It was a wild group stage at Euro 2016 with a number of surprising results. It took some teams a game or two to find their footing while others jumped out of the gate quickly. Here’s a look back at the group stage, and a look ahead to the Round of 16.
In Group A, France and Switzerland are advancing to the knockout stage as expected, with seven points for the former and five points for the latter. Wales topped Group B despite losing to England, who finished second. Wales midfielder Gareth Bale scored three goals to power Wales through the group, tying him with Spain's Alvaro Morata for the tournament’s top goal-scorer. Slovakia snuck into the Round of 16 as the top third-place team – a modification that came from expanding the tournament to 24 teams.
Germany, Poland and Northern Ireland progressed through Group C, and while Germany was expected, it was massive success for Northern Ireland, who’s playing in the tournament for the first time. Croatia topped Group D thanks to a last-match win over the two-time defending champions from Spain in one of the more stunning results of the group stage. Spain dropped to second place in Group D.
Italy, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland made it through Group E, with the Irish scoring a last-match win over Italy to secure second-place among the third-place teams. Portugal was third among the third-place teams, and Hungary and Iceland finished ahead of the Portuguese in Group F. Iceland's qualification came as a surprise considering it’s their first trip to the Euros. Meanwhile, Albania, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Austria and Turkey were eliminated. It was a muted end to the international career of Swedish captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who failed to score a goal in his final tournament for his country.
The quarterfinals have a few tasty matchups on the schedule. One side of the bracket is a murderer’s row while the other seems like smooth sailing. Spain and Italy will meet for a rematch of the 2012 final, which Spain won 4-0 to defend their 2008 title. The winner of that match will likely go up against Germany, who is expected to beat Slovakia. France and Ireland, and England and Iceland are on the bottom side of the bracket. That’s a lot of football power in one section.
In comparison, the other side of the Round of 16 is a breeze. Switzerland and Poland kick things off on Saturday, and the winner will face the victor of Croatia and Portugal. On the bottom half of the bracket is a Wales and Northern Ireland matchup, which is sure to be a spirited game, followed by Hungary and Belgium on Sunday. Belgium is -160 to beat Hungary (+575), with the draw set at +255.
*Odds as of June 23, 2016