Euro 2016 enters it’s knockout phase with the round of 16 kicking off tomorrow, teams will be ready to go and all the pre tournament favourites have been handed tough draws , these will some exciting games to witness. Here are the 6 Predictions for Knockout Phase.
1 Ronaldo scoring goals
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two vital goals for his country against Hungary and in doing so became the first person ever to score in 4 different European Championship finals. He has now scored 8 Euro goals, only 1 behind legendary French playmaker Michel Platini. If portugal are to progress in the tournament , they will need to score goals, and whenever Portugal has desperately needed goals, CR7 has delivered.
2 An Unlikely Finalist
The top half of the bracket contains the following teams – Switzerland, Poland, Croatia, Portugal , Wales , Northern Ireland, Belgium and Hungary.
This means that one amongst the above 8 teams will play in the Final of this year’s European Championships , who would have predicted that?
3 Semi final appearance from England
England will face a relatively easy task on paper against Iceland, who surprised everyone by qualifying for the knockout round. Even though it will not be an easy game, England in all likelihood should progress to the next round . Their most probable QF opponents will be the hosts France who have not at all looked convincing so far, and Roy Hodgson’s team might just edge out against the French.
4 Heavyweight Clashes
The bottom half of the bracket contains some really big names. Spain face Italy for starters. Potential QF lineup in this bracket will be Germany-Spain/Italy , France – England. In the other half, Wales and Belgium could face each other in the QF’s as well. All these games will surely raise the stakes and the footballing level.
5 Upsets
Wales finishing above England , Hungary and Croatia qualifying as group winners , Iceland making a dramatic late entry , Euro 2016 has been all about Upsets so far and there will be no surprises if any of the so called big team succumbs to pressure make way for the most unthinkable scenario.
6 New Champions
Spain face Italy in what surely is the tie of the Round of 16. It will be really hard for the La Roja to overcome the Azzurri , who have defended really well so far. Even if they do get past the Italians, they will most probably face the World Champions Germany who will be eager to take another title from Spain . The road definitely looks difficult for Spain and this tournament could mark the end of their dominance over World and European football.
Also read : 6 Key Takeaways from the Euro Group Stage Matches
