Arsene Wenger gives his prediction for EURO 2016
With the end of the domestic season close by, football fans will be relieved that the Euros is just around the corner. The tournament that happens every four years is all set to begin its next edition in June.
France will be the hosts of the tournament and the competition will see 24 teams participate for the first time. Spain are the current holders of the competition but will face a tough battle to keep hold of their crown for the third successive time.
Arsene Wenger is a big fan of the tournament and picked out the team he thinks have the best chance to win it. Speaking on Arsenal.com he said, "I believe France has a good opportunity because they play at home and traditionally at home they have shown they can win.”
Wenger is hoping his country can triumph considering the factors that will be in their favour which includes playing in their home country and the world class players they have at their disposal.
Wenger also feels that Germany and Spain have an equally good chance of winning the trophy saying, “You have to consider as well teams like Germany, who just won the World Cup. Spain, you never rule them out.”
Spain suffered a torrid World Cup campaign in 2014 after being knocked out of the group stages. But their form since then has been good. The team still possess some of the best players in the world and cannot be ruled out as potential champions.
Germany are in a good patch of form. They have consistently performed well in International tournaments and are the current World Champions. Germany narrowly lost out on winning the Euros in 2008 when Spain defeated them in the finals 1-0. So they would want to continue their recent success by trying to win their second international tournament in 2 years.
Wenger also spoke about the teams that have an outside chance of winning. “After, there are outsiders like Belgium, England, and Croatia maybe, because they have quality players.”
England recently suffered a blow after Danny Welbeck was ruled out of the tournament. The forward suffered an injury against manchester City and it has now been revealed he will require surgery, the recovery time of which is estimated to be around 9 months.
Wenger was devastated for the player. He expressed his disappointment after hearing the news. “We're all devastated, and Danny even more so. We can only feel sad and support Danny now in order to get him back.”