England manager Roy Hodgson and his 23-man squad arrived at their Euro 2016 hotel in Chantilly, north of Paris, Monday, having earlier landed at Le Bourget airport. Amid great pomp and beneath hazy sunshine, the team bus was led down a cobbled street to the entrance of the squad's luxury Auberge du Jeu de Paume hotel by five horsewomen. To a musical backdrop provided by a three-strong brass band dressed in red hunting uniforms, Hodgson was the first to alight outside the hotel, which is a stone's throw from the picturesque Chateau de Chantilly and Chantilly Hippodrome. The rest of the England contingent followed, led by captain Wayne Rooney. Clad in dark blue suits, they shook hands with Chantilly's mayor, Eric Woerth. Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, hotly linked with a move to Arsenal, cast a brief glance toward the banks of photographers to his left as he entered the building. Around 50 members of the press and a similar number of onlookers were present, as well as several French gendarmes and military policeman, some carrying guns. Some hotel employees could also be seen peering down at the scene below from the building's third-story windows. England is due to stage a fully open training session at its nearby Stade de Bourgognes training base Tuesday, when local schoolchildren will be invited to attend. Hodgson's men open their campaign against Russia in Marseille Saturday and will also face neighbor Wales and Slovakia in Group B. ‘Italy faces misery' Italy, beaten finalist at the last European Championship, will have a miserable Euro 2016 while England will sail through to the semifinals, according to Goldman Sachs, which put host nation France as most likely to win. The investment bank, whose researchers more routinely analyze the world's economies and financial markets, have crunched the numbers on the past and current form of the 24 teams heading for this week's kickoff. Its report, published Monday, has some surprising forecasts: * Four-time World Cup winner Italy has a meager 1.5 percent chance of winning and will manage just three draws in the round-robin group stage. * France is favorite, with a 23.1 percent chance of winning, just ahead of World Cup champion Germany (19.9 percent). * England, which has not reached the semifinals of a major tournament for 20 years, is, surprisingly, fourth (10.5 percent) in the rankings. Goldman Sachs forecasts it will win its group and reach the semifinals to lose to reigning champion Spain (ranked third with 13.6). Italy coach Antonio Conte has played down expectations for his side, which went out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at the group stage. Struggling to find young talent, for his squad of 23 players, he has picked just seven aged 25 or under. Goldman Sachs, which successfully forecast three of the four semifinalists at the 2014 World Cup, suggests Conte — and Italian fans — face a dreary Euro 2016. — Agencies
