UEFA Euro 2016 Preview Football Focus


UEFA Euro 2016 Preview

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# Je revois la ville en fete et en delire

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# Suffoquant sous le soleil et sous la joie

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# Et j'entends dans la musique les cris, les rires

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# Qui eclatent et rebondissent autour de moi

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# Emportes par la foule qui nous traine

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# Emportes par la foule qui nous traine

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# Et perdue parmi ces gens qui me bousculent

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COMMENTATOR: Goal, they have done it! France are the European

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champions. COMMENTATOR: That is Gascoigne,

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brilliant! Oh! What a goal! The shadow of the Eiffel

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Tower is our setting On Friday, Euro 2016 kicks off

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and it's bigger than ever. England, Wales and Northern Ireland

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are amongst 24 teams aiming to be here in Paris for the

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final on July 10th. Plenty to discuss over

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the next 45 minutes. Can England's young ones play

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without fear and erase It's been a long time

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coming for Wales, but Coleman is relishing a first

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major tournament for over 50 years. Northern Ireland

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have never played in a European Championship

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and are ready to spring And our hosts are amongst the usual

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superpowers of European football, We'll get the latest from our

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reporters in the England, Wales And it's a warm welcome

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to Jermaine Jenas and John Hartson. It's taken 58 years but Wales

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are back at a major tournament and the optimism surrounding

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Chris Coleman's side is high. Nobody has led them to a finals

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since Jimmy Murphy and the 1958 The current team has been developing

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together for some time and everything came together

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during an impressive qualifying It is emotional, yes, realising what

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we have achieved, it is all very real. The place where we are is

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amazing, the facilities, absolutely wonderful, they have done us proud.

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The whole atmosphere is one, it is a positive one, we are happy to be

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here. COMMENTATOR: Wales will head to Euro 2016 on the back of a

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thumping defeat. I kind of second guessed it was going to be a tough

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ask because we look at most of our players, they have not played for

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four wigs, the performance was down to myself, I knew where we would be

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physically -- weeks. We needed a game like that to get to where we

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needed to be, and I was disappointed, but there is a bigger

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picture that we are looking at. Robson Carluke picked up an injury

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in Portugal which concerned us -- how Robson Carluke. He's a super

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athlete, though, he did the session yesterday with the squad. He did

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everything needed. Joe Allen looks good, no problems. You can sense how

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much everyone wants to be here. Joe Ledley deserves to be here we were

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never going to pick the squad and finalise it without giving him every

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opportunity. Maybe it will be was unjust to say he complained 90 --

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campaign 90 minutes on Saturday, but he can play a part, he has done

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brilliant. It is all about the first game, we have got to look at it like

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that. It is new territory, we can only take you by the next game, we

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have always done that in the next game. We are paying against Acer

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Bacuna team, we will probably be favourites -- we are playing against

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stuff it, they will be favourites in sales of their form and where they

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are in the rankings, but we have got a point to prove -- we are playing

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against Slovakia. I have been thinking about the game at the

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weekend. I cannot think of anything else and I don't think of anything

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else and that is what will be going through my thoughts.

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Wales are in Group B alongside England.

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Russia - winners of the first ever Euros back in 1960 - and Slovakia -

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who beat world champions Germany in one of the warm-up matches -

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Our man in the Wales camp for the tournament is Jason Mohammad

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and he joins us from Dinard in Northern France.

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Jason, there is a great deal of expectancy and excitement? Yes, very

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good evening. The sun is shining, beautiful, I was at training today

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and the players was so relaxed ahead of their first game against Slovakia

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in Bordeaux. Local schoolchildren were invited, Gareth Bale had a

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massive cheer when he ran out from the local children. There was a

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wave, as well. Joe Ledley took a full part in training, so don't be

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surprised if he has his name on the team sheet in some capacity in the

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group games, and Andy King was talking about how the FA of Wales

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have got this spot on in terms of finding this great location. They

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are just a handful of Wales fans here, he says you can go around and

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have a coffee, the players are very relaxed. But all over Wales, the

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fans are heading in their numbers to Bordeaux. It looks like a lovely

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spot, like Barry Island, but with sunshine. There is a relaxed mood,

