Northern Ireland

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 1st in Group F; P10 W6 D3 L1 21pts.

Hungary (a) 1-2; Faroe Islands (h) 2-0; Greece (a) 0-2; Romania (a) 2-0; Finland (h) 2-1; Romania (h) 0-0; Faroe Islands (a) 1-3; Hungary (h) 1-1; Greece (h) 3-1; Finland (a) 1-1.

 

COACH: Michael O’Neill

MICHAEL O’NEILL was rewarded for leading his team to the Finals with a bumper £2m, four-year contract. Not bad for a guy who, just 10 years ago, was on a part-time wage at Brechin City.

His managerial history may be relatively low key, but success is a key theme of his story so far. After moving from Brechin to Shamrock Rovers in 2008, he won two league titles and became the first manager to take an Irish side into the group stages of the Europa League.

However, what he has achieved with Northern Ireland has eclipsed everything, and, whatever happens in France, his status as a legend is already secure.

 

STAR PLAYER: Kyle Lafferty

IT has not been an inspiring season at club level for Kyle Lafferty – but he is still the man most likely to spark Northern Ireland at the Finals.

Like many of his team-mates, he plays his football outside of of English football’s top flight, but that is a reflection of inconsistency rather than a lack of ability.

As Rangers fans can testify, on his day he is an exciting talent. It’s just that he doesn’t seem to have many.

Fortunately for Northern Ireland fans, playing for his country seems to bring out the best in the Norwich City striker.

 

ANALYSIS:

AFTER 30 years of waiting, many Northern Ireland fans had given up hope of ever seeing their team at a major tournament again – then Michael O’Neill came along.

After a slow start as boss, the former Dundee United player has somehow turned a squad completely lacking in stars into a formidable outfit. First place in qualifying Group F tells the story.

Even their own fans thought they didn’t have a hope of reaching France after an uninspiring fifth-place qualifying finish for the 2014 World Cup. That they got the job done is an incredible achievement.

What can they achieve? Is progression beyond the group stages possible?

Given that they will face Germany and Poland, it seems a big ask, but if they can display the same level of commitment that got them to France – and they get the luck they deserve after such a long wait – then why not?

“It would be an amazing achievement for us if we can reach the knockout stage but that’s what we have to hope to do,” says their manager. “Only eight teams go home after the group stage and my aim is not to be one of those teams.

“It won’t be devastation if we don’t because we’ve already had the high of going, but that’s what we aspire to.”

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone other than their Group C rivals who would be anything other than chuffed to bits if they manage it.

 

Germany

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 1st in Group D; P10 W7 D1 L2 22pts.

Scotland (h) 2-1; Poland (a) 2-0; Republic of Ireland (h) 1-1; Gibraltar (h) 4-0; Georgia (a) 0-2; Gibraltar (a) 0-7; Poland (h) 3-1; Scotland (a) 2-3; Republic of Ireland (a) 1-0; Georgia (h) 2-1.

 

COACH: Joachim Low

GERMANY’S coach is known as “Jogi”, and there is little doubt he’s smarter than the average boss. Despite an unimpressive playing career and an unflashy stint in club management, he has led his country to World Cup glory as national team boss.

A decade into life as “Die Mannschaft” gaffer, his tactical nous and composure mark him out as one of the world’s top coaches, though you won’t hear him shouting it from the rooftops.

“A national team coach must not be a flag waving in the wind,” says Low of his low-key approach. An unflappable display in France is almost certain.

 

STAR PLAYER: Thomas Muller

HE is something of a Marmite footballer – Germans love him, everyone else loathes him.

That’s testament to the Bayern Munich star’s uncanny ability to sniff out goals whilst engaging in the dark arts. Muller’s game goes thus – he’ll niggle, nip, whisper and whine at defenders, then, when he drives them to distraction, he pounces. At his best, he is a joy to watch. Just try not to get too wound up.

 

ANALYSIS:

THE German routine is the same tournament after tournament – make heavy weather of qualifying, lose a few friendlies, weather a storm of criticism, then cruise through to the latter stages. It’s hard to argue against history repeating itself this summer.

It says everything about the German mentality that the Euros are seen as a stopping off point between World Cups.

Winning it would be nice, of course, but victory wouldn’t spark much more than a satisfied nod from the great and good of German football.

Nevertheless, as World champions, the Germans will rightfully be considered one of the favourites in France, and, as ever, they have the players to justify the tag.

Most countries would class the simultaneous retirements of players like Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker as a disaster. In Germany it was considered an opportunity.

While there have been teething issues, the evidence – and history – points to everything being all right on the night at the Finals.

That’s just the way it has always been for Germany, who are, at this point, international football’s most reliable competitors – and most single-minded winners.

 

Poland

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 2nd in Group D; P10 W6 D3 L1 21pts.

