Scotland boss Steve Clarke is reading nothing into Germany’s struggles heading into Euro 2024, warning the tournament hosts are “always on it” when it comes to major finals.
Scotland will have the eyes of the continent on them on June 14 next year when they take on Germany in the tournament’s opening match in Munich.
Germany failed to get out of their group at the World Cup in Qatar, with a 2-1 defeat to Japan contributing to their exit. A 4-1 loss to the same opponents in a friendly in September cost Hansi Flick his job.
Results have been mixed since, with former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann succeeding Flick at the helm.
But Clarke does not see Germany as a vulnerable opponent in any way, shape or form. They are three-time Euro winners with a further four World Cup titles to boot.
“When Germany get to the finals of a major tournament they are always on it,” Clarke told the PA news agency.
“I don’t think it will be a poor Germany team, I think it will be a very, very good Germany side.”
Clarke’s team are also up against Hungary and Switzerland in Group A, as they aim to become the first Scotland side to go beyond the first stage of a finals tournament.
“The first thing for us to do is just to prepare properly,” Clarke said.
“Make sure we’re competitive, play as well as we can in the games and then after that we’ll count on the points and see if we’ve got enough.”
Clarke’s team qualified with two matches to spare, finishing second in their group behind Spain but ahead of a Norway side infused with the star quality of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard.
“I think what impressed me most about this group of players (in qualification) is that they want to be competitive every time they go out there,” he said.
“We want to continue to improve – they feel as though they can improve a little bit more and hopefully between now and next summer, we do improve and we can be very competitive in Germany.”
Rob Page has called on his Wales team to give their supporters the chance to enjoy the Euro 2024 experience.
Wales are still two wins away from qualification but now know that if they can make it to the tournament they face mouthwatering matches against the Netherlands, Austria and France in Group D.
Page and his team will have home backing from the ‘Red Wall’ for their play-off semi against Finland on March 21 and the final against either Poland or Estonia on March 26 should they progress.
He wants his players to be buoyed on by the thought of setting up a Welsh party in Germany after challenging assignments for the fans at the last two major tournaments.
“Off the back of 2016 we’ve had Euro 2020, but because of Covid we were limited with travel,” he told the PA news agency.
“The World Cup (in Qatar last year) was very difficult for our supporters to get to, and respect to the supporters who got out there.
“For them to have a tournament that is close by, well organised, you know what the tournament is going to be like. For our supporters to experience that will be an extra bit of incentive to go and get the results (in March).”
Wales and France have faced each other six times before but never competitively, while Wales have lost all 10 of their previous encounters with the Dutch.
Nevertheless, Page is relishing the matches facing his side if they can make it to Germany.
“When you dream of becoming a footballer as a kid, you want to play against top teams, you want to play against top players, and those teams that are drawn in that group certainly fall into the category,” he said.
“They’re the best teams in Europe and well respected in world football and rightly so.
“For us to get there will be a big achievement and to look forward to playing those teams is incredible for the players again.”
Page also believes playing such big competitive matches less than three months before the finals will stand his team in good stead.
“I think so. It’s important that we strip the emotion out of it, I thought we handled (the World Cup play-offs for Qatar) really well and the big players on the occasion stepped up and delivered,” he added.
“It’s a different team, a different squad, we’re in transition. I’m trying to introduce some of the young players in like Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson.
“We will be fully focused on March to get the games won, but what a carrot that (draw) is.”
Wales’ first match would be a 2pm UK time kick-off against the Netherlands on Sunday, June 16 should they make it, before facing Austria at 5pm UK time on June 21.
A match against France at 5pm UK time on June 25 would round off the group campaign.
Rangers have expressed “regret” at the fans’ pyrotechnics display at Dens Park last month as they warned of potential sanctions against the club if further incidents occur.
The cinch Premiership game against Dundee on November 1 was delayed by 45 minutes after the Gers team bus was held up in traffic and then suspended for 18 minutes after the travelling supporters let off a large number of flares that triggered fire alarms under the stand.
Rangers have been subject to an SPFL investigation and ahead of the home game against St Mirren on Sunday, a Rangers statement read: “As everyone at Rangers FC prepares for a massive month of fixtures, the club reminds supporters the use of pyrotechnics is not only dangerous, but also illegal within sports stadia.
“Supporters who bring pyrotechnic devices to football matches are at risk of arrest and put the club at risk of football sanctions.
“Rangers regrets the display of pyrotechnics at Dens Park last month, which resulted in a fire alarm triggering and our match with Dundee FC being temporarily suspended.
“This led to an investigation by the SPFL and has put Rangers in a position where a repeat has the potential for the club to be subject to disciplinary action.
