25 Jun.
UEFA Euro 2016 will be the second European championship for Austria. The first time, the Austrians took part in such competition was in 2008, when they were co-hosts, alongside with Switzerland. But, the Euro 2008 was a complete failure for the Austrian team, which couldn’t manage to go through the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Austria have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup twice (1934 and 1954). Their biggest success at...
by Mark Danielson
25 Jun.
Croatia have reached the final match of the European championship on two occasions (as a part of Yugoslavia) in 1960 and 1968, but from 1991 when the country became independent, the Croatians’ biggest achievement at such competition is reaching the quarterfinals on two occasions (1996 and 2008). The best Croatia’s performance at major international competition remains the third place at FIFA World Cup 1998 in France, when Davor Suker and co....
by Mark Danielson
24 Jun.
Belgium will be the highest ranked by FIFA team to take part in UEFA Euro 2016. The Belgian players are in 2nd position only behind Argentina. It sounds very strange, because Belgium’s only international trophy dates back to 1920 (the Olympics in Belgium). Other significant moments in Belgian national team’s history are the 4th place from the World Cup 1986 in Mexico and the lost final at Euro 1980 in Italy. Then, why Belgium are so high in...
by Mark Danielson
24 Jun.
The best goal-scorer in the history of Portugal national football team – Cristiano Ronaldo (56 goals), who is 31 years old, is now experienced enough and knows how to help his nation achieve something significant in France this summer. Ronaldo was in Portugal’s squad in 2004, when Portuguese felt the disappointment of becoming runners-up, after losing the final match of the Euro 2004 to Greece. Since then, Cristiano Ronaldo has become an...
by Mark Danielson
23 Jun.
The European champions from 1968 have been drawn in Group E with the teams of Belgium, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Italy easily reached the Euro 2016, after winning their qualification group. The Italians collected 24 points in 10 games. They recorded 7 victories and 3 draws, without conceding a single defeat. In addition, The Azzurri have only lost 3 of their last 20 games; all their defeats were in friendly matches. Italy reached the...
by Mark Danielson