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Chris Coleman was chiefly exposing a possible team selection. --

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cheekily. Yes, it does resemble Barry Island, the ice cream is just

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as good. Chris Coleman was pictured with a fantasy football team and I

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get the feeling he is poking fun at Ray Lewington who has been in the

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papers with a England formation ahead of their game against Russia

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on Saturday. I imagine that that will only intensify over the next

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couple of weeks as we look ahead to England against Wales. But we're not

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about a dog about that, it is all about three points against Slovakia

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in Bordeaux -- we are not allowed to talk about that. What a good job

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Chris Coleman has done. He has done a remarkable job. We had waited so

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long and we had Sony great managers that had not got over the line

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before him, Terry RF, Gary speed, God rest his soul, John Toshack,

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Mark Hughes. -- so many great. Chris Coleman has got to the holy Grail

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and has got us over the line, especially in the circumstances when

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he took the job, he was Murray close to Gary speed, and initially

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disappointing results -- very close. We lost 6-1 against Serbia, but then

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he got the players on board and then we had a remarkable qualification

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campaign. The only conceded four goals, we were defensively

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magnificent. Which player could be a star for Wales in this tournament,

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and I came up with a young player from Real Madrid. He is so

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explosive, he's also a team player, he will do his defensive duties and

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when he gets into space and when he gets the opportunity to run at

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players, he is unstoppable. Powerful in the air, look at that late, Alan

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Shearer would have been proud of that. -- leap. Free kicks, dead ball

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situations. This is him arriving in the box late. He has everything in

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his locker, and that was a great finish. Seven goals in qualifying,

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out of the 11, and the goals that he makes, as well, he's a great asset.

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Every team needs a star but it is also about a togetherness, and

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defensively they have been very strong, Wales. They have needed to

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be, they came up against very tough opposition, and as important as

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Gareth Bale is at the top end, they have Ashley Williams in the

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defensive area. He is just as important. He had a great

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qualification campaign for Wales. The back end of the season for

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Swansea was a bit indifferent, but there was tiredness. A number of

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examples here of him putting his body on the line. His distribution

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goes unnoticed, I think, they are great tackles, but when he is on the

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ball he calms them down, a lot of the time. Great recovery tackle

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Blair. They will need him to have a good tournament. -- there. OK.

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This is Roy Hodgson's third tournament as England manager.

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It represents a chance to put things right after the disappointment

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in Brazil two years ago where they failed to win a game.

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Gabby Logan has been keeping a close eye on Roy's squad

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This is Chantilly, the beating heart of French horse racing country, and

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24 miles north of Paris here, where Roy Hodgson has chosen to stable his

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thoroughbreds ahead of Euro 2016. England's arrival was low-key, the

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reception cordial, but expectations as always are high. Despite winning

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all ten qualifying games, pretournament friendlies offered

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more questions than answers, it is now down to the manager to prepare

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his players for the hurdles ahead. The feeling is great, more relaxed

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than before, we have always had a good camaraderie but this is

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different, the best I've experienced, even talking about

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playing at clubs, as well, it's a strange feeling to be part of

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something special. You come out here to try and impress, and against

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Russia you want the shirt. We need to be professional, and if we don't

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get the selection we need to show the togetherness as a team to cheer

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the other lads on. Exciting times, a great young squad, with a bit of

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experience, it is great to be involved. Each day the big kick-off

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gets closer, the build-up and excitement is drawing near and we

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are itching to go. We are at the mindset, this is our chance and it

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is time to seize it and hopefully it ends in a very spectacular way. Some

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players have not been in major tournaments before, and you have got

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to enjoy the moment, because not many people get the chance to come

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to major tournaments. They are fresh faces in the squad but we have known

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each other mainly for long periods, whether that is in the under age

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groups, so on the whole we get on very well and that makes it easier

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when you are spending 24 hours a day together. You said last week when

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you were asked who you would follow on Twitter in the squad, use a Jamie

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Vardy, is he that interesting? -- you said Jamie Vardy. Yes, yes. He

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is an interesting fella. After a few more days I might actually start

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following him. LAUGHTER England will move from their base in

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the northern countryside to the Mediterranean coast for their first

