The UEFA European Football Championship is set to take the stage this upcoming summer and the draw has officially been set. The draw took place over the weekend and some countries got a very favorable group, while one particular group is the overwhelming group of death we have seen in the past cost.
EFA Group Stage
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland
Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, Playoff winner D
Group D: England, Croatia, Playoff winner C, Czech Republic
Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, Playoff winner B
Group F: Playoff winner A, Portugal, France, Germany
Playoff Semifinals
Path A: Iceland vs Romania, Bulgaria vs Hungary
Path B: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Northern Ireland, Slovakia vs Republic of Ireland
Path C: Scotland vs Israel, Norway v Serbia
Path D: Georgia vs Belarus, North Macedonia vs Kosovo
This tournament is played all over Europe which means there are multiple host countries, each being in a different group, except Group B which has two, Russia and Denmark. Looking at the groups the teams that got favorable draws were Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. They are all favorites to win the group, and the second favorite in each group not being the biggest of challenges. On the other hand, defending Euro champions, Portugal, landed in a group with the past two World Cup winners, France (2018) and Germany (2014). This is the toughest group of death I’ve seen in a while. France is coming into the tournament just off their World Cup high and still have their core group of players playing in their prime. Portugal has finally added pieces to compliment Cristiano Ronaldo and just won the UEFA Nations League. While Germany is developing the next generation of world-class german players ready to take over Europe.
I feel really sorry for the playoff winner A, as they will most likely lose every game and not by a small number. They will be happy to make the tournament and hopefully try to ruin one the tournament’s favorites to reach the knockout rounds.
