Euro 2020: England and Wales avoid Group of Death

EURO 2020 FINALS DRAW

12 June 2020 - 12 July 2020
 

	GROUP A  Rome Baku		GROUP B Copenhagen St Petersburg		GROUP C  Amsterdam Bucharest		GROUP D London Glasgow
[A1]	TURKEY	[B1]	DENMARK	[C1]	NETHERLANDS	[D1]	ENGLAND
[A2]	ITALY	[B2]	FINLAND	[C2]	UKRAINE	[D2]	CROATIA
[A3]	WALES	[B3]	BELGIUM	[C3]	AUSTRIA	[D3]	PLAYOFF [C]
[A4]	SWITZERLAND	[B4]	RUSSIA	[C4]	PLAYOFF [D]	[D4]	CZECH REP
			GROUP E  Bilbao Dublin		GROUP F Munich Budapest
		[E1]	SPAIN	[F1]	PLAYOFF [A]
		[E2]	SWEDEN	[F2]	PORTUGAL
		[E3]	POLAND	[F3]	FRANCE
		[E4]	PLAYOFF [B]	[F4]	GERMANY

SEEDING POTS
Teams were seeded based upon their performance during the Euro 2020 qualifiers

Pot (1) Belgium, Italy, England, Germany, Spain, Ukraine
Pot (2) France, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Netherlands, Russia
Pot (3) Portugal, Turkey, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic
Pot (4) Wales, Finland, four playoff winners

ENGLAND and Wales were both given seemingly manageable tasks at the Euro 2020 finals next summer after the draw was made in Bucharest last night.

The Three Lions will meet some familiar foes in Group D, most notably a Croatia outfit who they lost against in the 2018 World Cup semi finals but then beat last year in group stage of the inaugural Nations League competition.

Gareth Southgate's men will also face the Czech Republic - who they played twice in qualifying with mixed results - and the winner of Playoff Path [C] which could set up a Battle of Britain clash against Scotland.

England are one of 12 tournament hosts - spread across the width of the continent - with groups having already been allocated to each host nation.

That means if the Scots make it through the playoffs at the expense of Israel and either Norway or Serbia away in late-March, the Tartan Army would also get to watch their own team in two of their three games at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

But, having qualified directly rather than through the playoffs, England will have home advantage in any match between the pair.

Reacting to the draw, Three Lions head coach Southgate said: "I'm never sure whether it's a good draw. We have played two of the teams before and for us to play at Wembley is something special. We are looking forward to the tournament.

"We have to accept that expectations have changed from where we were. We are very critical of ourselves. We would rather be a team that are fancied than a team with no chance."

Wales - who, memorably, reached the last four at Euro 2016 in France - were drawn into Group A, which is headlined by Italy, with matches in the section to be held in Rome as well as Baku in Azerbaijan.

Along with the resurgent Azzurri, the Welsh will also come up against Switzerland and Turkey, neither of whom could exactly be considered as giants on the world stage.

Both did win their qualifying groups, though - and Turkey impressively finished above France - but it could have easily been worse for Ryan Giggs and his fledgling Dragons.

Giggs said: "Logistically looking at it, it's Baku, Baku, Rome, rather than having Rome in the middle - so for the fans it's much better.

"Switzerland are a good team, talented. Turkey were in a group with France and Iceland so have done well to come through that - and Italy have won every game so that will be tough.

"I'll get around and watch the players as much as I can. You hope that, come June, you have a group of healthy players to choose from and if we have that, we're a match for anyone.

"We want to take our chance, just like in 2016."

Of course, Northern Ireland were also in the finals four years ago - and reached the Last 16 before being beaten by the Welsh.

This time, Northern Ireland - like Scotland - will have to navigate their way through the playoffs if they are going to make it into the finals.

Playoff Path [B] firstly takes the Northern Irish to Bosnia-Herzegovina - although, if they win in Sarajevo, they will have home advantage for the final against Slovakia or Ireland.

Meanwhile, Ireland - as one of the host nations - have the additional motivation of knowing they will play two Group E finals games in Dublin if they make it through themselves.

Three-time champions Spain head that section with Sweden and Poland rounding it off.

Elsewhere, the intricacies of the tournament resulted in Group B having been almost completely decided ahead of the draw.

Hosts Denmark and Russia qualified directly and were automatically assigned to the group, of course - while Belgium, as one of only two top seeds without hosting rights, also had no option other than to join them.

That is because Ukraine were the only other non-host among the top seeds - and, for political reasons, the Ukrainians cannot be put into the same section as Russia.

Facing two away games is not something with which the world number one-ranked Belgians were particularly happy - and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has not been shy about expressing his feelings on the matter.

“It’s a disgrace," he told HLN Sport in Belgium. "For me this feels like competition distortion, a fake competition.

"Football is not really football any more, it's becoming a business."

Nevertheless, the allocation of major finals debutants Finland to the same group will surely go some way to softening the blow suffered by the Belgians.

Meanwhile, Ukraine were instead allocated to Group C - alongside the Netherlands, Austria, and the winner of the lowest-ranked playoff route.

Playoff Path [D] features Georgia versus Belarus and North Macedonia versus Kosovo - with one of those four going on to make it to a finals tournament for the first time.

It would be fair to suggest that the group as a whole does not look like the toughest exercise for the Dutch.

However, the same cannot be said of Group F - and, after much concern that England could get both the current world champions France from pot two and defending European champions Portugal from pot three, the pair were perhaps inevitably drawn together.

