The Dark Horses of the Euros

It feels very weird when I say that it's under three months until France kick off the 2016 edition of the European Championships against Romania. It seems like only yesterday when Mario Gotze was endeared to the German faithful with the extra time strike to crown the Germans World Champions. With the Euros closer than most people think, here is a few sides who I think could cause a few threats to the favourites.

Poland

Key Men

Robert Lewandowski struck 13 times including 4 against Gibraltar in their opening fixture, not to forget the fine form he has been in for Bayern throughout the last two seasons. Lewandowski will be man marked but will almost certainly still cause a threat. At the back, they also look decent with captain Kamil Glik steering the ship from centre-half.

Road to France

Poland finished second in their qualifying group, behind Germany, whom they recorded a 2-0 victory over in the second game. Lewandowski knocked six of his goals in the two games against Gibraltar winning them both 7-0 and 8-1 respectively while they had a combined aggregate score of 8 over the fifth placed side, Georgia. Poland received two 2-2 draws against Scotland, Lewandowski rescuing a point in the 4th minute of injury time in the away leg. Against the Republic of Ireland, they were unlucky to come away with a victory from the Aviva Stadium with Shane Long grabbing a very late equaliser but clinched a victory in the return leg in Warsaw.

Group C

Poland may have thought that the qualifying group was the last time they would see Germany, but the organisers had different ideas. Poland have a decent group with Ukraine and minnows, Northern Ireland occupying the other two spots. Germany and Poland will fight it out for the top spot and I fancy the former to pip them to the post. A second place finish in the group would leave the Poles with a match against the winner of Group A, most likely to be France. Poland were able to defeat Germany in the qualifying so they won't fear France, if that is who they are drawn against. A top place finish would be very beneficial for the Poles and would leave them with a match against the best third placed side of Groups A, B and F.

Croatia

Key Men

Once of Internazionale pastures, Mateo Kovacic received his big money move to Real Madrid last summer, even at the risk of not featuring as readily as he did at the San Siro. Nevertheless, Kovacic is a shrewd operator that has a great range of passing and can unlock defences with ease. Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric are also key players in the middle of the park and the former has been in terrific form since he joined Barcelona at the start of last season. When on form, Croatia's midfield can rival the top sides in the world.

Road to France

Croatia lost just one match in a group consisting of 2006 World Cup winners, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, Norway, Azerbaijan. They were expected to finish just behind Italy in qualifying and didn't disappoint even though they drew 1-1 on both occasions with the Italians. They did however record their only loss away to Norway 2-0 despite having scored 5 past the Scandinavians at an earlier stage. They also thumped Azerbaijan 6-0 at home with Ivan Perisic grabbing a brace but where unable to win away, with the hosts holding out to grab a point. Both Malta and Bulgaria were defeated home and away to seal their safe passage through.

Group D

Croatia have a nightmare group and they will be relying on achieving a first or second place finish to qualify from it. Spain, Czech Republic and Turkey are all also competing to get out, and while one would predict Spain to grab the top seed spot, this Croatian side will be definite contenders if they are able to navigate their way out of the group. The runner up spot secures a tie against the winner of Group E, likely to be either Belgium or Italy. Italy are an aging side on decline and Croatia did snatch a point courtesy of Mario Mandzukic in Euro 2012, the year that Italy got to the final. Croatia can be quietly confident.

Austria

Key Men

David Alaba is undoubtedly the key player in the Austrian side. The Bayern Munich wing back controls much of the play and has a decent scoring record also, scoring 4 times in qualifying. One of the more modern 'attacking' full backs, Alaba possesses all the weapons to trouble even the best defence, yet his technique at defending is often admired also. Joining him at the back, Alexsander Dragovic has also developed a bit of a reputation in Europe for being a technically gifted defender and, when on form, Austria can be confident of not conceding too many goals. Up front, Marko Arnautovic has been in fine form for Stoke this season and has developed into a fan favourite at the Britannia Stadium since his arrival a number of years back. 

Road to France

Austria were somewhat very efficient in the qualifiers, conceding just 5 goals and keeping 6 clean sheets, 5 of which were consecutive. They weren't as free-scoring as other teams but did put four past Sweden and five past Lichtenstein both away from home. Two one-nil victories helped Austria finish above Russia with Rubin Okotie and Marc Janko grabbing the goals. The four nil thumping preceded a 1-1 draw in the opening fixture against Sweden.

Group F

Unlike Croatia, Austria can be happy with the group they have received. Cristiano Ronaldo effectively carries Portugal. Hungary got through a poor qualifying group unconvincingly via the play off while Iceland compete in their very first European competition having shocked everyone to qualify first out of a tough qualifying group. I do expect Austria to qualify ahead of Portugal in first place and this would leave them with a last 16 draw against the runner up from Group E. I would predict it to be Italy with Belgium's youth giving them the upper hand over the Italians and, like Croatia, Austria have nothing to fear in an Italian side that is in tradition.

