Euro 2016

News of Karim Benzema’s continued suspension from the French national team must’ve reached Antoine Griezmann at some point before Atletico Madrid's pivotal quarterfinal second leg against Barcelona on Wednesday. 

Preparing for the most important game of his young club career, the immensity of the implications would not have been lost on Griezmann. With Benzema suspended, he’s now seemingly been charged with spearheading the French attack at Euro 2016 in his native France. 

A crunch meeting between French national team manager Didier Deschamps and the president of the French Federation, Noel Le Graet, has yielded the decision to omit striker Karim Benzema from selection for the French squad at Euro 2016.

The opening ceremony sees tractors pulling hay bales and lumber, a procession of men in lederhosen and women in dirndl, traditional clothing of Alps peasants, leading Braunvieh cattle and goats across inaccessible Alpine roads.

UEFA Euro is coming soon, and all soccer fans can expect a great show when it arrives this summer.

Let’s look back and see how much things have changed and how much this tournament has grown up since it started.

With the European Championships right around the corner, kit manufacturers have begun releasing the official Euro 2016 kits for participating national teams. 

Some of these designs will have you checking your bank account for expendable cash, while others will invariably have you adjusting your television’s color settings come June.

Here's a look at some of the threads the world's greatest will be sporting in France. 

Confirmed Euro 2016 Kits

Spain Euro 2016 Kits

Republic of Ireland vs Bosnia-Herzegovina | EURO 2016 Playoff 1st Leg

Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia

Friday, November 13th, 2:30 PM ET | ESPN 2 

Just due west of where the River Liffey enters the Irish Sea runs O’Connell Street. Heading north across the granite and portland stones of the O’Connell Bridge, connecting the North and Southsides of Dublin, your vision becomes dominated by a nearly 400-foot stainless steel pin rising and merging into the Dublin sky.

It would be disastrous if the Netherlands didn’t qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. But, with only two games before the end of qualifying group stages, the Dutch National team sits fourth in their group, trailing Iceland, the Czech Republic and Turkey. What should have been a winnable group and a doable job proved more difficult than expected.

Iceland’s win over Holland last Thursday at Amsterdam Arena was the most surprising result of the day in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Their draw with Kazakhstan Sunday was less surprising, but more important in terms of what it directly led to.

Iceland’s national team has qualified for a European Championship for the first time ever.

The island nation nearly qualified for the 2014 World Cup road but lost in the playoffs against Croatia and failed to get its ticket to Brazil.