Germany, Netherlands in same group for Euro 2020 qualifiers

DUBLIN: Former champions Germany and the Netherlands will meet again in qualifying for Euro 2020 after being paired together in Sunday’s draw in Dublin, but World Cup semi-finalists England have little to complain about.

The Germans were the most dangerous team in the second pot of seeds having been relegated from the top tier of the Nations League, in part due to a 3-0 defeat to the Dutch in October. Northern Ireland, Estonia and Belarus are the sides tasked with causing a huge upset in Group C.

However, with the top two teams in each of the 10 groups qualifying automatically for the 24-team tournament, which will be held for the first time across 12 different host countries, there is little prospect of any leading nation missing out. The remaining four places will be allocated via the Nations League play-offs.

“The group is typically tough,” said Germany head coach Joachim Loew, who is under pressure to bounce back after also crashing out at the group stage of the World Cup.

“The Netherlands and Germany are the favourites, but it

should be enough for both.”

A young Netherlands side are improving under Ronald Koeman after failing to qualify for both Euro 2016 and this year’s World Cup. And with Amsterdam one of the host cities, Koeman insisted qualifying rather than claiming another victory over Germany is his priority.

“If you look back how it was one year ago and how the public were with the national team, it is totally different at this stage,” said Koeman, who has led the

Netherlands to the final four of the Nations League.

The semi-finals and final will be played at Wembley, handing England a major incentive to win the European Championship for the first time after their run to the last four at this year’s World Cup.

There is little for Gareth Southgate’s side to fear in Group A alongside the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Kosovo. But Southgate called on his team to get used to dealing with high expectations.