Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman is satisfied with the Euro 2020 qualifying draw despite being paired with Germany once again.
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Oranje were among the top seeds for the draw on Sunday but were drawn with Germany, who Netherlands clashed with during the Nations League group stages. Northern Ireland, Estonia and Belarus completed group C.
Speaking to NOS, Koeman said after the draw that he was hoping to avoid Germany, “Germany was clearly the strongest country from Pot 2. We had not hoped for that, but we have little influence on it, do we? You know in the back of your mind that it can happen. The chance was small, but unfortunately. Fortunately, the first two countries go to the European Championships, so in that respect, it should not be a problem.
“One opponent may not cause a bad feeling. All in all this is a good draw, but again those Germans … Joachim Löw and I just had to laugh at each other.”
Koeman is satisfied overall with the draw, “For the rest – from Pot 3 – it’s a good draw. Because from that Pot 3, for example, we could also have Serbia, that would be the most unfortunate draw. There was also some difference in level between the countries in Pot 4 and Pot 5.”
Koeman admitted he didn’t know much about Northern Ireland, Belarus or Estonia, “We have a few months to prepare ourselves well. We have to wait and see what the first two matches will be, that is what we hear today. I had a player from Northern Ireland in my time at Southampton, that was Steven Davies. So I have a bit of an image of that, but not a very good picture. We have the time for that. “
The Euro qualifiers begin next March.
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Bizarre fixture list playing 2 at home to start with. Very important that Holland get at least 4 points from those 2 matches – they started the 2016 and 2018 WC qualifying campaigns with poor early results that set them on the wrong path, so they need to reverse that trend.
I would bet that the Belarus match will be in De Kuip and Germany in the ArenA (again). Its a shame because De Kuip is a tougher stadium for visitors to come to and the Dutch rarely drop points there. But money talks in football and the ArenA is both bigger and in a more affluent city.