Football: Euro 2016 set to start Friday

ANKARA (AA) – Europe’s top-tier international football tournament UEFA Euro 2016 is set to start on Friday with a Group A match between France and Romania.

Tournament hosts France will meet Romania at Stade de France in Saint-Denis as the match starts at 9 p.m. French local time (1900 GMT).

The UEFA website reported that Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos will be at the stadium to watch the game alongside French President Francois Hollande.

Meanwhile, Turkey's first match in Group D will be on Sunday, June 12, against Croatia. The match at Parc des Princes in Paris will kick off at 3 p.m. local time (1300 GMT).

The rivalry between Turkey and Croatia seems set to resume in this tournament too. Turkey eliminated Croatia on penalties in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals.
But Croatia got their revenge, as "Vatreni" (the Blazers) won 3-0 in the Euro 2012 playoffs.

Croatian defender Domagoj Vida told a press conference in the northern French commune of Deauville that they are better than Turkey, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

But Vida conceded that Turkey is dangerous on counter-attacks and set pieces.

"We have very good players. We have many players who can change the game's destiny. Our team is better than Turkey but we should show it on pitch as well", Vida stated.

Meanwhile another Croatian player, Ivan Perisic, remarked, "All of our players are playing for big clubs. Their morale is very good. I believe that we will play well in this tournament".

Turkey will play against Spain, Croatia, and the Czech Republic in Group D.

Turkey will first take on Croatia on Sunday. Then they will meet European football giants Spain on Friday, June 17.

Turkey’s last group match will be against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, June 21.


- The Euro 2016 groups are as follows:

Group A: Albania, France, Romania, Switzerland
Group B: England, Russia, Slovakia, Wales
Group C: Germany, Northern Ireland, Poland, Ukraine
Group D: Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Turkey
Group E: Belgium, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Sweden
Group F: Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal

The group matches will be played on June 10-22.

The final 16 will be played on June 25, 26, and 27. The quarterfinals will be held on June 30 and July 1, 2, and 3.

The semis will be played on July 6 and 7, and the final will be held on July 10.