With the domestic season over, the focus turns to the excitement of the continental tournament, the European Championships to determine who will be the champions of Europe.

The 2016 European Championships is the 15th edition of the quadrennial competition which was founded in 1960 and this year it will be hosted in France.

Fans of the Football League who prefer the domestic game should still keep a close eye on a number of Football League stars not only from the Championship will be featuring.

As the squads have been officially confirmed, a number of Football League players will be crossing the channel in early June in preparation.

The strength of the Football League is reflected in that the Championship will have more representatives at the European Championships than France's top flight, Ligue 1.

Although the Football league XI is predominantly dominated by the home nations, there is still a blend of nationalities that features within the Football League.

This article will go through a starting XI of Football Leagues stars who will likely to feature this at this summer's European Championships....

GK- Tom Heaton (England)

tom-heaton

England's sole representative from the Football League for the European Championships this summer is Burnley's shot stopper, Tom Heaton.

After a stellar season in the Championship which saw Burnley return to the Premier League as champions and Tom Heaton earning 20 clean sheets in 46 outings, Heaton has made his way to the squad.

Although it is most likely at the expense of Jack Butland who suffered a season-ending injury, Tom Heaton has been worthy of his place in the England squad.

Heaton has been a regular in England's squads and featured in England's 2-1 victory over Australia after coming on to replace Fraser Forster.

Although Heaton is behind both Joe Hart and Fraser Forster in the pecking order, Heaton may be called into action if there is an unexpected injury or potential suspension.

LB- Shane Ferguson (Northern Ireland)

Shane Ferguson

One player to potentially look out for in the left back position is Shane Ferguson.

The Northern Irish international has featured heavily for Millwall this season helping them reach the playoff final only to suffer the disappointment of a 3-1 to Barnsley.

The versatility that Ferguson provides as a both a fullback and a wide midfielder may be useful to be at Michael O'Neill's disposal.

Northern Ireland has played both four at the back and three at the back systems and Ferguson can fit into both systems as a natural full back or defensive minded wide midfielder.

Ferguson's success this season has not only been defensively but his attacking intent and ability to bomb up and down the flank and provide the overlap as an attacking outlet.

Michael O'Neill will be hoping if he does feature that he can create opportunities with his excellent deliveries from wide areas and provide assists.

 

CB- Shane Duffy (Republic of Ireland)

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One positive for Blackburn Rovers is the form of Shane Duffy. Although the centre-half is prone to the odd mistake, generally Duffy has had a strong season forging a partnership with Scottish international Grant Hanley.

Although Duffy only has two caps for the Republic of Ireland side since 2014, the Irish defender will be hoping that this summer's European Championships could be the breakthrough for the former Everton defender.

Duffy started for the Republic of Ireland in their 1-1 draw with the Netherlands which will have given Martin O'Neill food for thought about his centre-half pairing for the opening game of the European Championships.

O'Neill's difficult decision was complicated by Ireland's disappointing 2-1 defeat to Belarus which Duffy didn't play a part in and O'Neill may look to utilise Duffy through the European Championships' campaign.

 

CB- Richard Keogh (Republic of Ireland)

Derby captain Richard Keogh thanks Derby fans for their continued support
Derby captain Richard Keogh thanks Derby fans for their continued support

Similar to Duffy, Keogh is another Championship defender who has had a strong season and will be hoping to end it by featuring for the Republic of Ireland in the European Championships.

Unlike Duffy, Keogh has been part of a Derby County side that reached the playoffs but was defeated by the eventual winners Hull City over two legs.

With over 150 appearances for Derby County and a regular for the Republic of Ireland in the qualification stages, Keogh will be hoping to stake his place in the back line as a reliant performer.

It appears that the centre-half positions are still up for contention with Richard Keogh facing competition from Shane Duffy, John O'Shea, Ciaran Clark and Paul McShane.

RB- Chris Gunter (Wales)

Chris-Gunter

Of this combined XI, Reading's right back Chris Gunter is the most experienced with 66 caps for Wales since making his international debut in 2007.

Chris Gunter was one of the stand-out performers in Wales' European Championship qualification side and the partnership between himself and Ashley Williams as a centre-half/right back partnership was one of the reasons why Wales' defence was so resolute.

As a regular for both club and country, Gunter is going to be an integral component of any success Wales has in France as he will be part of a resolute Wales defence that has been receiving plaudits as one of the better sides in the qualification process having conceded only four goals.

Gunter is likely to feature heavily in all of Wales game as Wales first choice right back who can also play as a centre half or in a defensive minded right midfield position.

