Euro 2016: Ultimate guide

Euro 2016 kicks off on 10 June, with the final a month later on 10 July – but who will come out on top?

Here, we take a closer look at all 24 teams competing in the France showpiece, including how they qualified, their key players and how they think they’ll do in the tournament. 

Read on for our ultimate guide to the competition…

Group A

France 

Manager: Didier Deschamps

How they qualified: Hosts

Previous best at European Championships: Winners (1984 & 2000)

Top scorer in qualifying: N/A

Key player: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 3/1 favourites

What they say: “We play to win. We are going to work for it and we are the hosts, hopefully the fans and crowd will be with us. It will be a good chance to go through the competition and win it.” – midfielder, Yohan Cabaye.

Did you know: France have won eight of their last nine games ahead of Euro 2016, a run which included victories over Portugal, Germany and Netherlands.

Romania

Manager: Anghel Iordanescu

How they qualified: Finished unbeaten in second behind Northern Ireland in Group F

Previous best in European Championships: Quarter-finals (2000)

Top scorer at qualifying: Paul Papp, Constantin Budescu and Bogdan Stancu (2)

Key player: Vlad Chiriches (Napoli)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 100/1

What they say: “There was pressure in qualifying, but at the moment of truth you prove you are the sort of team that can cope with this pressure. There isn’t any bigger motivation than the one of being present at a final tournament.” – defender, Razvan Rat

Did you know: Romania had the best defensive record of any side in qualifying, conceding just two goals in 10 games.

Switzerland

Manager: Vladimir Petkovic

How they qualified: Finished second behind England in Group E

Previous best in European Championships: Group stage

Top scorer at qualifying: Josip Drmic and Xherdan Shaqiri (4)

Key player: Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 40/1

What they say: “I want to make history with Switzerland. We want to play a good tournament. We have a tough group but I think we are a good team. We have very talented players, we have experience. When we play a good game, nobody can stop us.” – midfielder, Xherdan Shaqiri

Did you know: Only Germany (181) had more shots than Switzerland (155) in qualifying.

Albania

Manager: Gianni de Biasi

How they qualified: Finished second behind Portugal in Group I

Previous best at European Championships: Have never previously qualified

Top scorer in qualifying: Seven players (one goal each)

Key player: Lorik Cana (Nantes)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 200/1

What they say: “I hope the country grows having these boys as an example. Few people believed we could have made it in the beginning, but we all made it. We all contributed to this achievement.” – manager, Giani de Biasi

Did you know: Albania scored the fewest goals (seven) of any team to have qualified for Euro 2016.

Group B

England

Manager: Roy Hodgson

How they qualified: As Group E winners with a 100 per cent record

Previous best at European Championships: Semi-finals (1968 & 1996)

Top scorer in qualifying: Wayne Rooney (7)

Key player: Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 8/1

What they say: “I feel we’ve got a very good squad. It’s probably the first time I’ve felt the squad is capable in any given game of matching any team. But obviously it’s one thing having that, and another being able to do that consistently throughout a tournament.” – forward, Wayne Rooney

Did you know: England faced the fewest shots in qualifying with 12. The next lowest was Russia with 22.

Russia

Manager: Leonid Slutsky

How they qualified: Second in Group G behind Austria

Previous best at European Championships: Semi-final (2008)

Top scorer in qualifying: Artem Dzyuba (8)

Key player: Roman Shirokov (CSKA Moscow)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 40/1

What they say: “The Russian national team has many strong and experienced players. We are strong as a team. Out of the young players there is Aleksandr Golovin. He can really become a high-level player, but for this he has to work a lot. Oleg Shatov from is also very strong” – manager, Leonid Slutsky

Did you know: Russia were awarded a 3-0 victory against Montenegro in their final Euro 2016 qualifier in March last year after the match was abandoned due to attacks on their players.

Slovakia

Manager: Jan Kozak

How they qualified: Second in Group C behind Spain

Previous best at European Championships: Have never previously qualified

Top scorer in qualifying: Marek Hamsik (5)

Key player: Marek Hamsik (Napoli)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 150/1

What they say: “I expect and I hope that we will be a tough team for any team we play.” – manager, Jan Kozak

Did you know: Slovakia averaged just 43.5 per cent possession in qualifying, the lowest of any team to reach the finals.

Wales

Manager: Chris Coleman

How they qualified: Second in Group B behind Belgium

Previous best at European Championships: Have never previously qualified

Top scorer in qualifying: Gareth Bale (7)

Key player: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)

Odds of winning Euro 2016: 80/1

What they say: “Now that we are here we don’t just want to be rolled over. Every game we play we want to make a statement. We’re more than capable of doing that. We’ve worked our socks off to get here and we want to prove we’re more than capable of matching the bigger nations.” – midfielder, Aaron Ramsey

Did you know: Euro 2016 will be only the second major tournament that Wales have appeared in. They also featured at the 1958 World Cup.

Group C

Germany

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