Instead, though, they landed in the section headed by Germany in what can only be termed a Group of Death.

At least it would have been in past championships - but, as in Euro 2016, four third-placed teams join the top two from each group in the Last 16 of the competition for the start of the knockout stages.

Therefore, it seems more likely that the Germans, French and Portuguese will all make it through in some shape or form, rather than any of them heading for an early exit.

Rather bizarrely, the foibles of this mis-shapen tournament do not end with the group stage draw - as the path into the latter stages has already been mapped out.

The winners of Group D involving England will take on the runners-up from that top-heavy Group F in Dublin for a place in the quarter finals.

Could it be better then to finish runners-up in Group D and instead run into the runners-up of Group E, most likely Sweden or Poland in Copenhagen?

Either way, if England progress through the group stage, they will head off to neutral territory for the Last 16 - while the hosts of the quarter finals will be Munich, Saint Petersburg, Rome, and Baku.

Of course, both semi finals and the Final itself on 12 July will be hosted back at Wembley - but let us not get too far ahead of ourselves.

After all, not even the full line-up of teams has yet to be decided.

GROUP A

12-June	(8pm)	TURKEY v ITALY	Rome
13-June	(2pm)	WALES v SWITZERLAND	Baku
17-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v WALES	Baku
17-June	(8pm)	ITALY v SWITZERLAND	Rome
21-June	(5pm)	SWITZERLAND v TURKEY	Baku
21-June	(5pm)	ITALY v WALES	Rome

GROUP B

13-June	(5pm)	DENMARK v FINLAND	Copenhagen
13-June	(8pm)	BELGIUM v RUSSIA	Saint Petersburg
17-June	(2pm)	FINLAND v RUSSIA	Saint Petersburg
18-June	(5pm)	DENMARK v BELGIUM	Copenhagen
22-June	(8pm)	RUSSIA v DENMARK	Copenhagen
22-June	(8pm)	FINLAND v BELGIUM	Saint Petersburg

GROUP C

14-June	(5pm)	AUSTRIA v PLAYOFF [D]	Bucharest
14-June	(8pm)	NETHERLANDS v UKRAINE	Amsterdam
18-June	(2pm)	UKRAINE v PLAYOFF [D]	Bucharest
18-June	(8pm)	NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIA	Amsterdam
22-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [D] v NETHERLANDS	Amsterdam
22-June	(5pm)	UKRAINE v AUSTRIA	Bucharest

GROUP D

14-June	(2pm)	ENGLAND v CROATIA	London
15-June	(2pm)	PLAYOFF [C] v CZECH REPUBLIC	Glasgow
19-June	(5pm)	CROATIA v CZECH REPUBLIC	Glasgow
19-June	(8pm)	ENGLAND v PLAYOFF [C]	London
23-June	(8pm)	CROATIA v PLAYOFF [C]	Glasgow
23-June	(8pm)	CZECH REPUBLIC v ENGLAND	London

GROUP E

15-June	(5pm)	POLAND v PLAYOFF [B]	Dublin
15-June	(8pm)	SPAIN v SWEDEN	Bilbao
19-June	(2pm)	SWEDEN v PLAYOFF [B]	Dublin
20-June	(8pm)	SPAIN v POLAND	Bilbao
24-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [B] v SPAIN	Bilbao
24-June	(5pm)	SWEDEN v POLAND	Dublin

GROUP F

16-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [A] v PORTUGAL	Budapest
16-June	(8pm)	FRANCE v GERMANY	Munich
20-June	(2pm)	PLAYOFF [A] v FRANCE	Budapest
20-June	(5pm)	PORTUGAL v GERMANY	Munich
24-June	(8pm)	PORTUGAL v FRANCE	Budapest
24-June	(8pm)	GERMANY v PLAYOFF [A]	Munich

LAST 16

27-June	(5pm)	[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP B	Amsterdam
27-June	(8pm)	[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP C	London
28-June	(5pm)	[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/F	Budapest
28-June	(8pm)	[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/F	Bilbao
29-June	(5pm)	[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP E	Copenhagen
29-June	(8pm)	[41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/C	Bucharest
30-June	(5pm)	[44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP F	Dublin
30-June	(8pm)	[43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/D	Glasgow

QUARTER FINALS

03-July	(5pm)	(45)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]	Saint Petersburg
03-July	(8pm)	(46)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]	Munich
04-July	(5pm)	(47)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]	Baku
04-July	(8pm)	(48)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]	Rome

SEMI FINALS

07-July	(8pm)	WINNER (46) v WINNER (45)	London
08-July	(8pm)	WINNER (48) v WINNER (47)	London

PLAYOFF DRAW
The home team in each of the one-off semi finals was decided on the basis of the respective teams' Nations League ranking. The venues of the four one-off finals in each Path were determined by a draw held on 22 November.

Path
[A]	Semi finals ICELAND v ROMANIA BULGARIA v HUNGARY Final BULGARIA or HUNGARY v ICELAND or ROMANIA	Group F
[B]	Semi finals BOSNIA-HERZ v N IRELAND SLOVAKIA v IRELAND Final BOSNIA-HERZ or N IRELAND v SLOVAKIA or IRELAND	Group E
[C]	Semi finals SCOTLAND v ISRAEL NORWAY v SERBIA Final NORWAY or SERBIA v SCOTLAND or ISRAEL	Group D
[D]	Semi finals GEORGIA v BELARUS N MACEDONIA v KOSOVO Final GEORGIA or BELARUS v N MACEDONIA or KOSOVO	Group C