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test against Russia in Marseille. Will they falter at the first or can

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they go the distance this time? And Gabby joins us from Chantilly

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just 30 miles north of Paris. I believe everything is pretty

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relaxed, rather like it wasn't four years ago? Good evening. Yes,

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everything is very relaxed, last night we went out for some food in

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Chantilly. The coaching staff were at pains to say how fit everybody

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was and today we saw a group of players wandering through the town

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and it's a real horse racing town. They hardly turn their heads when a

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footballer walks by but there is a genuine feeling of a relaxed

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atmosphere like an crack of four years ago. Very different to 2010 in

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South Africa. That suits Roy and certainly his players. It looks

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rubbish there! Are you actually up to your waist in water? It is

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slightly deceptive. I can't tell you how stunning it is. There are

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waterways all over, it is beautiful, used to be the holiday home of the

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King of France, not this place but Chantilly itself. We are not in the

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posh end. It is stunning where they are staying. It is a cross between

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Newmarket and Bath and the best of The Cotswolds rolled together. Tell

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me about the fluffy lion. Chris Smalling travelled with it and he

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says that Joe Hart is now in charge. We think there may be forfeit going

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on for not looking it properly! I'm sure we will find out through the

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tournament. It reminds me of the song titles at Euro 96. I am sure we

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will learn more about it as the tournament goes on. Chris Smalling

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was quite funny about it. I can't imagine Fabio Capello allowing a

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lion to dominate in 2010, can you? A lot of debate about the setup,

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4-3-3, and all sorts of different setups, 4-4-2 even with a diamond.

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How will he do it? I hope he goes with a 4-3- 2-1. He's not really

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done though. It is only really less to run Watford who don't... Who play

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4-4-2. That is how I would like them setup. The left side has always been

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an issue since they lost well back. Rooney played there for 30 minutes

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against Portugal. Last week. He can do a job, but I feel that is how

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most of the players will be comfortable playing. They play like

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that week in week out. He has to improve the partnership between Kane

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and Dele Alli like they have at their club? Yes, look at the

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chemistry they have, when Dele Alli gets the ball Harry Kane just makes

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his runs without looking and half the time Dele Alli finds him.

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Unbelievable talent since joining from MK Dons. His rise has been

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phenomenal. Lovely positions on the half turn and again, as we

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mentioned, Harry Kane gets on his bike as he knows what's coming. This

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was special because, don't get me wrong, quick thinking, but both of

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you have to be thinking the same thing for it to work, there is no

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point just one of you doing it. These are just a few clips that we

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have picked out but we know having watched Spurs this season how

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important this is, how important they have been to the Tottenham

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season. For me, you have deeper Dele Alli in that position to give the

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support to the likes of Harry Kane. You will get the best out of Harry

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Kane if Dele Alli is further up the pitch. It is obviously difficult for

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Roy, lots of decisions and talented players but hopefully he plays Dele

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Alli just behind Harry Kane. Good problems, who to pick because of the

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talent upfront. Defensively everyone is worried? They have two solid

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full-backs in water and Rose, they will provide more width and play in

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the opposition half. Then it is whether you go with Smalling, who

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has had a knock this week, or Cahill. Or stones. Personally I

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would go with Smalling and stones, he is ready made for a big

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tournament and he has shown he is good enough. We will find out

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shortly. You can follow England and Wales'

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opening games across the BBC. Wales kick things off in Group B

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taking on Slovakia on Saturday Then England take on Russia -

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commentary on 5Live at 8 And if you fancy forecasting

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the scores for these matches and all the other games

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in the tournament, head to the BBC Sport website

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and play our new predictor game. If Wales have waited over 50 years

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to reach a major tournament, it's been just 30 for Northern

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Ireland. The success of Michael O'Neill's

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side seems to have come from nowhere but they have a number

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of experienced pros and could cause Qualification over what is

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essentially a 14 month period with ten tough games, to only lose one

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game and subsequently be unbeaten since then gives me great confidence

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obviously that we are in good shape. There is a lot of players now that

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have got accustomed to playing international football, they are

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coming in in a good frame of mind, coming into a team where they are

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getting results. They are ranked higher than they've ever been. And

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they are the group winners as well. When you put all of those into the

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next then hopefully if you're not going to have belief you're never

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going to have it, and you will face a tough group. We are aiming to

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spring a few surprises and hopefully we can get beyond the group stages.

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How important is the opening game of the campaign for Northern Ireland?

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It's essential when you are a small country, you need to be able to get

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momentum and belief in the squad and it can rise dramatically. I look at

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our squad after three straight qualifying wins and it was a

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different group of players. They had evolved into a different group of

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players in a very short space of time. If we can win the opening game

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or certainly not lose, you put yourself in the situation of winning

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one of the other two games and you can qualify. This is a good bunch of

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players, very genuine. A humble bunch of players as well. We would

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hope that we would be everyone's other team, to be honest, Leicester

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got that level of support from everyone else in the Premier League

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and everybody genuinely outside their own team wanted Leicester to

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win. There is an honesty in our team, very hard-working. There is no

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lack of quality either, I don't want people to think that it's a

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one-dimensional team who will be difficult to beat and hard-working,

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at the end of the day we were the top goal-scorers in our group,

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scoring 18 goals in ten games. It is most important that those are the

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qualities that will keep us competitive.

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Northern Ireland are in Group C and play their opening match

:21:59.:22:00.

Then it's a trip to Lyon to play Ukraine, followed

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by World Champions Germany here in Paris.

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Saint-Georges-de-Reneins, just north of Lyon, is their base

:22:13.:22:14.

and Stephen Watson is our man with the team...

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There must be great euphoria and excitement in the Northern Irish

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camp? Absolutely, Gary. Northern Ireland arrived as the inform team,

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unbeaten in 12 games, the best record out of any side at Euro 2016.

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Yes, Northern Ireland don't have many major stars in their side, just

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five English Premier League players for example, but they do have a

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belief, a bond, and they are hard to beat. In their last 20 games they

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have only conceded one first half goal which gives them the ability to

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stay in matches, only losing one in 11 games and on that occasion

:22:52.:22:56.

without their captain Steven Davies. That shows you the importance of

:22:57.:23:02.

their captain, they have topped their group in qualifying and they

:23:03.:23:06.

say they have momentum and no fear. You are making me believe they can

:23:07.:23:11.

win! There is a doubt over Kyle Lafferty, their striker? Yes. The

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Northern Ireland captain insists that he will be fit, and he gave a

:23:19.:23:21.

thumbs up on social media today to say that the results on a scan on

:23:22.:23:26.

his groin were positive and he would be fit to play Poland on Sunday but

:23:27.:23:31.

the pictures perhaps tell a different story, in a lot of pain

:23:32.:23:34.

when it happened and did not train today and he is still walking

:23:35.:23:39.

gingerly. Seven goals in qualifying were instrumental in helping

:23:40.:23:44.

Northern Ireland reach their first-ever European Championship

:23:45.:23:46.

finals and we will be guessing for a little longer whether he will be

:23:47.:23:49.

100% fit to play this weekend. Thanks. Northern Ireland have done

:23:50.:23:56.

marvellously to get here, great form, 12 unbeaten and a togetherness

:23:57.:24:01.

of spirit? Yes, and good players. They have the underdog tag which has

:24:02.:24:06.

helped them, but they have got experience, Jonny Evans at the back,

:24:07.:24:10.

Kyle Lafferty coming up trumps and scoring goals for them. Of course

:24:11.:24:13.

Chris Brunt is unfortunately not here. Michael O'Neill has done a

:24:14.:24:22.

fantastic job, as I said, McGovern in gold, very young goalkeeper who

:24:23.:24:28.

was at Celtic like myself. Davies had a great season for Southampton,

:24:29.:24:35.

ex-Rangers. He has had a really good season, and a very nice footballer,

:24:36.:24:40.

