Julian Nagelsmann can afford to take a quick sideways look at the upcoming European Championship draw as he prepares for the final tournament test in 2023 in Austria.
The successful qualification of the supposedly five strongest teams is good news for the national coach. After Portugal and France, Spain also secured their place in the first draw at the European Championship ceremony on December 2nd in Hamburg with their 3-1 win against Georgia and Belgium’s 5-0 win against Azerbaijan on Sunday evening. Both of them had already secured their EM ticket.
It is pretty certain that England will also make it clear that they are in the best pot in the last game on Tuesday in North Macedonia. One thing is certain: Germany will not face any of these opponents in the European Championship group phase, all of whom are among the favorites to win the tournament. As hosts, Germany is seeded as the head of Group A in position 1 and will play its first three games on June 14th in the opening game in Munich, on June 19th in Stuttgart and on June 23rd in Frankfurt.
However, a complicated group cannot be ruled out for Nagelsmann. The Netherlands and Italy, assuming the defending champions qualify, remain potential early contenders. Neither of them even makes it into the second best pot. A reunion with Austria is also possible for the DFB team next summer. Coach Ralf Rangnick’s Austria team will be represented in pot 2 as the best runner-up in the group.
