The domestic footballing season has just ended, but already Euro 2016 is just on our doorstep.
All the hype on these shores is for the appearance of four of the five ‘home nations’, with Scotland unfortunately missing out. But with 24 teams competing, this year’s European Championships there are plenty of fans who will be thinking this year could be their year.
Holders Spain will be among the favourites, while World Champions Germany are tipped by many for success. But ask anyone who their dark horse for the tournament is, and the vast majority of them will come up with the same answer: Belgium.
The Red Devils boast one of the most talented squads in world football, and come into the tournament as the best team in Europe, according to Fifa’s current world rankings where they are second only to Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who handed them a quarter-final defeat at the 2014 World Cup.
Ahead of their opening game of the tournament on June 13, we caught up with Manchester United and Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini to talk about the summer ahead.
Belgium are a team who will be well known to British fans. Where once you may have struggled to name even one squad member, the likes of Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and 2014/15 PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard have changed perceptions of their country.
Belgians have replaced Brazilians as the new must-have nationality for any up-and-coming club team in England, and having them playing in such close quarters has fostered a strong team spirit while also allowing players to challenge themselves against the best in the world. It’s a win-win.
“I think it is good for the national team,” Fellaini says. “A lot of [Belgians] play in England, they play in Spain, they play in Italy, so there is a lot of quality players. We have a good group, and we have known each other for a long time, so that is good for the team.”
In every tournament, one group is deemed the “group of death”. All the teams in this particular group, we are told, will struggle to beat each other. This year, that moniker falls to Group E.
While the admission of eight additional teams this year does dilute the quality of the tournament somewhat, it hasn’t appeared to have affected Belgium’s group so much. Their Group E rivals this June include the 2012 runners-up Italy, the Zlatan Ibrahimovic-led Sweden and a Republic of Ireland team who took four points off World Champions Germany in qualifying.
Although there is the potential for three teams to progress, Felliani is not taking second round qualification for granted:
“No, we are confident but it is a tough group,” he says. “It will be difficult to beat them and we will have to take them seriously because they are good teams.”
As for the tournament as a whole, the Manchester United midfielder is equally as cautious. It is the Red Devils’ first appearance at the European Championships since they were knocked out of the group stages as co-hosts in 2000.
While the Belgian fans will be hoping to see their team go one better than their final defeat to West Germany in 1980, Fellaini is quick to reject the label of favourites:
“It is easy to say that but there are a lot of good teams who want to win the competition, we want to as well and need to show what we can do.”
One thing is for certain, if Fellaini and co can realise their potential in France this summer, it’s game over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1dVqELNbE0
Marouane Fellaini wears the New Balance Football Galaxy / Bright Cherry Visaro boot. To find out more about New Balance Football go to newbalance.com/football or follow @NBFootball on Twitter and Instagram