Steven Davies. Sometimes very underrated, Steven Davies, he has

:24:41.:24:44.

always gone about his business from when he was a young lad at Villa and

:24:45.:24:49.

then at Rangers and now Southampton. I feel like he's had a really good

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season at Southampton, he is one of those midfielders who can play

:24:54.:24:57.

anywhere, technically very gifted. He goes past players and can see a

:24:58.:25:02.

pass, and for the Northern Ireland signed he might as well be renowned

:25:03.:25:05.

though because the players around him are not at his level, with all

:25:06.:25:10.

respect, they are just not, he is a top end Premier League player and

:25:11.:25:15.

they do all they can to get the best out of Steven Davies, and that is

:25:16.:25:18.

one of their really good traits that I hope they can focus on and enable

:25:19.:25:27.

them to do what they are capable of. Countries like Northern Ireland

:25:28.:25:30.

can't afford to lose their best players, Kyle Lafferty is a doubt.

:25:31.:25:35.

They need him fit. Yes, and they don't have that long to do it. But

:25:36.:25:42.

he is a good player. He has done very well, because he wasn't playing

:25:43.:25:48.

club football, so whenever he was going away at international level it

:25:49.:25:52.

was like he was getting gametime with international football. Seven

:25:53.:25:57.

goals, the same as Gareth Bale, and he is a real hero for them. He could

:25:58.:26:00.

be if he scores one or two more. In Northern Ireland's way

:26:01.:26:03.

are World Champions Germany. Joachim Low's side are not

:26:04.:26:06.

in the greatest of form, Schurrle working it in. There was

:26:07.:26:26.

only one team in Brazil that deserves to win. Germany rules the

:26:27.:26:31.

world again. It took some of the disasters of Euro 2000 and 2004 to

:26:32.:26:35.

realise that what they did before was not right. The big role model in

:26:36.:26:42.

that is Spain, Spain is what we all look at. How can they be so

:26:43.:26:48.

consistent and so hungry? It is now a big opportunity for the German

:26:49.:26:52.

side to say, we have youth but it takes more than that. Schurrle. It

:26:53.:26:58.

is seven. This German team now finds way to add even more quality. We

:26:59.:27:05.

have a very young squad. We have a good mix of experienced players. We

:27:06.:27:14.

are world champions. We are aiming to win the Euros. The Euros will be

:27:15.:27:20.

a good benchmark for the up-and-coming players to see how

:27:21.:27:24.

aggressive they are to go for the title as well. I think Germany have

:27:25.:27:29.

enough to win this competition but they might not have this total drive

:27:30.:27:35.

and 100% dedication that they had at the World Cup. It really was a sense

:27:36.:27:44.

of now or never. Joachim Low has been in charge of Germany for ten

:27:45.:27:48.

years and has done a pretty good job, culminating in winning the

:27:49.:27:52.

World Cup. Can they be like Spain and dominate for a while? I think

:27:53.:27:57.

they can. They looked brilliant in the qualifiers, they lost to the

:27:58.:28:03.

Republic, so for me they still have good players, Thomas Muller is a

:28:04.:28:08.

good player, Joachim Low has had this group for pretty much ten years

:28:09.:28:12.

which is a long time for an international manager. In the last

:28:13.:28:15.

five major tournaments Germany have either reached the semifinal or the

:28:16.:28:20.

final. They keep doing it, don't they? It would be foolish to rule

:28:21.:28:25.

them out. We never would, that's for sure. Thomas Muller is a quirky

:28:26.:28:29.

individual, proven goal-scorer. He doesn't always look like a

:28:30.:28:33.

footballer but he delivers. He is quirky, playing on the right for

:28:34.:28:37.

Bayern Munich and Germany but they rely on him heavily for goals.

:28:38.:28:42.

Without Klose they don't have that out and out striker that they

:28:43.:28:47.

probably miss. He is one of those strikers, midfielders, whatever you

:28:48.:28:51.

call him, always in the right place at the right time and that is a gift

:28:52.:28:56.

in itself. He is hard on the eye, but it doesn't matter. You know

:28:57.:29:01.

yourself that that is what matters, putting it in the net. That is why

:29:02.:29:06.

he is so important to the team. They have obviously been phenomenal but

:29:07.:29:10.

he is a big part of the reason. He certainly is.

:29:11.:29:12.

Both Northern Ireland and Germany's opening games will be on the BBC.

:29:13.:29:15.

One of the favourites for the trophy alongside Germany are hosts France.

:29:16.:29:27.

