Learn English Through Football

The European Championships are about to start and so today in our series of previews we focus on Group D which includes current holders Spain, dark horses Turkey and Croatia as well as the Czech Republic. Listen to the report by clicking below, while explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the bottom of the post.

Euro 2016 Preview – Group D

Euro 2016 Group D



Country
Nationality
Nickname
FIFA Ranking



Spain
Spanish
La Roja
6


Croatia
Croatian
The Chequered Ones
27


Ukraine
Ukrainian
The National Team
30


Turkey Ireland
Turkish
The Crescent Stars
18



Spain
Current European Champions Spain are the current holders having won in both 2008 and 2012 – it would be a remarkable achievement if La Roja were to win it again this summer. After a poor World Cup in Brazil two years ago, followed by some high-profile retirements, many are predicting a tough time for Spain in this year’s tournament but let’s not forget they have a set of players that most international teams would love to have: Iniesta, Busquets, Ramos, Silva and Pique have won practically everything there is to win in the game, while they can also call on the likes of de Gea, Nolito and Aduriz. If Spain come top in the group the path to the semi-final is a fairly easy one so do not write them off yet.
Croatia
Dark Horses The Croatian side qualified for this tournament in second place behind Italy and will be hopeful of at least qualifying from this group. Their midfield of Modric and Rakitic is one of the strongest in the tournament and with a solid keeper (Monaco’s Subasic) and a top-class striker (that’s Mandzukic from Juventus) they have every chance of going a long way in this competition. Dark horses indeed.
Czech Republic
OutsidersDespite coming top of their qualifying group and beating the Dutch both home and away, many feel that this is as far as they will go. Yes, they have a world-class goalkeeper in Petr Cech but they are missing playmaker Tomas Rosicky and are lacking a top goalscorer, while they conceded 15 goals in their qualifiers. The Czech side, however, has a proud record at this tournament – winners as Czechoslovakia in 1976, runners-up in 1996 and quarter-finalists last time round so it would be dangerous to completely write them off.
Turkey
Semi-finalists in 2008The Turkish side finished behind both The Czech Republic and Iceland in their qualifying group but many are still tipping them to do well in this tournament. Though they appear somewhat weak up front they are well organised and in Arda Turan they have one of the best players in Europe on their team, while their manager Fatih Terim is one of the most experienced in world football and has guided the Turkish side to a semi-final spot back in 2008. That is probably out of their reach this time round but if they beat the Czech side in their final match then they could well make it out of the group.
Prediction