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SAINT-DENIS, France, June 1 (UPI) -- Will Spain become the first team to ever win three consecutive European championships or will host France fulfill its odds as favorites in UEFA EURO 2016? Germany could be the strongest squad in the 24-field final tournament draw. The 24 teams have been drawn into six groups. The top two teams and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16, when it becomes a knockout competition.
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Matches begin Friday, June 10 as France takes on Romania in Group A. The group also includes Albania and Switzerland.
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England faces Russia Saturday, June 11 in Group B play. That group also includes Wales and Slovakia. Germany has a Group C clash with Ukraine Sunday, June 12. Group C includes Northern Ireland and Poland.
Spain faces Czech Republic Monday, June 13 in Group D play. Group D includes Turkey and Croatia. Group E includes Monday match ups of Italy against Belgium and Ireland against Sweden.
Group F rounds out the table with match ups featuring Portugal against Iceland and Austria against Hungary.
Four out of seven Sky Sports pundits picked France to keep the crown in-country, while Germany, England, and even Austria were also predicted as champions.
But the Frenchmen have serious doubts on the attack, as noted by Outside of the Boot. Despite France's victories in the 1984 Euro and 1998 World Cup, as host country, the team could be searching for a superstar scorer. Outside of the Boot predicts France to lose in the semi-final round, possibly to Spain.
"Another reason that France is too short-priced is their lack of a world-class out-and-out goal scorer," according to Outside of the Boot. "With Karim Benzema banished to the sidelines by coach Didier Dechamps, France are reliant on Arsenal's Olivier Giroud who, despite having scored four goals in his last five internationals, is not a star player. Antoine Griezmann may fit the bill, but his role and form for France is inferior to how he plays for Atletico Madrid."
Sky Sports' Alan McInally has his money on the Germans.
"With Scotland not being there, I think that rules out betting with my heart! I think if you're betting with your head, it's got to be Germany or France," McInally wrote.
"Germany never tend to start very well, but tournament football is what they're good at. They just seem to grow and bond as a unit and deliver when it counts."
Phys.org says that the statistics predict France and Germany as favorites.
"(France and Germany will) be the odds-on favorites as statisticians headed by Achim Zeileis from the University of Innsbruck show," Phys.org reports. "By applying their statistical model based on bookmakers' odds, the researchers previously correctly predicted the 2008 EURO final and Spain as the 2010 FIFA World Cup Champion and the 2012 EURO Champion."
The website says that there is a high probability for France and Germany to have a rematch of its Nov. 13, 2015 terror-shortened game in Paris. The winner of that match would likely face Spain, who it predicts to lose in the final.
"To forecast the winner, the academics obtained long-term winning odds of 19 online bookmakers, which, in combination with complex statistical models, allow for the simulation of all possible courses of the tournament and results," Phys.org reports. "According to this model, France will be the most likely winner of the tournament with a winning probability of 21.5 percent, closely followed by Germany with a winning probability of 20.1 percent. The defending European Champion Spain follows, after some gap, with 13.7 percent, while England and Belgium are the "best of the rest" with lower winning chances of 9.2 and 7.7 percent respectively."
But statistical models might not be able to account for the absence of France's Benzema. Benzema claims he was left off of the squad because French coach Didier Deschamps gave into pressure from racists.
As several sources have reported, the 28-year-old was suspended from the squad after he was charged for conspiracy to blackmail during an investigation associated with extorting money from French teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
The absence of Benzema and a somewhat sloppy defense wont help the French against the Germans, but if the Frenchman face Spain along the way, the matchup might vanquish.