They have an exceptional squad of real depth and quality

:29:28.:29:30.

with genuine hope that the home nation can repeat its

:29:31.:29:33.

France's history with the Euros goes way back to the start, we lost in

:29:34.:29:51.

the first tournament in 1960. In 1984 France hosted the Euros again

:29:52.:30:01.

-- we hosted the first tournament. The Euros are almost here again, the

:30:02.:30:04.

first time we have hosted a tournament since the World Cup in

:30:05.:30:09.

1998. I was 12 when I was watching TV, I was dreaming, that hopefully

:30:10.:30:16.

one day I could be on that pitch and do the same thing as them. In 1998

:30:17.:30:21.

we were known as a team who will not conceding, very hard to beat, and in

:30:22.:30:27.

2000 it was the right mix, and we had a man who could make a

:30:28.:30:32.

difference at any time. Euro 2016 is bigger than ever, with the final in

:30:33.:30:39.

Paris, in Stade de France, but last year the stadium was a target for

:30:40.:30:46.

attacks by terrorists. It was a very sad moment, very difficult. What

:30:47.:30:53.

happened in November. It will be nice to win for those victims.

:30:54.:31:01.

France is facing a problem, socially, at the security level, we

:31:02.:31:08.

need football to be there for us, to have hope, this is something very

:31:09.:31:14.

important. There is a lot of expectation around the French

:31:15.:31:16.

national team, but that is normal, it is a big tournament. I feel the

:31:17.:31:23.

pressure, that the players must experience, and it is great, this is

:31:24.:31:27.

where you see the top player who can attract this pressure and roll it

:31:28.:31:34.

and bring it to performance, and I hope they will be able to do it. We

:31:35.:31:39.

need to go step-by-step and try to win our first game and then after in

:31:40.:31:44.

football everything is possible, you need to believe. We have a good

:31:45.:31:49.

side, some young players are fantastic. I think we have to get

:31:50.:31:56.

that winning mentality. We have won the last two home competitions. So

:31:57.:32:07.

maybe we can do it. France open up proceedings on Friday night, the

:32:08.:32:16.

first match of the tournament. There is always pressure on the hosts, but

:32:17.:32:20.

also the advantage of having the home crowd. Of course. England won

:32:21.:32:26.

their only major tournament at home at Wembley. Thanks for reminding us.

:32:27.:32:33.

France have won the European Championships in 1984 and the World

:32:34.:32:38.

Cup in 1998 and they thrive under the pressure of being the host

:32:39.:32:42.

nation. They have got lots of star players, right throughout their

:32:43.:32:47.

squad. No Benzema, but Griezmann has had a great time this season. He's a

:32:48.:32:52.

special talent, Griezmann, he has come to the forefront for Atletico,

:32:53.:32:58.

he plays on the right-hand side, he can play behind the striker and he

:32:59.:33:01.

to drop deep and dictate games and break defences. For Francie has been

:33:02.:33:09.

a big part of the way they play, he makes runs behind defences and

:33:10.:33:11.

creates opportunities for his team-mates -- for France he has

:33:12.:33:17.

been. A very skilful player and he is rated very highly by Didier

:33:18.:33:22.

Deschamp. That touch shows real class, he makes it look easy but it

:33:23.:33:26.

isn't. He's not renowned for that, but he's more than capable. A

:33:27.:33:29.

special talent they have within their ranks, something for Didier

:33:30.:33:34.

Deschamp to be very happy about. Didier Deschamp lifted the trophy as

:33:35.:33:39.

a player in 1998. Can he lead the team? Yes, he has a great group of

:33:40.:33:46.

players. The likes of Paul Pogba, one of the most sought after young

:33:47.:33:49.

players in the world right now. Dimitri Payet lit up the Premier

:33:50.:33:55.

League last season. And then Griezmann. They are the favourites

:33:56.:34:00.

for me. I think they have a great chance. What about the nation, they

:34:01.:34:06.

will get behind them? The first game is very important, if they get off

:34:07.:34:09.

to a good start with a good performance, the nation will get

:34:10.:34:10.

behind them. The Republic of Ireland

:34:11.:34:12.

have one of the toughest groups featuring Belgium,

:34:13.:34:14.

