Euro 2016 Bracket: Schedule, Matchups and Teams for Knockout Fixtures
Italy will play Spain in the pick of the first round of knockout fixtures at UEFA Euro 2016, while hosts France will play the Republic of Ireland after the latter's dramatic win over the Azzurri on Wednesday.
After finishing behind Wales in Group B, England will face Iceland in the round of 16 and are in the same side of the draw as the teams above as well as Germany, who will face Slovakia.
The Welsh have been rewarded for their efforts with a match against Northern Ireland and a place in the easier half of the draw. Should they make it to the quarter-finals, they'll play either Hungary or Belgium.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
In the remaining round-of-16 ties, Switzerland will face Poland, while Croatia will play Portugal.
ESPN's Paul Carr and sportingintelligence noted the significance of the draw:
Here is the full schedule for the knockout stage:
| Saturday, June 25 | 2 p.m./9 a.m. | R 16 | Switzerland vs. Poland |
| Saturday, June 25 | 5 p.m./12 p.m. | R 16 | Wales vs. Northern Ireland |
| Saturday, June 25 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | R 16 | Croatia vs. Portugal |
| Sunday, June 26 | 2 p.m./9 a.m. | R 16 | France vs. Republic of Ireland |
| Sunday, June 26 | 5 p.m./12 p.m. | R 16 | Germany vs. Slovakia |
| Sunday, June 26 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | R 16 | Hungary vs.Belgium |
| Monday, June 27 | 5 p.m./12 p.m. | R 16 | Italy vs. Spain |
| Monday, June 27 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | R 16 | England vs. Iceland |
| Thursday, June 30 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | QF 1 | Switzerland/Poland vs. Croatia/Portugal |
| Friday, July 1 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | QF 2 | Wales/Northern Ireland vs. Hungary/Belgium |
| Saturday, July 2 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | QF 3 | Germany/Slovakia vs. Italy/Spain |
| Sunday, July 3 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | QF 4 | France/Republic of Ireland vs. England/Iceland |
| Wednesday, July 6 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | SF 1 | QF 1 vs. QF 2 |
| Thursday, July 7 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | SF 2 | QF 3 vs. QF 4 |
| Sunday, July 10 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | Final | SF 1 vs. SF 2 |
The full bracket can be found at BBC Sport.
Italy vs. Spain
In a rematch of the Euro 2012 final, defending champions Spain will take on Italy for a place in the last eight.
La Roja were 4-0 victors last time around, but with Italy having conceded just one goal at the tournament thus far—after making eight changes against Ireland—it may well be a different story this time around.
That said, such a tie is a harsh reward for the Azzurri, who were the first to win their group. Indeed, their clash feels like one that belongs nearer the business end of the tournament, as football writer and broadcaster Mina Rzouki noted:
Per football journalist Dermot Corrigan, Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque is trying to remain positive after their 2-1 defeat to Croatia condemned them to facing Italy in the tougher half of the draw:
Spain will look to dominate possession as they usually do, but even for them, the Italian defence should prove difficult to penetrate.
Rzouki is eagerly anticipating the prospect of Alvaro Morata taking on his former Juventus team-mates:
Indeed, the Spaniard is in top form with three goals thus far in the competition, so it promises to be an intriguing matchup.
Spain will also need to be wary of counter-attacks—David De Gea will need to have a better game than he did in the 2-1 defeat to Croatia. The Mirror's Ed Malyon believed it was a match to forget for the goalkeeper:
Italy's outing against Ireland wasn't particularly inspiring—they had just one attempt on target, per BBC Sport's Chris Bevan—but they'll be more willing to push forward than they were in a match they needed nothing from, and Spain will need to be vigilant at the back.
There are a number of intriguing clashes in the round of 16, but none more so than this one.
England vs. Iceland
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker noted the difficult draw England have been handed after their failure to beat Russia or Slovakia cost them first place in their group, but he believes they may fare better in the knockout stages:
First things first, they need to get past Iceland. While the knockout stage should make things somewhat more open, they're still likely to sit back and hope to hit the Three Lions on the break rather than force the issue themselves.
If that is the case, England could face similar struggles to those they encountered in the group stage.
With Roy Hodgson boldly picking four strikers in his final squad—five if you count Wayne Rooney, who has been deployed in midfield—England's attacking might was heralded as their biggest strength going into the tournament.
Indeed, only Poland bettered the Three Lions' 31 goals in qualifying, and their five forwards netted 88 goals between them in all competitions last season. Further, many of their qualifying matches saw their opponents sit back and force England to break them down, so they're used to winning in this manner.
Monday's game will go some way to proving whether their failure to take chances against Russia and Slovakia was simply down to luck or a symptom of a wider problem.
As for Iceland, they've already made history by reaching the knockout stages in their first-ever major tournament. Per the Telegraph's Ben Rumsby, manager Lars Lagerback has already ignited the war of words ahead of the clash:
On paper, England should have little problem going through. However, Iceland have shown tremendous resilience right through qualifying and into the tournament—not losing a single game in Group F—and deserve the Three Lions' respect.
For Hodgson's side to go through, they'll need to show the composure they showed in qualifying and their impressive friendly win over Germany.
