Waving colored flags
We won’t surrender, there’s no standing down
Love’s a playing field
It’s full of winners, we’re breaking new ground
We’re in this together
Hear our hearts beat together!
We stand strong together
We’re in this forever!
This one’s for you!
This one’s for you…!
Oh yes! You all got it right. This is about the international football season. The mind-boggling season of UEFA EURO 2016! The 2016 UEFA European Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016, will be the 15th edition of the UEFA European Championship.
For the first time, the European Championship final tournament will be contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format used since 1996. Under this new format, the finalists will contest a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage including three rounds and the final. 19 teams (the top two from each of the nine qualifying groups and the best third-placed team) joined France who qualified automatically as hosts; a series of two-legged play-off ties between the remaining third-placed teams in November 2015 decided the last four spots at the final tournament.
For the record Spain are the two-time defending champions and it will also be interesting to see whether France can win the title as the last time a host country won this tournament was back in 1984 and it was France.
The fun begins from 10th June and with so much talent in all the squads, this season of European championship should be one of the finest.
Fixtures and Schedule:-
Group A
France v Romania (June 10, St-Denis)
Albania v Switzerland (June 11, Lens)
Romania v Switzerland (June 15, Paris)
France v Albania (June 15, Marseille)
Romania v Albania (June 19, Lyon)
Switzerland v France (June 19, Lille)
Group B
Wales v Slovakia (June 11, Bordeaux)
England v Russia June 11, Marseille)
Russia v Slovakia (June 15, Lille)
England v Wales (June 16, Lens)
Russia v Wales (June 20, Toulouse)
Slovakia v England (June 20, St-Etienne)
Group C
Poland v Northern Ireland (June 12, Nice)
Germany v Ukraine (June 12, Lille)
Ukraine v Northern Ireland(June 16, Lyon)
Germany v Poland (June 16, St-Denis,)
Ukraine v Poland (June 21, Marseille)
Northern Ireland v Germany (June 21, Paris)
Group D
Turkey v Croatia (June 12, Paris)
Spain v Czech Republic (June 13, Toulouse)
Czech Republic (Croatia (June 17, St-Etienne)
Spain v Turkey (June 17, Nice)
Czech Republic v Turkey (June 21, Lens)
Croatia v Spain (June 21, Bordeaux)
Group E
Republic of Ireland v Sweden (June 13, St-Denis)
Belgium v Italy (June 13, Lyon)
Italy v Sweden (June 17, Toulouse)
Belgium v Republic of Ireland (June 18, Bordeaux)
Italy v Republic of Ireland (June 22, Lille)
Sweden v Belgium (June 22, Nice)
Group F
Austria v Hungary (June 14, Bordeaux)
Portugal v Iceland June 14, St-Etienne)
Iceland v Hungary (June 18, Marseille)
Portugal v Austria (June 18, Paris)
Iceland v Austria (June 22, St-Denis)
Hungary v Portugal (June 22, Lyon)
Last 16
Match 1: Runner-up Group A v Runner-up C (June 25, St-Etienne)
Match 2: Winner D v Third-place B/E/F (June 25, Lens)
Match 3: Winner B v Third-place A/C/D (June 25, Paris)
Match 4: Winner F v Runner-up E (June 26, Toulouse)
Match 5: Winner C v Third-place A/B/F (June 26, Lille)
Match 6: Winner E v Runner-up D (June 27, St-Denis)
Match 7: Winner A v Third-place C/D/E (June 27, Lyon)
Match 8: Runner-up B v Runner-up F (June 27, Nice)
Quarter-finals
1: Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2 (June 30, Marseille)
2: Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 4 (July 1, Lille)
3: Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 6 (July 2, Bordeaux)
4: Winner Match 7 v Winner Match 8 (July 3, St-Denis)
Semi-finals
1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2 (July 6, Lyon)
2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4 (July 7, Marseille)
Final
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 (July 10, St-Denis)
(Image source= uefa.com)