Football Superstar Jonatan Johansson free Euro 2016 Predictions

1. France

 

France are one of the big favorites to lift the trophy in Paris on the 10th of July. They have home advantage, a good manager and a team full of talent. What could possible go wrong....?

 

There are two big question marks in my mind.

 

The first is that France was directly qualified as hosts and therefore haven't played any competitive games since the world cup in Brazil.

 

There is also a worry about how strong the team spirit in the French team is. They have a long history of infighting and this have been evident in past tournaments, you can't win unless everybody pulls in the same direction.

 

The talent in the team is unquestionable, a good mixture of youth and experience with a lot of players coming off very successful seasons with their clubs and should be full of confidence.

 

The key player for me is the Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. He has already been a key player for Juventus since his move from Manchester United in 2012, but haven't yet reached the same level for his country. If he performs at his best, France can win this summer.

 

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 3.70

 

2. Switzerland

 

This relatively small country has a great record in qualifying to the big tournaments. The only major championship they have missed out since 2004 was the Euros in 2012, and they progressed from the group stages in Brazil 2014 only to be knocked out by Argentina. 

 

They have an experienced, hard working team and Switzerland will be very hard to beat. Defensively very tight, led by veterans Johann Djourou and  Stephan Lichtsteiner they kept five clean sheet in their qualifying group.  They also scored 24 goals in the qualifying group, so I think Switzerland will be most likely to finish second in group A.

 

 

 

The key man is Granit Xhaka, the Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder has signed for Arsenal and this tournament is a great platform to showcase his talents for his new fans in North London.

 

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 33.00

 

 

3. Romania

Romania is a team I know very well, having played against them with Finland in last years qualifiers. They play a very disciplined 4-5-1 system with two very quick wingers that will try to hit teams on the break.

 

 The manager Anghel Iordanescus main strength is how he organizes the team defensively, they only conceded two goals in the ten qualifying games with three games finishing in a 0-0 draw.

He has picked a very experienced with most players are in their late 20s and tactically very aware. Romania will be a hard opponent to break down.

 

My key man for Romania is their goalkeeper, Ciprian Tatarusanu. He plays for Serie A giants Fiorentina and if he can produce the form he showed in the qualifiers, Romania has a good chance of progressing here.

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 83.00

 

 

4. Albania

 

Albania are first timers in this competition after a great qualifying campaign. They finished second behind Portugal and in front of both Denmark and Serbia.

 

A lot of the credit have to go to their Italian manager Gianni DeBiasi, who has built the team since he was appointed in 2011.

 

When the team qualified for the Euros they were all given the Honor of Nation Order by Albanias president Bujar Nishani. This is an example how much it means to this country and all of their players.

 

Albanias team will be motivated and very hungry. The players knows that if they do well in this tournament they could get a lucrative move to a bigger league.

 

Key man is Napolis fullback Elseid Hysaj, the 22 year old was transferred from Empoli last summer for around €6 million and was in the starting line up all season.

 

Albania are outsiders in this group but might surprise a few teams.

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 150.00

 

 

 

 

Group B

 

A very interesting group, with England being the favourites to win it. It also has an added bonus of a " Battle of Britain" when England takes on Wales. Here is my analysis and predictions for Group B

 1.      England

 

I have long been a big fan of British football and I always hope that England will go far, but it has been a long time since there was success in a major tournament. Looking at the team for these Euros and also recent results I feel quite optimistic about their chances in France. England won all ten of their qualifying games which is a fantastic achievement. They have a good mixture of young, hungry players backed up by the experience of skipper Wayne Rooney.

 

Roy Hodgson, is a manager I worked under for three years when he was the Finland manager. He is a fantastic coach and manager. His strength is how he organizes the team defensively and his ability to analyze the opponents to stop them from playing. He demands discipline from his players especially defensively but up front, in the last third of the pitch he gives freedom and encourages the players to express themselves. I know England will be very well prepared and a solid team unit, and I feel they are the dark horse to go far this year. They haven't maybe the same expectations they usually have from the home support and a lot of players should feel confident after successful seasons. Also, they don't rely on one or two individuals to produce some magic, even to predict the starting line up is difficult, and this will make them harder to play against for other countries.

 

Defense

 

Goalkeepers have been a problem area for England for a number of years but now Joe Hart is growing into a solid worldclass keeper. He is used to play in big games both for Manchester City and also England, having earned 58 caps already and is clearly the number one keeper in England. This should calm him down and I think he will have a good tournament, because it is true that without a great keeper you can't win a major tournament.

