There’s a pronounced hierarchy atop European soccer heading into Euro 2016. France, Germany and Spain are the three teams to beat according to the odds, and it’d be a surprise to see another team outside those three lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy.
But don’t dare sleep on these three countries, who are legitimate threats to be crowned new kings of Europe. Get a much better sense of those teams’ sleeper credentials below. Meanwhile, check out our complete Euro 2016 preview here.
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Croatia had a very good qualifying campaign, as it lost just once in 10 games. A big reason for its success was a defense that, despite not being the most star-studded unit, performed very well and conceded just five goals in qualifying.
But the Croatians’ main strength lies in midfield. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic are the big names capable of controlling any game with their passing and movement, and they have a couple more talented youngsters in Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic behind them.
Meanwhile, Ivan Perisic (their leading scorer in qualifying with six goals) and Mario Mandzukic (the country’s third-leading scorer all-time with 24 goals) can supply some much-needed firepower.
Unless Croatia overtakes Spain and wins Group D, which it’s priced at +300 to do, it’ll likely have to take on either Belgium or Italy in the round of 16. The Croats definitely have the ability to hang with either country, though, and go deeper in the tournament. They drew twice with Italy during qualifying.
Speaking of good qualifying campaigns, Austria caught a lot of people by surprise by being just one of three undefeated teams and collecting the second-most points.
Apart from Bayern Munich Swiss Army knife David Alaba, Austria’s side doesn’t possess an outstanding array of elite talent, but manager Marcel Koller has been able to mold a team that plays greater than the sum of its parts.
That’s not to say there’s no talent in this team, though. Marc Janko was one of the leading scorers in qualifying with seven goals, while strike partner Marko Arnautovic and defender Christian Fuchs are standout performers for their respective English Premier League clubs.
Going all the way to the title will obviously be an uphill battle for Austria, which last reached the quarterfinal of a major tournament during the 1954 World Cup. But with its solid defense (just five goals conceded in qualifying) and organization, it’ll definitely be a dark horse that can spring a few surprises.
Russia finished a distant second to Austria in their qualifying group, but it was mainly due to the struggles under Fabio Capello. They were finally able to get things together after the appointment of new manager Leonid Slutsky.
The Russians, on paper, have a squad that is certainly capable of being a contender. Their very experienced defense conceded just five goals during qualifying. Their midfield has a nice blend of youth (Aleksandr Golovin, Aleksandr Kokorin and Oleg Shatov) and experience (Roman Shirokov, Denis Glushakov), and they have a capable goalscorer in Artem Dzyuba (eight goals in qualifying) up front.
The Russians have only gotten out of the group stage of a major international tournament once in seven tries. Not only will it be a disappointment if they don’t make it to the round of 16 this year, but their overall talent could see them exceed their shock third-place finish in Euro 2008.
