What many are touting the ‘group of death’ at Euro 2020, Group F will certainly see some exciting clashes with France, Germany, Portugal and Hungary in the mix, with top managers leading their champion sides.
Portugal are the defending champions, having won both the previous European tournaments - UEFA Euro 2016 and 2018-19 UEFA Nations League, as France are the 2018 FIFA World Cup winners as well as being the runners-up in 2016 Euros, with Germany being the previous FIFA World Cup winners in 2014 along with the inaugural 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup winners.
Ahead of the start of the tournament, here are the profiles of the coaches of all the four teams:
PORTUGAL: FERNANDO SANTOS
A journeyman defender, Fernando Santos coached Portugal’s big three clubs (Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica), helped Portugal to the 2016 Euro and the inaugural UEFA Nations League. Santos led Greece to the 2012 Euro last-eight stage as well as the knockout stage at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for the first time ever.
Draw reaction: “It’s a difficult group, it has [the 2014 and 2018] world champions, one European champion – that says it all. It also features great players, and my team are great too. We will prepare well for this EURO and want to go into it with real confidence, looking to defend the title. That’s only happened once before, when Spain successfully defended the European crown [in 2012]. But we will be there so we have to fight for it."
FRANCE: DIDIER DESCHAMPS
Didier Deschamps will be hoping to register his second international double after he captained France to the title at the 1998 World Cup and again as the manager, he led them to World Cup glory in 2018 as manager. He again captained Les Blues to European Championship in 2002 and if he wins the 2020 Euro title, he will again make sure France are the World and European champions at the same time, like he did as the captain.
Draw reaction: “I think Fernando [Santos] and Joachim [Low] will be thinking the same as me. It’s obviously the toughest of all the groups. He’s cunning, that Fernando [Santos]. I know what he’s like. At the EURO as well, he thought France were the favourites to be crowned European champions [then Portugal beat us in the final]. We need to do our talking in the matches."
GERMANY: JOACHIM LOW
Joachim Low will be stepping down as the Die Mannschaft boss after spending 15 years in the job. Low had famously led Germany to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
At the 2008 edition, Low’s Germany lost to Spain in the final and lost to Italy in the Euro 2012 semi-final and again the semis in 2016 to France.
Draw reaction: “France, Portugal and Germany… interesting. I am looking forward to starting this championship. It’s also good for the fans: they want to have Germany against Portugal or France against Germany. Portugal and France have a lot of experience, they have very good players. It doesn’t matter for them where they are playing."
HUNGARY: MARCO ROSSI
Marco Rossi started his managerial career in 2004 with AC Lumezzane, and had experience of coaching in Italy, Hungary and Slovakia. Come June 2018, Rossi replaced Georges Leekens as Hungary national team manager, after winning the 2016-17 Nemzeti Bajnoksag I season with Budapest Honved FC. Rossi resigned at the end of the season with him being named as the manager best manager in the Hungarian top league, by saying that “you have to finish it when you are on the top”.
While most have already written Hungary off given the other three teams in the group but in the previous edition they topped their group, which also had the likes of Iceland and Portugal as well as arch-rivals Austria. They will keen again to spring a few surprises and create quite a few upsets this time around as well.
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