Germany in tough group

Renewing two of European football’s great rivalries, world champions Germany will play France and the Netherlands when the Nations League kicks off in September.

Germany coach Joachim Low wanted – and got – a tough group in yesterday’s draw for the newest national-team competition in world football.

“We weren’t lucky with the draw, thankfully,” Low joked after Uefa allocated 55 teams into 16 groups in four tiers.

The first Nations League also placed 2010 World Cup winners Spain in a group with England and Croatia. League A also grouped European champions Portugal with Italy and Poland, while Belgium drew Switzerland and Iceland.

In second-tier League B, new Wales coach Ryan Giggs and Ireland assistant boss Roy Keane are reunited in a group that also includes Denmark. Giggs and Keane were Manchester United team-mates.

Northern Ireland, also in League B, are in a group with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria.