Qualifying for Euro 2016 has already been quite strange, as there are a lot of teams which are still fighting for their lives in this tournament you wouldn't have picked to struggle so badly. The next round of qualifying fixtures begins on September 3, so now is a perfect time to take a look at where we stand as we inch closer towards this tremendous tournament.
ODDS TO WIN EURO 2016
Germany +285
France +365
Spain +650
England +1000
Belgium +1200
Italy +1600
Netherlands +1996
Field (Any Other Team) +385
Immediately what stands out is the fact that the Spanish, after a poor World Cup in 2014, are only the third favorites to win this tournament. Spain of course, is no lock to get into Euro 2016 either, knowing that it has some work to do in qualifying yet.
Meanwhile, Germany still has some work to do as well in Group D, as it currently sits behind Poland and in second place with four matches left to go.
France is the host of this tournament, the first time the country has hosted a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup, and it will be hoping for a repeat performance, knowing that it won that tournament for its first World Cup.
EURO 2016 QUALIFYING
France is automatically qualified for Euro 2016 as the host nation for the event. Aside from that, teams across Europe are put into nine different pools. They'll all play against each other twice, once home and once away. The top two teams in each group will automatically qualify for the tournament. The top third place team amongst all groups will qualify as well, while other four slots of the 16 teams in the Euros will be contested in a home-and-home playoff between the other eight third place teams.
With four matches left to play in qualifying for most teams and three for others, Slovakia and England are the only two teams to clinch spots.
NETHERLANDS IN TROUBLE IN GROUP A
Current Standings
Iceland 5-0-1, 15 Points
Czech Republic, 4-1-1, 13 Points
Netherlands 3-1-2, 10 Points
Turkey 2-2-2, 8 Points
Latvia 0-3-3, 3 Points
Kazakhstan 0-1-5, 1 Point
The item of note here is clearly regarding the Dutch. They have already lost away matches against Iceland and the Czech Republic here in qualifying, and they just don't look as strong as they once did. Not having Louis van Gaal in charge of the team has really hurt, as Danny Blind just isn't doing as strong of a job managing this team as van Gaal did.
Robin Van Persie has hit the backside of his career, while men like Wesley Sneijder and Nigel de Jong just haven't been in form in qualifying, if they've been playing at all. Many of these matches have been during the grueling European club season, and that's causing many of the older veterans to skip out on their international matches for their nation.
Yes, the Holland side which faces Iceland and the Czech Republic at home will probably be stronger than the one we have seen of late, but if things go sideways in either of those games, Turkey has the much easier of the roads of these teams with three home games left to play, including one against the Dutch on September 6.
ENGLAND ANNIHILATING GROUP E
Current Standings
England 6-0-0, 18 Points
Switzerland 4-0-2, 12 Points
Slovenia 3-0-3, 9 Points
Estonia 2-1-3, 7 Points
Lithuania 2-0-4, 6 Points
San Marino 0-1-5, 1 Point
Group E has actually been incredibly straightforward, and this is the best the Three Lions have looked in qualifying for a tournament like this in a long time.
The English are a perfect 6-0-0, conceding just a total of three goals, all of which came in two matches against Slovenia.
That said, don't be shocked if the Brits take it easy here the rest of the way. They have a given victory coming on September 5 at San Marino, and they should have no problems trashing Lithuania on the road with a B-class team, so Roy Hodgson will probably not call upon men like Danny Welbeck who have been dominating in qualifying, instead yielding to lesser-known players.
None of that makes England any less dangerous when it comes to European competition, though it should be noted that the last time it reached the semifinals in any major event that wasn't held on British soil was in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. The Three Lions have never won the Euros.
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