Italy and Sweden - a challenge for their management duo

:34:15.:34:16.

of Roy Keane and Martin O'Neill. From the outside looking in,

:34:17.:34:32.

everyone thought yourself and Roy Keane would be a strange mixture,

:34:33.:34:37.

why does it work? At this moment, I can speak from a position of

:34:38.:34:40.

strength because we have qualified, but if we had not qualified people

:34:41.:34:46.

would say it did not work. We meet each other occasionally outside, but

:34:47.:34:50.

we don't socialise. Women go into the camp, we are there to work, --

:34:51.:34:56.

when we go into the camp. These players would have had Roy Keane as

:34:57.:35:00.

their hero, and I can say it has worked because we have qualified, if

:35:01.:35:03.

we hadn't it would have been the biggest disaster of all time. The

:35:04.:35:10.

player 's job is to give the manager a headache, sometimes we make

:35:11.:35:13.

excuses for players, they have not played much football club but they

:35:14.:35:17.

are still training and you can get physically in good shape, and you

:35:18.:35:20.

can lack match sharpness, but you have got to get yourself in a good

:35:21.:35:24.

state. You are playing international football, controlled the bloody

:35:25.:35:28.

ball, pass and move and if you lose it, run back. And run back like you

:35:29.:35:37.

care. Qualification was great, but that is in the past, what we want to

:35:38.:35:42.

do is go in and be as strong as we possibly can and we want to be as

:35:43.:35:49.

ready as we can for every eventuality and that we leave no

:35:50.:35:52.

stone unturned in terms of preparation.

:35:53.:35:55.

The Republic get Group E underway against Zlatan

:35:56.:35:57.

Belgium face Italy in the evening match.

:35:58.:36:05.

A boost for the Republic of Ireland, the news that there is an extension

:36:06.:36:11.

to the contracts of Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane, who had done a good

:36:12.:36:17.

job together. Great job. They have got very good individuals, but it

:36:18.:36:20.

was about bringing them together and they have done that. For Martin

:36:21.:36:24.

O'Neill and Roy Keane, it is all good news that they will be there

:36:25.:36:27.

for another couple of years. They lost all three games four years ago

:36:28.:36:33.

in the Euros and Roy Keane has been trying to Stoke them up. He has made

:36:34.:36:38.

an impact. They have qualified through the play-offs, beating

:36:39.:36:42.

Bosnia. They are there on merit, and they will need to do better than

:36:43.:36:47.

they did in 2012, not winning a single game. It was a tough group.

:36:48.:36:55.

Belgium, Italy. Vincent Kompany will be working in the studio for us. And

:36:56.:37:00.

also Sweden and Ibrahimovic, quite possibly his last tournament. Yes,

:37:01.:37:07.

quite possibly. Only one thing we need to say about him, it is all in

:37:08.:37:11.

this clip, great technique. He's a world star, and he had a great

:37:12.:37:18.

season at Paris Saint-Germain. He will be very welcome in this

:37:19.:37:24.

country. He is a huge talent. From one superstar to another.

:37:25.:37:32.

COMMENTATOR: Ronaldo! Magnificently taken goal. Ronaldo has timed his

:37:33.:37:47.

run and he has got his goal. Wonderful movement. He took his time

:37:48.:37:57.

and picked his spot. He has done it. Could it be his tournament?

:37:58.:38:02.

Ronaldo and Portugal are in Group F alongside Austria,

:38:03.:38:05.

Hungry and Iceland but have to wait until Tuesday to get

:38:06.:38:08.

With Ronaldo, has he got a good enough team with him to get him the

:38:09.:38:19.

important national victory? That is what it has always been about, it is

:38:20.:38:24.

not so much about his age. He's a good age and he keeps himself fit,

:38:25.:38:27.

but is there enough coming through the ranks to him get there? He will

:38:28.:38:31.

be doing everything he can to get them to another final. He has missed

:38:32.:38:37.

out in one final, losing against Greece, but we will see. He will be

:38:38.:38:39.

hoping he can. Certainly well. Last, but certainly not least,

:38:40.:38:44.

are the defending champions Spain. La Liga boasts the winners of both

:38:45.:38:46.

the Champions League and Europa league, but as for their national

:38:47.:38:49.

team, they need to up their game In 2008 no one expected us to win

:38:50.:39:01.

and in 2010 everyone expected us to win. We went to the Euros in 2012

:39:02.:39:11.

and you won it again. How was it, approaching the third one? At the

:39:12.:39:18.

three tournaments, we felt, at least myself, I felt more dominant and

:39:19.:39:23.

more confident and I think as a team we played fantastically well.

