives police extra powers to
conduct searches and put people under house arrest.
More than 90,000 police, soldiers and private security
agents are being deployed as well.
Source –BBC-
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