Look at the Euro 2016 Debutants

The main qualification campaign of the Euro 2016 is done and 19 other teams are joining France in the tournament next summer. Out of these 19 teams, 5 of them are making their debut in the Tournament Finals (should Bosnia win their playoffs, the tournament will feature six new debutants).

So a look at each of these 5 teams that are set to make their first impressions in the European Championships

1. Iceland

Armed with an impressive campaign, Iceland will be making their International Tournament debut in the Euro 2016, finishing 2nd in Group A, ahead of Turkey and Netherlands.

A young squad, with just a few players (including those called up during the last 12 months) over the age of 30, they showed that a collective unit with the right chemistry and team work can beat the best in the world. They did that, taking a full six points against the Netherlands.

The only Iceland player that most people know currently is Gylfi Sigguardson who plies his trade in Swansea who was nonetheless, a key player in the success of the national team. Now, the team which will have around 6-8 friendly matches before the final tournament, can look forward to improving their game play at their clubs to make the final 23. The manager also has time to really tinker with the formations to get an ideal set up.

Iceland are now slowly making their mark in International football (having narrowly missing on a trip to the World Cup 2014), and if they can put on a good show in the Euro 2016, their country and players will be much more noticed across the world, and can lay the foundation for a World Cup qualification campaign of 2018.

2. Northern Ireland

One of the Two countries that make up the United Kingdom, Ireland are finally making their debut in the Euro 2016, having narrowly missing out the Euro 1984 and 1996.

The team has some well known premier league players such as Johnny Evans and Chris Brunt. The group they were in was pretty well balanced consisting of Romania, Hungary and Greece who would traditionally pose the most danger. However, the Greeks faltered and the Northern Irishmen were able to play well to secure their tickets to France.

The squad that’s been called up for the qualifiers has been fairly young, with the core of the team such as Evans, Davis and Brunt all still in the prime of their career, they might be able to really pull of a surprise or two at the Euro’s.

3. Wales

Wales are set to participate in the Euros for the very first time and it’s the second International Tournament the country will play in. A group consisting of the new number 1 team in the World, Belgium, it was a foregone conclusion that Wales, Bosnia would be fighting it out for second place behind a talented Belgian side.

Led by the world’s most expensive player, Gareth Bale and a core that consists of Aaron Ramsey, Ashley Williams the Welsh were able to take 4 out of 6 points from Belgium and hold of Bosnia for second place.

Chris Coleman now can work on sorting out the attacking options of the team, as their haul of 11 goals scored was the second lowest in the group, ahead of Andorra. The lack of firepower currently in the side could really affect their performances in the Euro 2016. But, to the team’s positive, their morale will be high and their big names are finally starting to perform well for their country.

4. Albania

This was the most surprising inclusion to the list of qualified teams and also the centre of one of the more violent incidents in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

Albania managed to finish behind Portugal (but taking a crucial 1-0 victory in a match), and ahead of the more fancied teams such as Serbia (who played a disastrous qualification run) and Denmark (who ended up third).

A team whose players rarely play in the top European Leagues, this was nonetheless a pleasant surprise for those who love the underdogs. The match between Albania and Serbia at Belgrade saw the Albanians get a 3-0 win awarded, as Serbian fans invaded the pitch and attacked them. The same match saw Serbia docked 3 points.

They will be the biggest underdogs in the tournament, but the experience would no doubt be welcomed for a team from such a small nation.

5. Slovakia

In a group that consisted of defending European Champions, Spain, many assumed Ukraine and Slovakia would be fighting it out for second. However, the second match saw Slovakia announce their arrival with a shock 2-1 win over Spain. The fine form in the qualifiers started wiht a perfect six matches, though they faltered towards the closing stages (where they recorded 1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats), it was enough to secure a convincing second place in the group.

This is the first time Slovakia will be competing in the Euro’s as an independent nation. The team are led by Martin Skertel who is probably, across the world the best known Slovakian player right now and Marek Hamisk, the dynamic midfielder from Napoli.

To the credit of Slovakia, they are the most balanced of the debuting teams, having scored 17 goals and conceding 8, which does indicate a bit of defensive fragility, but shows their overall ability when their results are considered as well.

They are one of the teams that will be more than capable of causing upsets to the traditional European powerhouses at the Euro and it will be great to see them progress to the knockout stages of the tournament.