Here are the groups for next summer’s European Championships to be held in Austria and Switzerland.
The draw was held in the Swiss town of Lucerne, and a host of great names from yesteryear participated in conducting it- Peter Schmeichel, Didier Deschamps, Franz Beckenbauer, Dino Zoff and Jurgen Klinsmann.
Group A : Switzerland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Portugal
Group B : Austria, Germany, Croatia, Poland
Group C : Netherlands, Italy, Romania, France
Group D : Greece, Spain, Sweden, Russia.
Without a second thought, one can proclaim Group C to be the Group of Death, with the Oranje, the Azzuri, Les Bleus fighting for two spots. And do not forget Romania- they are not pushovers ; they won Group G in qualifying ahead of the Dutch.
Group B seems be the easiest group. Germany should qualify, and so should Croatia, unless they falter against Poland.
As for Groups A and D, they aren’t the easiest to pick qualifiers out of, are they ??
The Dutch get the Group of Death again ( Group C was the group of death in the WC too) and I doubt Donadoni and Domenech are too pleased with the draw. Especially Domenech, who could have easily seen his French team follow in the footsteps of their neighbours across the Channel by missing the Euro bus and letting Scotland qualify.