Topics: UEFA Euro 2016, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, England, Wales, Sweden, Portugal
Defending champion Spain will face Turkey and Czech Republic, while Cristiano Ronaldo & Portugal seem to be heading to an easy group.

After a grueling Qualifying Stage, the Groups of the 2016 European Championship were drawn today.

For the first time in the tournament's history, 24 National Teams will be participating in the competition, which will be held in France for the third time ever.

The hosts were automatically drawn into Group A. Their first match will be against Romania on June 10th, followed by their matchups against Albania and Switzerland.

Group B will have one of the most exciting and controversial matches of the Group Stage, given the historic rivalry between the two teams. England will be playing against Wales, a team that will return to an international tournament for the first time since 1958. Russia and Slovakia complete a group that will surely give fans their money's worth.

World Champion Germany will be facing some tough competition if they want to repeat what Spain did in 2010 and 2012. Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland will battle the Germans for a spot in the knockout stage, with the controversial element of Robert Lewandowski facing a number of his Bayern Munich team-mates.

Group D has already been labeled as the Group of Death by many experts. Spain, the defending champions, will play against Turkey, Czech Republic and Croatia for a spot in the Round of 16.

Group E, which had Belgium as the top-seeded team, will have two more sides that may give a headache to one another: Italy and Sweden. The Azzurri side will try to prove they can shine again in the international scene after a sloppy World Cup, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic will try to extend his potential final games with the Swedes for as long as he can. The Republic of Ireland will complete the group, with a team that could bring a few surprises for the others.

Finally, Group F will have Portugal leading all the rankings, with a number of teams that shouldn't make it hard for Cristiano Ronaldo to reach the all-time goal scoring record in the competition. Iceland, Austria and Hungary will be the ones joining the Portuguese in their quest for the knockout rounds.

Here's how fans and experts reacted to the draw.