:39:24.:39:27.

COMMENTATOR: They are appealing for offside, but it is four! Records

:39:28.:39:37.

tumbling all around us. Spain are out and the group stage has not even

:39:38.:39:42.

finished yet. You failed at the World Cup, and now you have got to

:39:43.:39:47.

prove that was a mistake. What about this one? You have two approach it

:39:48.:39:53.

in a way that you have two prove a point, not just to people who were

:39:54.:39:57.

disappointed with us at the World Cup, but also for ourselves, the way

:39:58.:40:01.

we went out and the way we played, we felt we were not ourselves and

:40:02.:40:05.

now we have to prove this point without the likes of Xavi. The likes

:40:06.:40:14.

of Iniesta and myself and Silva, we have got to step forward. We have

:40:15.:40:20.

some young players pushing up like Alvaro Morata and cocoa. It is

:40:21.:40:24.

important. -- Koke. Spain are in Group D,

:40:25.:40:29.

alongside Turkey, Croatia Turkey face Croatia on Sunday,

:40:30.:40:32.

Spain start the following day. Eight out of 11 of the starting

:40:33.:40:47.

line-up from four years ago, it is just a question of whether they are

:40:48.:40:50.

going slightly over the top, that great group of players. The

:40:51.:40:55.

qualification campaign was not as confident as we would normally see

:40:56.:40:58.

from Spain, and there could be questions, but if you look at the

:40:59.:41:01.

Champions League final, two Spanish teams. And the players that you

:41:02.:41:08.

named who played in the last European Championship final, what a

:41:09.:41:11.

squad they have. Just phenomenal. You cannot underestimate what they

:41:12.:41:16.

have got in their ranks, they are one to look out for. Possible

:41:17.:41:23.

witnesses, the central striker position, but Alvaro Morata has come

:41:24.:41:29.

through? -- possible witnesses. He has got to step up and be a similar

:41:30.:41:33.

player to David Villa, lively and gets goals. They still have great

:41:34.:41:38.

players. I don't think they will be far away. They have a group that you

:41:39.:41:43.

would think they would comfortably qualify from. You would think so.

:41:44.:41:49.

Croatia could be tricky, they have talented players, but what they have

:41:50.:41:52.

at their disposal, I expect them to go through the group very

:41:53.:41:56.

comfortably, but that is the only game they will find difficult.

:41:57.:42:01.

Looking at the tournament. Will it be open and free flowing? We hope

:42:02.:42:08.

so. So many games. The group games, the first couple of weeks, three

:42:09.:42:15.

games every day, but France, they enjoy playing on home soil, they

:42:16.:42:18.

have proven that with the tournaments they have won in the

:42:19.:42:22.

past and we know about Germany, how far can England go? I think it would

:42:23.:42:27.

be a great tournament. You fancy France, but what about you? I have

:42:28.:42:34.

gone with France most of the time, but England, who knows? Leicester

:42:35.:42:40.

won the league. Did you just say England? Truly very bold. Well,

:42:41.:42:49.

Leicester won Billy, so we will say. -- won the league. What a great way

:42:50.:42:52.

to finish. That's all from us -

:42:53.:42:54.

just want you to point towards the BBC Match

:42:55.:42:57.

of the Day Snapchat. Jermaine will be posting

:42:58.:42:59.

on there everyday giving a flavour We'll be back on Friday

:43:00.:43:01.

as the tournament gets underway On July 10th, who will be lifting

:43:02.:43:05.

the trophy and add their name COMMENTATOR: They have done it,

:43:06.:43:46.

France are European champions! I say, what a goal! France are won the

:43:47.:44:01.

European Championship! Spain are the European champions.

:44:02.:44:04.

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