Euro 2016 Draw Kind To France and England

Euro 2016 will begin in just over six months. With the qualifying stages wrapping up a few weeks ago, the football world was eagerly awaiting the semi-random decisions about which teams would be grouped together come tournament time.
Now we know how things will look to begin the event, as the Euro 2016 draw (BBC Sport) was finalised over the weekend.
England and France emerged as arguably the two biggest winners from the draw, as both nations were placed into groups where they’ll have good chances to perform well and advance.
England will play in Group B with Russia, Wales and Slovakia, and while that’s not an easy group by any means, it’s one in which England should be a clear favourite. As the only team to get through qualifying without a loss or draw, the English will look to build momentum for a deep tournament run. Russia is probably the biggest threat in the group, though the contests with Wales will likely be the most scrutinised.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Host nation France may have gotten the easiest draw of the bunch. In Group A they’ll face Romania, Albania, and Switzerland with a strong chance to advance in front of home supporters. As a side with strong international experience and a reasonable level of talent, Switzerland is the likely runner-up, with Romania being a possible competitor and Albania probably bringing up the rear.
Of the top teams, Portugal and Germany also faired pretty well in the draw. Portugal will headline Group F, where they’ll face Iceland, Austria and Hungary. Austria actually had the best run in qualifying aside from England, amassing 28 points through the 10 matches. Even so, Portugal should be the team to beat. Meanwhile, Germany has its work cut out for it in Group C, but no true threat for the top standing. Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland will likely battle for second position behind the reigning World Cup champions.
Things are trickier in the final two groups. Spain faces a batch of tough competitors in Group D, with Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia all looking strong through qualifying. Meanwhile, Group E has been described (Bwin News) as the “Group of Death,” with the Republic of Ireland being something of an outsider next to Belgium, Italy and Sweden. Belgium and Italy ought to advance in some order, but many are looking to Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic to pull off something spectacular in what could be his last major international competition.
Overall, the draw spread out the quality fairly evenly and supplied a nice mix of intriguing match-ups and manageable paths for the favourites. The stage is set for a wonderfully entertaining Euro 2016.