Euro 2016: Group E & F Final Round Preview

The group stage of Euro 2016 comes to an end on Wednesday and here is a look at those final four matches:

A win for Portugal versus Hungary would see them top Group F should Iceland fail to beat Austria, or if Portugal win by a greater margin. Fernando Santos’ side have been underwhelming in their opening two games but have created more opportunities than any other nation. The ball just hasn’t fallen into the net for Cristiano Ronaldo so far but against the Hungarian defence you really expect the Real Madrid superstar to come up trumps on Wednesday.

Hungary have beaten Austria before rescuing a late point versus Iceland to lead Group F by two points. A point versus Portugal would see them top the group unless Iceland thrash Austria. Despite scoring three goals they haven’t actually looked that great going forward. Defensively, Gabor Kiraly is going to be the busiest he’s been all tournament.

Austria need a win to move into the top three. Three points matched with Portugal failing to beat Hungary is the only way they can finish second now. They are still yet to score in this tournament and their only goal in European Championship history came from the penalty spot. With the talent they have in their ranks surely they will finally put a performance together on Wednesday?

Even though the odds are in favor of Austria, Iceland have been one of the heart-warming stories of Euro 2016 so far. Valiant efforts in drawing against both Portugal and Hungary – victory would ensure qualification to the second round whilst a draw gives them a chance. They will have a better understanding of the task at hand after four of the other five groups have played their final match before kicking off versus Austria.

Italy vs Republic of Ireland

Group E is the final group to play their third game which means the Republic of Ireland will know what result they need to progress before they kick off. Italy have already won the group and as a result Antonio Conte is widely-expected to make a very large overhaul to his starting XI. This doesn’t guarantee Martin O’Neill’s side victory but you can certainly say it gives them a huge favor.

Should Belgium avoid defeat versus Sweden then the best Ireland can do is finish third. Victory over Italy puts them on four points which would likely be enough for another match at Euro 2016. They created very little versus Belgium are a good showing in their first half against Sweden. Shane Long has barely got involved in the action so it may come down to the midfield once again. Wes Hoolahan has scored their only goal in this tournament so far, whilst Jeff Hendrick has been prolific at firing shots in on goal.

Belgium vs Sweden

After a dismal showing versus Italy, Belgium hit back with vengeance in the second half versus the Republic of Ireland, running out 3-0 winners. Romelu Lukaku helped himself to a brace as Kevin De Bruyne and co hurt Martin O’Neill’s side on the counter-attack.

Sweden have been one of the weakest teams in the tournament and are still yet to have a single shot on target in 180 minutes. Belgium themselves have a pretty strong defence so it won’t be any easier for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and co he failed to create anything versus the Italians. A point is enough for Belgium to wrap up second place but they’ll be looking for a win to build them momentum ahead of the second round