5105 Memories of Groups of Death

by : Hugh Larkin

The draw for Euro 2008 threw up yet another unfeasibly tough section, almost immediately given the title Group of Death. These sections have become a feature of the publicity for modern tournaments.

Has their always been a Group of Death? The first time I can recall hearing the phrase was at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and it had a British interest. Scotland under Alex Ferguson found themselves in a section containing West Germany, Uruguay and Denmark.

It was a classic of its type because the Danes came into the competition with a lowly seeding as this was their first ever appearance. Yet this side was a brilliant collection of talents as they proved when they hammered Uruguay 6-1.

Scotland had a decent squad but were left in fourth place after a final game shootout with Uruguay who lost a man after 55 seconds and then proceeded to shut up shop with ghastly efficiency for the whole of the match.

Before 1986 there were certainly draws that merited the ‘Death’ moniker but some only gain it in retrospect. At the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany, England’s conquerors Poland lined up with Argentina and Italy with Haiti as makeweights.

At least in England, the Poles were viewed as somewhat lucky qualifiers and not expected to make too much impact on the tournament. In the event, the team led by the imperious Kazimierz Deyna swept through with maximum points and eliminated the Italians on the way. Eventually the Poles finished third, only bested by the hosts.

With 32 sides going to the World Cup these days the capacity for these lop sided groups has diminished but there was certainly one last summer in Germany. The Ivory Coast battled through to the first Finals only to get dumped in a section with Argentina, Holland and Serbia/Montenegro.

The Ivorians won many plaudits and could probably have progressed from almost any other section. They will be hoping to make it South Africa in 2010 and receive a more favourable draw.

The Euro Championships are still limited to 16 competing teams and with the number of top class nations in Europe there’s always more opportunity to dump some of them in a section to be avoided. The tendency to find a favourable place for the hosts also seems to influence matters.

At Euro 2000, while England sweated and ultimately failed in their modest section, Holland, France, the Czech Republic and Denmark were slugging it out in Group D. The Czechs had been finalists in 1996, France were the reigning World Champions and the Dutch were the hosts which didn't do them much good on this occasion (it was Belgium as co-hosts who got a friendly section).

At Euro 2004 the Czechs and Dutch (who seem to be following each other around since the Millennium) were paired again in Group D and this time Germany were thrown in with them.

The Germans were still in the trough that began for them around 2000 but would have fancied their chances in most groups. However, both the Czechs and Dutch went on to the semi-finals and were generally considered the two best sides in the competition until the dour Greeks and inspired Portuguese intervened. Germany’s failure to make the last eight brought the emergency call to Jurgen Klinsmann.

And it happens all around the globe too. At the 2004 South American Championships in Peru the hosts were placed in Group A with Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela- no surprise to see the Peruvians emerge from this modest collection.

Meanwhile Group B was contested by the collective might of Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Ecuador; all four nations had been qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup while none of the sides in Peru’s group had made it to the Far East.