quinta-feira, 24 de março de 2016

Euro 2016 Power Rankings: Germany still have most complete squad

Logo der EM 2016



As Europe’s elite enter their final tournament preparations, we will update our Euro 2016 power rankings every day during the international week.

Here’s the state of play ahead of the first set of friendlies on Thursday night.

Thursday's games

Wales v Northern Ireland
Italy v Spain
Denmark v Iceland
Ukraine v Cyprus
Czech Republic v Scotland
Turkey v Sweden
1- GERMANY
Question marks grow over captain Bastian Schweinsteiger’s continued suitability for the role, and he is now injured again, but the world champions have the most complete squad in Europe.
2 – FRANCE
The hosts remain dogged by the Karim Benzema/Mathieu Valebuena sextape fallout (neither is involved in the current squad) – meanwhile Dimitri Payet and N’golo Kante must impress.
3 - SPAIN
Remarkably there is still some debate over who should play in goal. For Spain’s sake, let’s hope Vicente Del Bosque sees sense and picks David De Gea over the ailing Iker Casillas.
4 – ITALY
Lead striker Graziano Pelle is back in form, but Andrea Pirlo – now playing in New York - faces an uphill battle to gain a tournament recall.
5 – BELGIUM
Belgium have cancelled two training sessions after the horrific terror attacks in Brussels – not ideal tournament preparation, perhaps, but the team’s priorities are rightly on more important things.
6 – ENGLAND
The absence of Wayne Rooney feels like a release, as Roy Hodgson looks to involve the likes of KaneVardy, Alli and Barkley – good performances this week could see the England captain displaced from the team.

7 – PORTUGAL
Benfica starlet Renato Sanches is set to make his debut, while Cristiano Ronaldo is in blistering form. Next Tuesday’s game against Belgium in Brussels is cancelled.
8 – AUSTRIA
With quality players like David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic, plus a decidedly winnable group, Austria are emerging as a trendy ‘dark horse’ pick.
9 – CROATIA
Any team with Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric should be feared and a professional 2-0 victory over a notoriously difficult to beat Israel on Wednesday re-affirms their team-to-avoid status.
10 – POLAND
Robert Lewandowski’s presence in the Poland team makes them a threat. Their 1-0 win over Serbia on Wednesday was far from spectacular but Poland are hard to break down and have a world class striker.
And the rest:
  • 11 – Russia
  • 12 - Wales
  • 13 – Switzerland
  • 14 – Turkey
  • 15 – Sweden
  • 16 – Ukraine
  • 17 – Republic of Ireland
  • 18 – Czech Republic
  • 19 - Romania
  • 20 – Iceland
  • 21 - Albania
  • 22 – Slovakia
  • 23 – Northern Ireland
  • 24 – Hungary

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