 

The defense is probably on paper England weakest area, but I think they will do well. Hodgson will know how to use them to their strenghts and have a hard working midfield in front of them to help them out. The testament to Hodgson's organizational skills and on how well England have done defensively lately is that they kept 8 clean sheet in 10 qualification games. The main question is if Hodgson is going to play Chris Smalling together with Gary Cahill in central defense or opt for the young John Stones? I think Hodgson will go with experience and choose Smalling. The full backs will probably be Nathaniel Clyne and Kyle Walker with Danny Rose of Tottenham also pushing for a start.

 

Midfield

 

England has a very hard working midfield four, usually with one striker playing deep almost making it a midfield 5 and it is their strongest area. The question mark is the fitness of Jordan Henderson, he has just recovered from injury. Will he be fully match fit for England? He will probably start together with James Milner, Eric Dyer and Jack Wiltshire if Hodgson plays a midfield four.  England have played both a 4-4-2 so called diamond system and a more offensive 4-3-3 system, I think the opponent will decide which one Hodgson will go for.  Dele Alli, who had a great season with Tottenham will also play, either behind the striker as a nr 10 or as one of the three midfielders in a 4-3-3 system. As you can see Hodgson has got plenty of options and can easily switch from one system to another even during the game.

 

Forwards

 

It is vital for England that Harry Kane can recapture the amazing form he showed this year in the Premier League for Tottenham. He will surely be the Nr 9 striker and has already scored 5 international goals in 11 games. Every team needs a goalscorer and I think Kane will be England's answer. The other striker is more of a question… I think Hodgson start with Wayne Rooney, England's top goalscorer with an amazing 52 international goals. The other options are Leicester's sensation Jamie Vardy and United's teenage star Marcus Rashford. Both have already scored for their country and will be desperate to start in France. I think the hunger and different options England have at their disposal look very good indeed. If Hodgson starts in a 4-3-3, he usually likes to play a striker wide. So there is every chance Vardy, Sturridge or Rashford can start  wide as well. If England needs pace, Raheem Sterling is the man for that. He could start as well, but is also a great substitute player to bring in if needed.

 

 

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 7.40

 

 2.      Russia

 

It is a fairly low key, unknown Russia team that will arrive in Paris and this might be a good thing. After Leonid Slutsky took over as manager from Fabio Capello in August last year, Russia won all four qualification games and secured their ticket to France. Interestingly Slutsky is also still the CSKA Moscow manager and the dual role seems to be working.

 

 Russia is a team without any real star names and I think this will work in their favour and make the team tighter.  Also notable is that the whole squad except for one player plays in the domestic Russian Premier League. The only player outside Russia is Schalke 04 midfielder Roman Neustadter. He only received a Russian passport this week and  will make his debut against England in Marseille on the 11th of June.  Neustadter was born in Ukraine in 1988, but grew up in Germany and he is a good addition to Russia's line-up.

 

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 42.00

 

3.      Wales

 

Wales did great to qualify for the tournament and they will be fairly happy with the group and their chances to progress. The game against England will be a highlight for them and Wales have an outside chance to qualify from this group.

Chris Coleman took over as manager of the Wales team after the tragic death of Gary Speed and has done a great job to unite the players and also use his star man Gareth Bale in exactly the right way. It is a skill for a manager to  keep his stars happy and find a role for them to fully showcase their talent.

 

Wales strongest part is their midfield, together with Bale, Liverpool's Joe Allen, Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey, Crystal Palace's Joe Ledley and Leicester's Andy King makes up the midfield. These players are all capable of playing at a high international level, but I have my doubts how Wales will do defensively.

 

Chris Coleman has recognized this in games and sometimes plays a back 5, to give extra protection to his two experienced center halves West Ham's James Collins and Swansea's Ashley Williams. It will be absolute key for Wales not to lose any easy goals in France.

 

The key game for Wales is their opener against Slovakia, it is a must win if they want to progress through the group stages. I think unfortunately Wales will fall just short and finish third in this group behind Russia and England.

 

Key man is obviously Gareth Bale, he is always proud and passionate to play for his country and fresh from another Champions League win he will be leading Wales from a free role behind the striker. He is a player that can change a game on his own with his pace and strength and a great left foot. Bale is also a danger on set plays with a fantastic ability to outjump defenders.

 

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 42.00

 

 4.      Slovakia

 

 

The outsiders in this group but they will be no push overs. Slovakia beat Spain in their qualifying group to the Euros and last week they beat Germany in a friendly in Augsburg. Slovakia is in a major competition for the first time and they will make sure they make their young country proud.

 

The key men are Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel and Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik. Hamsik has already played almost 300 games in Serie A for Napoli and scored over 80 goals from midfield, Hamsik also scored last week against Germany so he looks to be in terrific form

 

VonBets.com odds to win the tournament: 83.00