PARIS (Web Desk) – The 15th edition of 2016 UEFA European Championship, simply known as Euro 2016, will begin in France on Friday (today). The opening match will be played between host France and Romania.
The match will be begun on tomorrow (Saturday) at 12am on Pakistan Standard-Times (PST). The matches will be shown in the United States on ESPN and in Pakistan on Geo Super.
The event will continue from June 10 to July 10, 2016.
Spain is the two-time defending champion and will seek to maintain their European dominance. However, in the first match, the pressure will be on hosts France to perform in the opening game against Romania.
The tournament opener takes place in the same place as the final – the 81,000-capacity Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
The French side has become the bookies’ favorite to lift the trophy come the end of the tournament, but they will need a good start to get a successful campaign going.
– 552 players
– 51 matches
– 24 nations
– 1 winner#Euro2016 starts today! pic.twitter.com/VZS62v2GJH— 8 Fact Football (@8Fact_Footballl) June 10, 2016
8 hours to go. #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/8GMUtr0dU2
— Football__Tweet (@Football__Tweet) June 10, 2016
Even without star striker Karim Benzema they have a fearsome attacking line-up and it would be a big surprise if they were not involved in the latter stages.
“Romania is not the force they once were, but still a tricky opponent and will be intent on ruining the party for their hosts,” according to local EU media.
The total prize money for the tournament will be €301m, a big rise on the €194m prize for Euro 2012.
What are the odds? (Courtesy of SkyBet)
France – 3/10
Draw – 19/5
Romania – 11/1
