EURO 2016: ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS

A Late Strike from Ivan Perisic gave Croatia a 2-1 win over Spain.

Spain’s 2-1 defeat to Croatia has blown the knockout stage of the competition wide open.  A second place finish presents them a rematch of the 2012 Euro final against Italy. Additionally, this puts them in the same half of the draw as France, England and Germany.

The tournament which for the first time includes 24 teams has some intriguing prospects as it enters into the final round of fixtures for Match-day 3. Lack-lustre performances from the traditional big guns has thrown the tournament wide open.

Today sees the conclusion of the group stages with the final fixtures of Group E and Group F. Italy is assured of top spot in their group and Hungary regardless of results will make it to the round of 16. Slovakia and Northern Ireland were assured of a spot as well after results put them to finish in the top 4 among the third place teams. That leaves 4 more spots to be filled in the final 16.Two of the spots will be filled up by the runners-up from Groups E and F. 

This is the lookup of the draw currently: 

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This means there are 2 third place spots up for grabs and it comes down between Albania, Turkey and 3rd place finishers from Group E and F. The third place teams to be chosen are decided by another table. ( one meant for all sides that finish 3rd).The hierarchy is in Points, Goal Difference, Goals Scored, Fair Play AND  UEFA Team Coefficient. 

Firstly, when UEFA announced the draw, Group Winners of A,B,C and D were slated to play the four 3rd place teams. 

Taking this in terms of France, the table states that they will play the 3^rd placed side from Group C,D or E. Logically it would be safe to assume the 3^rd place side from C and if they didn’t qualify it would be D. Failure of C and D to qualify would mean E. But this is not the case. 

Instead, UEFA has come up with another table to decide prospective match-ups.

Now, this present 4 main possibilities based on the results from the first 4 groups.

SCENARIO 1: THIRD PLACE SIDES FROM GROUPS A,B,C,D.

For this to be possible, today's results will have to look like this.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (BELGIUM WIN/DRAW)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (ITALY WIN/DRAW)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL LOSE)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ANY RESULT WILL DO)

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SCENARIO 2: THIRD PLACE FROM GROUPS B,C,D,E.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (BELGIUM LOSE)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (ITALY LOSE)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL LOSE)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ANY RESULT WILL DO)

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SCENARIO 3: THIRD PLACE TEAMS FROM GROUPS B,C,D,F.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (ANY RESULT WILL DO)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (ITALY WIN/DRAW)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL WIN/DRAW)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ANY RESULT WILL DO)

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SCENARIO 4: THIRD PLACE TEAMS FROM GROUPS B,C,E,F.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (ANY RESULT)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (IRELAND WIN)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL WIN/DRAW)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ICELAND WIN/DRAW)

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These permutations and combinations present mouth-watering scenarios for the Round of 16, Including the probability of France v/s Belgium and England v/s Portugal.

These permutations and combinations present mouth-watering scenarios for the Round of 16, Including the probability of France v/s Belgium and England v/s Portugal. It promises to be another day of high-intense football where every result matters and could play a role in determining the future champions.