The die is cast and the qualification groups for Euro 2016 in France (10 June – 10 July 2016) are now set in stone. Germany have been drawn in Group D, where they will face attractive opposition in the form of Gibraltar, Georgia, Scotland, Poland and Republic of Ireland. Germany Head Coach Joachim Löw believes it to be an "interesting group" while Team Manager Oliver Bierhoff has stated his country’s intention to come top in qualifying. DFB.de took in the reactions to the draw.
Oliver Bierhoff, Team-Manager: "Our objective is certainly to top the group. So we won’t change our approach, even though the second-placed team in the group will also qualify. But of course at the moment we’re fully focused on the World Cup"
Wolfgang Niersbach, DFB President: "We’ll discuss the venues at the upcoming meeting on 21 March. Gibraltar’s representatives were really happy and both the Irish and the Scots will leave positive lasting impressions and empty beer glasses behind them in Germany."
Joachim Löw, Germany Head Coach: "It’s definitely an interesting group. There’ll certainly been a great atmosphere when we travel to Republic of Ireland and Scotland and we already know some of the Polish players from the Bundesliga. As for Gibraltar, I’ll approach the games with an open mind."
Gordon Strachan, Scotland Head Coach: "The Germans haven’t made any mistakes for 100 years now. For us it‘ll be all about trying to secure second place. I can’t say I know much about Gibraltar."
Allen Bula, Gibraltar Head Coach: "Obviously it’s a very tough group for us. Everybody knows how good Germany are and the other teams in our group are very strong too. We were almost convinced that we’d be drawn against Spain. But football will eventually prevail over politics."
Adam Nawalka, Poland Head Coach: "Germany are obviously the favourites. But we want to do our best to qualify for the European Championships"
Martin O'Neill, Republic of Ireland Head Coach: "It’s a hard group, but it’s a very exciting one too. The games against Scotland will be fantastic experiences. We’ll approach the group with a positive mentality. If you take Germany out of the equation, then it’s a very balanced group."
Vicente del Bosque, Spain Head Coach: "The group is not as easy as people might think. We’ll be up against young and strong teams, and the cold temperatures at our away games could play a role."
[bild2]Roy Hodgson, England Head Coach: "I’m very happy with the draw and I’m particularly delighted for our fans, who’ve always had a long way to travel in recent years. We’ve been drawn against attractive opposition, and I’m particularly looking forward to the games against Switzerland."
Didier Deschamps, France Head Coach: "Now we know who we´ve got. The matches against Portugal will be interesting, and Serbia and Denmark are good sides too."
Vladimir Petković, future Switzerland Head Coach: "It’s an interesting group for the players, the coaches and the fans. Our team is young and fearless."
Niko Kovac, Croatia Head Coach: "I’m very happy with the draw. Italy are the heavy favourites for me, but all of the other teams are strong competitors too."
Paulo Bento, Portugal Head Coach: "It’s not an easy group. But we’ll give it all we’ve got and obviously we want to qualify."