Gibraltar (a) 0-7; Germany (h) 2-0; Scotland (h) 2-2; Georgia (a) 0-4; Republic of Ireland (a) 1-1; Georgia (h) 4-0; Germany (a) 3-1; Gibraltar (h) 8-1; Scotland (a) 2-2; Republic of Ireland (h) 2-1.

 

COACH: Adam Nawalka

ALL top managers fuss over the finer points of their craft, but Adam Nawalka is different – he obsesses over them.

“For me, details are the most important thing. They determine success,” says Poland’s coach, a noted perfectionist who constantly demands of his players.

His approach may be unforgiving, but it gets results, especially in attack. Nawalka’s side were the top scorers in qualifying, with 33 goals in 10 games standing testament to their ruthlessness up front.

 

STAR PLAYER: Robert Lewandowski

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI is the biggest star in Poland. This summer he will aim to become the biggest in France.

The Bayern Munich striker has all the necessary attributes to get the job done, and his 34 goals in 75 international matches ought to have defenders quaking in their boots.

He was the tournament’s top scorer in the qualifying campaign. He will aim to repeat the trick at the Finals.

 

ANALYSIS:

POLAND celebrated qualification for this summer’s Finals like they had already won the tournament. The problem is, their fans now expect them to do exactly that.

In their last four major tournament appearances, the weight of national expectation has proved too much to bear. In the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and in Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, the Poles exited at the group stage. This time, they can hope with considerable justification to do better.

Robert Lewandowski is the main reason for Poland’s new-found confidence. But he is not the only threat. Strike partner Arek Milik bagged six in qualifying, and as a pair, he and Lewandowski have developed an almost-telepathic understanding.

“It really feels great playing alongside Robert. Together we had 19 goals and eight assists in qualifying, that tells the whole story I guess,” says Milik. “For more than two years we’ve been striking partners. And together we operate as a dangerous couple.”

They certainly do. With defensive options like Borussia Dortmund’s Lukasz Piszczek and Torino’s Kamil Glik in the squad, the Poles are also more than capable of snuffing out other teams’ danger men.

 

Ukraine

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 3rd in Group C; P10 W6 D1 L3 19pts.

Slovakia (h) 0-1; Belarus (a) 0-2; Macedonia (h) 1-0; Luxembourg (a) 0-3; Spain (a) 1-0; Luxembourg (h) 3-0; Belarus (h) 3-1; Slovakia (a) 0-0; Macedonia (a) 0-2; Spain (h) 0-1.

 

COACH: Mykhailo Fomenko

DON’T expect it to rain goals when Ukraine are in town – not with Fomenko at the helm.

As a player, he was part of a formidable Dynamo Kiev side that won the 1975 Cup Winners Cup. As a manager, winning is a secondary concern to not losing.

To be fair to the 67-year-old, that is the sensible approach given the relatively workmanlike nature of the squad at his disposal.

In spite of a limited pool of talent, Fomenko has secured qualification two major tournaments since taking charge in 2012, and his side will be a tough nut to crack in France.

 

STAR PLAYER: Andriy Yarmolenko

IN a squad packed with solid performers rather than world-beaters, Andriy Yarmolenko is the man Ukraine will pin their hopes on in France.

The 58-times capped Dynamo Kiev wide man is the top scorer in his country’s squad with 24 goals and is a summer target for AC Milan. He is deadly cutting inside from both his natural wide-right position and from wide left, and his passing, dribbling and finishing skills are top drawer.

ANALYSIS:

IN a group where Germany, Poland and Northern Ireland will all be considered teams worth watching, Ukraine, with their commitment to defending, are likely to be a turn-off.

“I don’t like open play. If you have not conceded a goal you do not lose,” says their veteran coach, Mykhailo Fomenko. “I think during Euro 2016 there won’t be much beautiful football. Every team will be focused on getting the necessary result. We are set up for this kind of football.”

With those words, an entire continent ought to steel itself for some turgid football when Ukraine are involved.

That said, with AC Milan target Andriy Yarmolenko and Sevilla’s Yevhen Konoplyanka in the squad, there are rays of light at the end of the deep, dark, defensive tunnel the Ukranians have dug for themselves. The question is whether the pair can drag themselves out of the mire.

Like managers in France, Fomenko prefers a 4-2-3-1 system, though with an emphasis on keeping things tight. His full-backs are defenders first and foremost, and, as such, are unlikely to get forward as much as those of other teams.

Dynamo Kiev playmaker Denys Garmash will be the man tasked with linking the play and connecting with Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka, but when attacks come, they are likely to be on the break.

It might not be pretty, but the Ukraine’s approach has proved effective in the past. Whether it will turn out that way against top-tier opponents like Germany and Poland remains to be seen.

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READ MORE

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Group B preview: Qualification perfection will mean nothing if England fail

Group D preview: Spain can surprise with new approach

Group E preview: Republic of Ireland rely on the Quiet Man and the Raging Bull