Chantilly: The race for the European Championship title is wide open and no team will run away with the title, England defender Gary Cahill has said.
England, who have struggled to break down defences and finished second in Group B a point behind table toppers Wales, face Iceland in the Round of 16 in Nice next Monday.
The Chelsea defender pointed to France’s second Group A game, where the hosts scored two late goals to beat a stubborn Albania team 2-0, as an example of how difficult it was for the continent’s big names to win.
“There are certainly teams that have impressed me, but I do think it’s wide open,” Cahill told reporters in France.
“You see the French, Spanish and Germans who are always there, but is there one team that is going to run away with it? I don’t think there is.
“You see how hard teams are having to work, like the French in the second game... Everyone is fighting to the death so it’s very tough.”
Meanwhile, England captain Wayne Rooney refused to reveal on Thursday which way he was voting in Britain’s referendum on European Union membership — or even whether he had voted at all.
“The option (to vote) has been there for the players,” Rooney told a press conference at England’s Euro 2016 media centre in Chantilly, north of Paris.
“I don’t know which ones have and which ones haven’t.”
Asked if he had voted, the Manchester United striker replied: “I’d like to keep it private. Whatever happens will happen.”
The Football Association has made provisions for England’s 23 players to vote via post if they wish to.
Million of Britons are voting on Thursday to decide whether their country should remain in the EU after Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to call a referendum in 2013.