RM- Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Iceland)

The Icelandic star has been a standout player this year for the Addicks

In the right midfield position, Charlton Athletic's Johann Berg Gudmundsson is likely to be ever present in Iceland's team after an extremely impressive qualification campaign.

Despite Charlton's disappointing campaign which concluded with relegation to League 1, one of the few positives in a torrid season was the form of the Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

The Icelandic winger scored six times and provided 11 assists. The context of this is staggering as Gudmundsson singlehandedly contributed to 17 of Charlton's 40 goals in the entirety of the Championship campaign.

Gudmundsson was an important figure in Iceland's side that qualified for the European Championships so comprehensively, with the winger is likely to feature in all of Iceland's games.

Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson will be hoping Gudmundsson can replicate some of his goal scoring form in France.

CM- Oliver Norwood, (Northern Ireland)

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One of the most in form midfielders in the Football League over the past season has been Oliver Norwood.

After a superb season for Reading, Norwood will be hoping to cap it off with a successful campaign with Northern Ireland in France.

He will be hoping to use the European Championships to show his talent and potentially earn himself a Premier League move.

With 29 caps for Northern Ireland and being a regular presence in Northern Ireland's qualification success, Norwood will most likely feature in all of Northern Ireland's games.

CM- David Vaughan (Wales)

Vaughan

Another Championship midfielder who will be likely to be starting is Nottingham Forest's welsh veteran, David Vaughan.

With over 40 appearances for Wales, Vaughan will play a crucial role in the heart of midfield with the ability to play both the central midfielder and the deep lying playmaker role. His versatility could see him edge in front of the other midfield options.

Chris Coleman will be hoping that Vaughan will use his experience and know how to make the difference in close international contests.

He will likely be an under-appreciated component of any success Wales has but Coleman will be expecting Vaughan to control the game in midfield and set the tone and tempo for Wales.

With the omission of Emyr Huws, it is looking likely that he will be starting the majority of Wales' games as a partner of Aaron Ramsey in midfield.

LM- Jiri Skalak (Czech Republic)

skalak

One of the newer arrivals to the Football League is Jiri Skalak who joined Brighton and Hove Albion from FK Mladá Boleslav in the January transfer window.

The Czech winger had an extremely impressive second half to the season with two goals and eight assists in 12 appearances for Chris Hughton's side.

Pavel Vrba will be hoping that Skalak will be able to replicate his goal-scoring form and assists for the Czech national side which could see his stock rise significantly.

With only 8 appearances for the Czech Republic, Skalak is still an unknown entity on the international scene but his superb form has seen him feature regularly in the Czech Republic's last two European qualifiers and also in all of Czech Republic's friendlies so far.

Skalak has featured both coming off the bench and starting however his main competition for a starting spot in the Czech Republic side will be Sparta Prague midfielder Bořek Dočkal.

ST- Will Grigg (Northern Ireland)

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An argument could be made that for his chant alone, Will Grigg deserves to be included in this combined XI.

However with 24 goals in League One which heavily contributed to Wigan Athletic's promotion back to the Championship, Grigg is one of the most in form strikers going into the tournament.

This could be seen in Northern Ireland's most recent 3-0 victory over Belarus where Grigg not only came on but scored in his only appearance for Northern Ireland in 2016.

With Kyle Lafferty's lack of playing time despite the loan move to Birmingham City and Conor Washington failing to make an impact at Queens Park Rangers, the case could be made for Grigg not only to feature for Northern Ireland but to start for Michael O'Neill's side.

The most profitable choice may be to start Grigg, who is high on confidence and in fine form and Kyle Lafferty, who was integral to Northern Ireland's success in the qualification process providing Northern Ireland with a particularly potent strike force.

ST- Sam Vokes (Wales)

sam vokes
Burnley's Sam Vokes

Like Will Grigg, Sam Vokes has had an excellent season for Burnley which helped see his side not only gain promotion but also go up as Champions.

With 15 goals and 4 assists as a secondary striker to Andre Gray in the Championship, Chris Coleman will be hoping he can replicate his form in France.

Although in the Wales squad the focus is predominantly on Gareth Bale, Vokes does provide an attacking threat particularly aerially, as well as his ability to hold up the ball well whilst bringing others into the play.

As one of the more experienced players in Chris Coleman's side with 39 appearances, like David Vaughan, he will be expected to be a leader at the tournament and handle the pressure and difficulties imposed by a major tournament.

With Tom Bradshaw withdrawing from the squad due to injury, the likelihood that Sam Vokes starts up front for Wales and plays the majority of Wales' games in the Euros is a near certainty with Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu providing the only competition with the latter often playing out wide.