Do you agree with these predictions, or do you have any other sides that have the potential to cause an upset or two at the tournament in the summer?

Hot Prospects in the Serie A

With the World Cup nearly upon us, it gives Premier League managers the opportunity to hunt for some potential transfer targets. The Serie A has allowed some of the brightest young prospects to burst onto the scene this year. The league has a profusion of Italian talent, which could be useful for some clubs in the Premier League.

It is well documented that German giants, Borussia Dortmund have sealed Torino's Ciro Immobile as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. Immobile had a spectacular Serie A campaign and topped the goal scoring charts this season with 23. His Torino narrowly missed out on qualification for the Europa League and if he was eligible to play in that match against Fiorentina, I would have bet Torino to secure a European spot for next season. He formed a formidable strike force with fellow Italian Alessio Cerci, netting 36 goals in the Serie A and Coppa Italia. Now that the season has concluded, Immobile turns his attention to Italy's World Cup campaign that begins on the 14th June against England. 

The 24 year old is regarded as a poacher and does share similarities in his play to that of Lewandowski. At the start of the season, it was unlikely whether Prandelli would select Immobile, but after his electric form in the league, his inclusion was vital. He has fierce competition for the starting spot against England, with fellow teammate Cerci in fine form along with other star studded talents. Prandelli may choose experience in Cassano or Balotelli, over Immobile, even though they're not in the same calibre of form as the Torino man. With the Immobile off to Dortmund, Klopp has bagged himself another bargain for an approximate fee of £15m. I feel that the English clubs have missed a trick here, and can certainly see him coming back to bite them on the back side in the Champions League.

Domenico Berardi is another talent that is one to look out for in the future. Berardi burst onto the scene scoring 4 goals in a 4-3 win over AC Milan in January, becoming the first player to score 4 goals against AC Milan in a single Serie A match. In addition to his Milan heroics, Berardi netted a first half hat-trick in a memorable victory over Fiorentina earlier this month. Berardi was certainly a factor in securing safety for a second season in Serie A as, he contributed 16 goals to the cause. Although not going to the World Cup, Berardi is player that will feature in years to come.

The 19 year old has been linked with a transfer to England prior to the January transfer window, however the Italian may be more difficult to capture than people think. Serie A champions, Juventus completed a deal in September 2013 with Sassuolo that Berardi was to be co-owned by both clubs. The deal also saw Luca Marrone transfer in the opposite direction along with a fee of €4.3m. Any clubs looking at the Italian protege will certainly have to stump up much more cash, however The Old Lady may be more favourable towards a loan deal. Clinching their 3rd successive Serie A title, Juve have a wealth of talent in attack through Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente, Mirko Vucinic among others. It will be unlikely that Antonio Conte will place his faith for the coming season in a 19 year old rather than the experience of some of those mentioned.

Internazionale's Mateo Kovacic is an exciting young player who can thread a pass through the eye of a needle. Beginning his career at Dinamo Zagreb, Inter snapped the 20 year old up for a total sum of €15m in January 2013. He is highly rated by the coaching staff at Internazionale, which is emphasised through receiving the infamous number 10 jersey upon his arrival at the Guiseppe Meazza. Making 45 appearances for the first team at Inter, a glorious World Cup could see him cement himself in Walter Mazzari's first team plans for the coming season. Even at the tender age of 20, Kovacic has several honours attached to his name. These include a successful time at Zagreb where he lifted the domestic double, and being awarded Croatian Football Hope of the Year in 2011. The Croatian playmaker became the second youngest scorer in the Premier League as he scored a goal in the last group game against Lyon. 

Kovacic has the ability to control a game of football and will become the pinnacle of the Inter team in the future. Due to the large fee Inter paid for him, it will take a lot of money to prize him from the clutches of Mazzari. The Croatian international has had many respected admirers in the past, including Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus who scouted him when he was 13, and also attracted the attention of Arsenal Chief Scout, Steve Rowley, who was reported to have watched him perform several U17 matches while at Zagreb. Capped at senior level for Croatia 8 times, it is likely that Kovacic will be heading to Brazil in less than 2 weeks with his national team which re-ignite the interest from top European clubs.

While the spotlight is all on the Saints' youth academy, many teams are forgetting about the vast amounts of talent located in Italy. I am sure that these players would be available for less cash than some of the English players. While I may have only discussed 3 players, there certainly are lot more, including Mauro Icardi and Victor Ibarbo. All of these players are destined to achieve great things and, with the correct tutoring, I don't see why they cannot achieve it.