World Cup winners France have been placed in a ‘group of death’ for next year’s European Championships after they were drawn with Portugal and Germany.
At the draw in Bucharest, Didier Deschamps’ men were handed a group containing Cristiano Ronaldo’s reigning champions Portugal as well as four-time World Cup winners Germany. They will also face the winners of playoff A, to be held in March.
The full draw:
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Wales
Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C: The Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, winners playoff D (Georgia, Belarus, Macedonia, Kosovo)
Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, winners playoff C (Scotland, Israel, Norway, Serbia)
Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, winners playoff B (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland)
Group F: Portugal, France, Germany, winners playoff A (Iceland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary)
Euro 2020 is being held across 12 cities in 12 countries to mark the 60th anniversary of the tournament.
The tournament kicks off on June 12 in Rome, with the final being played at Wembley Stadium in London on July 12.
Russia will host four matches in St. Petersburg – three group games and one quarterfinal.
Each group will be based in two cities:
Group A: Rome, Baku
Group B: St. Petersburg, Copenhagen
Group C: Amsterdam, Bucharest
Group D: London, Glasgow
Group E: Dublin, Bilbao
Group F: Munich, Budapest
Twenty teams have already qualified, while the remaining four will be determined through playoffs in March.
The most intriguing group is Group F, which sees World Cup winners France take on a Germany under Joachim Loew who will be desperate to reverse their poor showing at last year’s tournament in Russia. European Champions Portugal, also winners of the inaugural UEFA Nations League in the summer, make it the tournament’s undoubted ‘Group of Death’.
Due to the nature of the draw, Russia already knew they would be facing world number 1-ranked team Belgium – whom they met in qualifying – as well as Denmark, although Finland were drawn with them to complete Group B. The Finns will be making their first appearance at a major finals.
Elsewhere, England will face Croatia, the team that beat them in the World Cup semifinal in Russia in 2018.
A resurgent Netherlands meet tricky opponents in Ukraine, although they also play less fancied opposition in Austria.
The draw appears to have been kind to Roberto Mancini’s Italy, another team who missed the World Cup in Russia.
They play Turkey in the tournament’s opening game in Rome on June 12, before meeting Switzerland and Wales.
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