Euro Cup Group B Futures

Euro Cup Group B Futures

Jason Green

Is this the year that England ends their major tournament drought? They are the favorites to win their group and they looked sensational in qualifying. Still, the Three Lions are prone to poor showings in big matches and can they change that on French soil playing in one of the weaker groups?

If England struggles like they have done in the last several big tournaments than this group is a wide-open one.

England -150

England went through qualification with 10 wins in 10 matches scoring 31 goals and only conceding three. Wayne Rooney is the veteran of the squad and while he has not fared well in Premier League play he has been solid on the pitch for the national squad. Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy are also up and comers up front and may squeeze Rooney out of the starting 11, but this is a deep squad. The defense is solid and the midfield has young talent, but for the squad the key word is young. The "Golden Generation" is gone and the new players have stepped up and give England hope, which they need with their failures on the world stage.

Russia +300

Russia qualified in one of the weaker groups and they are heavily dependent on a veteran squad that has 15 players that are at least 29 years of age. They will have to rely on their defense to win the group and they are solid on that side of the pitch only conceding five goals in their 10 qualifying matches. The one wild card is 25-year old MF Alan Dzagoev, who has shown flashes of brilliance on the pitch and did score three goals for Russia in the 2012 Euro.

Wales +300

Wales are making their debut in the Euros and have not qualified for a major tournament since the 1950 World Cup. Still, they have a couple of world-class players in Gareth Bale from Real Madrid and Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal. Even with Bale the Welsh really struggled to score goals in qualifying with 11 in 10 matches, but their defense was solid only conceding four. Still, their encounter with England will be a big one and one they can win if they can thwart the attack of the Three Lions.

Slovakia +800

Slovakia is a big wild card that no team in Group B can take for granted. They have a world-class player in Marek Hamsik, who is an attacking midfielder that players for Napoli in Serie A in Italy. This is only Slovakia’s 2nd major international tournament, but in their first in the 2010 World Cup they beat Italy and progressed to the knockout stage. They also beat Spain in Euro qualifying play and they have a solid back line only conceding eight goals in their 10 qualifying matches.