Euro 2016 will be contested by 24 teams over 30
days at 10 different venues in France.
The tournament kicks off with France playing
Romania on Friday, 10 June and the
final will
take place at the Stade de France in Paris on 10
July. Spain are hoping to retain the title they
won in 2008 and 2012.
England will be appearing at their ninth finals,
while Wales and Northern Ireland have qualified
for the first time.
How does it work?
Good question - because, for the first time, there
are 24 teams competing in the finals. That is an
increase from the 16 that had taken part in
every edition since it was hosted in England in
1996.
With six groups of four teams, it means the top
two will qualify for the last 16, plus the four best
third-placed finishers. In other words, only eight
teams will fail to qualify from the group stage.
One point could be enough to put your team into
the last 16 - and from then the tournament goes
to a knockout format.
The Euro 2016 draw
Group A Group B Group C
France England Germany
Romania Russia Ukraine
Albania Wales Poland
Switzerland Slovakia Northern
Ireland
Group D Group E Group F
Spain Belgium Portugal
Czech
Republic Italy Iceland
Turkey Republic of
Ireland Austria
Croatia Sweden Hungary
Who is going to win?
As Greece proved by pulling off a sensational
triumph at Euro 2004, trying to predict a winner
is a difficult game.
World champions Germany are understandably
one of the favourites, while holders Spain are
also short odds with the bookmakers.
Germany finished top of their qualification group
but booking their place in France was not
without its hiccups - with defeats by Poland and
the Republic of Ireland. They have been beaten
by France and England since qualifying but
remain one to watch.
Spain dominated international football between
2008 and 2012 but failed to qualify from their
group at the 2014 World Cup. Could this be a last
hurrah for Vicente del Bosque's ageing but
brilliant side?
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What are the chances of a home victory?
France won the World Cup as hosts in 1998 - can
they repeat the famous success of the team led
by Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane and
Laurent Blanc?
A run into the latter stages by Les Bleus is likely
to help restore national morale in a country still
recovering from last year's deadly Paris attacks.
France are the bookmakers' favourites to win
the whole thing, but their form is tricky to gauge
because they did not have to qualify for this
tournament.
Fast on the counter and unified after years of
internal division, watch out for talented
midfielders Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi.
But they cannot call upon prolific Real Madrid
striker Karim Benzema. The French Football
Federation (FFF) said he would not be picked
after being investigated for his part in an alleged
plot to blackmail Les Bleus team-mate Mathieu
Valbuena, who did not make the squad.
Fear, faith and football - can the beautiful
game unite France?
What about the home nations?
Well, there are three of them in France - only
Scotland missed out - plus the Republic of
Ireland. It is going to get crowded too, because
England and Wales are both in Group B, along
with Russia and debutants Slovakia.
Don't expect much work to get done when
England and Wales play each other - that match
in Lens will be shown live on BBC One, kick-off
14:00 BST, on Thursday, 16 June.
Roy Hodgson's England have a good young team
but doubts persist about their defence. They
breezed through their qualifying group with a
perfect record of 10 wins, while confidence was
further boosted with March's impressive win
away at world champions Germany.
Wales have got Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and
plenty of heart. Chris Coleman's side reached
their first major tournament in 57 years after
losing just once in qualification.
Northern Ireland might have numerous players
from England's lower leagues but they finished
top of their qualifying group, losing just one of
their 10 matches.
Striker Kyle Lafferty could not get a game for
club side Norwich during qualifying (he has since
been loaned to Birmingham) but he scored
seven crucial goals in nine games for his
country.
How the home nations have fared at the
Euros
England Northern
Ireland Wales
Finals
appearances 8 Debut Debut
Best finish
Semi-finals
(1968,
1996)
- -
Who do the home nations play?
Many new faces?
With the 24-team format offering hope to
traditionally less-successful nations, five
countries have taken advantage to secure their
European Championship finals debut.
Northern Ireland and Wales, of course, are two
of them.
Slovakia, who have been drawn alongside
England and Wales in Group B, have qualified for
the first time as an independent state. A 1-0 win
against Spain showed the 2010 World Cup
qualifiers can mix it with Europe's elite. Beware
England and Wales.
Albania have never been near a major finals, but
edged out Denmark - the 1992 champions - in
their qualifying group thanks to a shock win in
Portugal. Oh, and because they were awarded a
3-0 win in Serbia by the Court of Arbitration for
Sport after a riot.
With a population of roughly 330,000
(comparable to Coventry) and only 21,508
registered players, Iceland are unsurprisingly the
smallest nation to ever qualify for the finals.
How did they do that? By beating the
Netherlands - 1988 winners and three-time semi-
finalists - home and away during qualifying. The
Dutch, for the first time since 1984, will not be
there.
Who will be the star players?
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who
was voted the world's second best player behind
Argentina's Lionel Messi in the 2015 Ballon d'Or
vote, heads a star-studded cast.
Ronaldo will be leading Portugal's challenge,
while Wales hope his club-mate Gareth Bale -
the world's most expensive player - can
transform his impressive La Liga form onto the
international stage.
World Cup winners Germany boast a host of
stellar names who have impressed in previous
tournaments, most notably Bayern Munich
goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and forward Thomas
Muller plus Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos.
France's challenge is set to be driven by
energetic Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, who
is still reportedly courting the attention of
several English Premier League sides.
Belgium are not short of star quality either.
Premier League pair Eden Hazard and Kevin de
Bruyne will spearhead their quest for a first
major tournament win, but the Red Devils are
without injured captain Vincent Kompany.
And Sweden superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 34,
will be hoping to illuminate an international
tournament for what could be the final time.
The Netherlands' failure to qualify leaves Bayern
Munich winger Arjen Robben watching from
home, while his club-mate Franck Ribery was not
named in the France squad, despite suggestions
he was considering ending his international
retirement.
Where will the games be played?
The tournament's 51 games will be staged at 10
locations across France, including new stadiums
in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Nice.
The opening match - between France and
Romania on 10 June - and the 10 July final will
be played at the Stade de France in Paris.
Building the new venues and renovating historic
grounds such as Marseille's Stade Velodrome
has cost 1.6bn euros (£1.2bn) - modernisation
which was necessary, organisers say, because
France did not fully capitalise on hosting the
1998 World Cup.
Vibrating stands, floating roofs and adjacent slag
heaps - read BBC Sport's venue-by-venue guide
What's new for Euro 2016 (and beyond)?
In March this year, the International Football
Association Board (IFAB) ratified a host of
revisions to the laws of the game in an attempt
to remove inconsistencies and meet the needs
of the modern game. The changes came into
effect on 1 June, so will apply for Euro 2016.
More than 90 revisions were made, but these are
some of the key changes:
Kick-off: Previously, the ball had to go forward
from kick-off but the rule has been changed to
allow it to go in any direction.
Pre-match red cards: Players can now be sent
off before a match gets under way, although
they can be replaced by another player in the
match-day squad.
Leaving the pitch after treatment: If a player is
injured in a challenge resulting in a yellow or red
card, they no longer have to leave the field and
can have a quick assessment or medical
treatment. This change is designed to prevent
situations where a team would be temporarily
down to 10 players.
The end of 'triple punishment': A professional
foul inside the area will now normally result in a
yellow card for the offender, and not a red. This
is to end the so-called triple punishment of
penalty, dismissal and suspension, which was
seen by some as excessive. There are
exceptions for when the offender will receive a
red which include holding, pushing or pulling and
violent conduct.
Goalline technology, already established in the
Premier League and elsewhere, will be used at
Euro 2016.
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