The build up surrounding Poland’s Euro 2016 Championship campaign has been relatively quiet, and the Poles and their captain Robert Lewandowski certainly won’t be bothered by that. After capturing third place at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, this is a country that has had very little success on the biggest of international stages.
Euro 2016 will start on June 10th and, even though there will be more national teams than ever before, there are some successful players who will not head to France to play this tournament.
For example, Fernando Torres won’t appear for Spain due to a technical decision on the manager's part. As another example, the host country France will not count on Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena due to disciplinary reasons.
When Manuel Neuer continuously came hurtling out of goal against Algeria at the 2014 World Cup, most experts questioned the sanity of such a tactic. Obviously Germany would eventually be punished for holding such a preposterously high defensive line and for allowing their goalkeeper so many touches of the ball.
Italy have announced their provisional squad for Euro 2016, and it’s one of the worst in recent memory. Gone are Antonio Di Natale, Mario Balotelli, Sebastian Giovinco, and Andrea Pirlo. Italy’s staunch defense is still there, but the class of their attack appears to be completely absent.
The official deadline for international managers to submit their 23-man Euro 2016 rosters is May 31, but many have already been finalized, and we can begin to have an idea about what the teams will look like. Specifically, we can see the players who were left out entirely, perhaps unfairly. With that in mind, here are five of the biggest snubs from the Euro 2016 squads.
England - Jermain Defoe
Hatem Ben Arfa killed it for OGC Nice this season. The thought-to-be-burnt-out winger torched French football for 18 goals and six assists in all competitions, and he looked good doing it. Like, Messi good.
And before you get all uppity about me using the m-word, just check out the video below showcasing the goals he scored this year. They vary from penalties to “holy s***, I can’t believe he’s done that.”
When Germany announced their preliminary squad for Euro 2016, the accompanying names were a comforting who’s who of Die Mannschaft familiarity. There’s good old hulking center forward Mario Gomez, the ageless but totally aging Bastian Schweinsteiger and footballer turned living memorial, Lukas Podolski.
Alongside the talents of Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng, this is a side that should certainly be favorites to win Euro 2016 as the reigning world champions.
Fernando Torres, Diego Costa and Juan Mata have all been omitted from Spain’s 25-man provisional Euro 2016 squad by manager Vincente del Bosque. In Torres and Mata, Spain have elected to drop players who’ve combined for 151 appearances, 48 goals, three European championships, and two World Cup winner’s medals.
Costa suffered a hamstring injury during Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on May 11, putting his participation immediately in doubt. Costa’s consistent hamstring troubles, coupled with his subpar form this season, have seen him lose his place in the squad.
Sweden have revealed their 23-man roster for this summer’s European Championship in France, and it’s clear that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have to be at his very best if the Swedes are to maintain any hope of advancing from a very difficult Group E.
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.