WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EURO 2016

Euro 2016 will be contested by 24 teams over 30
days at 10 different venues in France.
The final will take place at the Stade de France in
Paris on 10 July, with Spain 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 quarter-finals, 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?

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 have been heavily tipped, 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.

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.
Can I still buy match tickets?
Yes. But you had better be quick. Most of the group
games - including all of England and Wales'
matches - are sold out.
However, there are limited tickets available for
Northern Ireland's match against Ukraine, plus
other games involving some of the smaller nations.
There are also tickets available for the opening
game between France and Romania - at 445 euros
each.
Find the latest ticket details on Uefa's official Euro
2016 website
Where can I watch matches if I travel to
France without a ticket?
Each of the 10 host cities will have official Uefa fan
zones. The fan zones will have a giant screen for
showing all of the matches throughout the
tournament.
The biggest will be in Paris, where up to 90,000
supporters can gather on the Champ de Mars - in
the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
What about if I stay at home?
You won't miss a kick.