Group A is led the by tournament host France and they are the big-time favorites to win Group A, which is not surprising in one of the weaker groups. The French are playing on their home soil and while the group is not the toughest they have a lot of pressure on them after being major disappointments in recent major international tournaments.
France -300
The last time France hosted a major international tournament was in 1998 when they hoisted the World Cup trophy and they also won the Euro Championships as hosts in 1984. They have Paul Pogba, who may be the star of the tournament, but striker Karim Benzema is currently suspended from national team duties and will miss the tournament. The French did not have to qualify as the host, but they have been a disappointment on the world stage in the last few major tournaments and they have a great chance to right their ship at home.
Switzerland +300
The Swiss have a young and talented squad that has great talent with the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and the team did make it to the last 16 in the last World Cup. They did not play in the toughest of qualifying groups and they only conceded eight goals in the 10 matches. Their defense and midfield is their strength. However, they may struggle to score goals, as they rely on Shaqiri to press the envelope on offense even though the team lacks a true world-class scorer.
Romania +700
Romania is back on the world stage, as they have only played in one big international tournament since 2000 when they reached the quarterfinals of the Euro Championships. Their defense is their main strength and in their 10 qualifying matches they only conceded two goals. However, can they score to get through? In qualifying they only scored 11 goals and they are thin up front and have issues in the midfield as well, which is not good facing France and Switzerland, who are solid in that area of the pitch.
Albania +2200
This is the debut for the Euro for the Albanians, as they are the, big-time, long shot to win the group. Still Italian manager Gianni de Biasi has instituted a very tactical style that can frustrate opponents and the squad did beat Portugal in the qualifying group. GK Erit Berisha and DF Elseid Hysaj are the leaders of the squad and the defense will be key for Albania to have any chance to make it out of group play. In their qualifying group they only conceded five goals in 10 matches.
