Current European champions and the last two World champions have been pitted together in Group F of Euro 2020 what German coach Joachim Loew described as the group of death in next year’s biggest football extravaganza.
The #EURO2020 groups have been drawn! 😍
Which matches are you excited for? pic.twitter.com/CU7SvtNAXq
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) November 30, 2019
In a complicated Euro 2020 draw on Saturday, Portugal, France and Germany were clubbed together and will play their matches in Budapest and Munich. The winners of either playoff A or D will also join them.
As per the new rules of the tournament, the teams were placed according to their results in the recently-concluded Qualifiers. Germany qualified as a top-seeded team and will thus play all their matches at home. France were one of the second seeds.
That moment when Portugal, France & Germany are drawn in the same group 😅#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/C1wtz76mRU
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) November 30, 2019
“This is a group of death. The expectations will be quite high. For our young team, this will be a huge challenge but also a big motivation,” Loew was quoted as saying by Reuters.
However, there remains a high probability of all three, France, Germany and Portugal, qualifying for the round of 16. The new format allows four of the six third-placed teams to advance to the next round.
Other than F, Group D looks competitive with England, Croatia and the Czech Republic alongside the winners of playoff C which could be either Scotland, Norway, Serbia or Israel. The group will be played in Glasgow and London – host for the semi-final and final as well.
Other title-contenders will have a relatively easy ride in football’s second-biggest international tournament. Italy, who won all the 10 matches of their qualifiers, will play Turkey, Wales and Switzerland in Group A. The matches will be played in Rome and Baku.
European champions of 2008 and 2012 Spain have been placed with Sweden, Poland and the playoff winners B in Group E. The teams will ply their trades in Bilbao and Dublin.
The Netherlands were clubbed in Group C beside Ukraine and Austria in Group C, while Belgium found themselves in Group B with Denmark, Finland and Russia.