“Rangers will continue to engage positively with the SPFL, Scottish FA, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government on this matter.
“The club thanks all our supporters for their fantastic, ongoing support during this busy spell of matches.”
Gabriel Martinelli is determined to ensure Arsenal stay at the Premier League summit after the Gunners’ narrow victory over Wolves guaranteed them top spot heading into the midweek fixtures.
Mikel Arteta’s side ran out 2-1 winners at the Emirates Stadium as early strikes from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were enough to seal the points despite a nervy end after Matheus Cunha halved the deficit late on.
Having moved top with victory at Brentford the previous weekend, the Gunners are now where they want to be.
Last season Arsenal were top of the table for 248 days before being caught by eventual champions Manchester City in the closing stages.
It is the longest period a side has been at the Premier League summit without going on to win the title – and this time Martinelli does not want any slip ups.
“We know we are top of the Premier League now,” he said.
“We want to be there; we want to be top of the Premier League for the rest of the season. We’ll try our best.
“We tried our best (against Wolves), we kept going, we didn’t start to play like it was already won.
“As I said, we tried our best to score another goal, but we didn’t score. But the most important thing is three points.”
Wolves have already beaten City and Tottenham this season and recovered from two early blows to run Arsenal close.
Gary O’Neil’s side have amassed 15 points from their 14 games to date and host Burnley on Tuesday night.
“We need to keep working because on Tuesday we have another game and we need to think positive and prepare the next game well. We play at home, so we will go with everything,” said Toti.
The centre-back also felt Wolves put in a good shift in north London, despite ultimately coming away empty-handed.
“We knew we were having a tough match,” he told the club’s official website.
“It’s not easy to come here, play against Arsenal and leave with a good result, but I think we did our best.
“It’s not easy to suffer those two goals at the beginning, but we had to stick together after those two goals so we could not concede more.”
Fairyhouse and Carlisle have been given the green light to race this afternoon, but the meetings at Leicester and Southwell have been lost to the cold weather.
Day two of the Fairyhouse Winter Festival, which features a trio of Grade One contests, has survived the threat of frost and a dense fog.
Clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan said: “The fog has lifted, even a little earlier than Met Eireann said it would, which is great.
“You can see the full length of the straight here now and you can also see right around Ballyhack.
“As you know, fog is a bit tricky and it can come and go, but at this point in time, we don’t envisage any more problems.
“We’re in a good place now and we’re all good to go.”
Sheridan had earlier reported on the IHRB Twitter site: “Thankfully, the frost didn’t set in overnight.
“The ground on both tracks is soft. We’ve a completely fresh hurdles and bumper track and we’ve seven or eight yards of fresh ground on the chase track.”
Parts of Cumbria were hit by heavy snowfall overnight but Carlisle passed an early-morning inspection, although racegoers have been warned to be careful on the surrounding roads.
Ramsgate striker Joe Taylor is hoping the Kent club’s own bit of ‘Crazy Gang’ spirit can help the eighth-tier side pull off an FA Cup shock against AFC Wimbledon on Monday night.
The Isthmian League South East Division pacesetters head to Plough Lane for the televised tie eyeing another upset after winning at Vanarama National League side Woking to book their place in the second round for the first time.
It is 35 years since Wimbledon beat Liverpool’s ‘Culture Club’ to lift the FA Cup trophy at Wembley, where captain Dave Beasant saved a penalty from John Barnes, the first goalkeeper to do so in a final.
With the since-reformed south-west London club now in Sky Bet League Two, it is Ramsgate who will take up the underdogs tag on Monday night, by which time the draw for the third round will have been made.
Taylor feels Ben Smith’s “tight-knit squad” can deliver another piece of FA Cup magic.
“We are quite a small squad of senior players and then we have got a group of young lads that have come through the academy,” Taylor told the PA news agency.
“They have sort of wrapped around us very nicely. It is a really good relationship.
“Obviously all of this cup stuff helps and we are up there in the league, so when you are winning, everyone is happy – but when times haven’t been so good, the group has been really good together.
“If we can get half of that ‘Crazy Gang’ spirit, then we would stand a good chance wouldn’t we?”
With nine goals so far in the competition, Taylor is in the race for this season’s Mitre Golden Ball Award, which recognises the top scorer in the FA Cup and gives players lower down the pyramid the opportunity to compete against Premier League stars.
Despite the extra attention on the Rams, Taylor is confident they can stay focussed to deliver the required performance at Plough Lane.
“In the last couple of weeks, we have had a lot of media (interest) and stuff that we are not used to, then we have had some really important league games during that time,” he said.
“The manager sort of banned any FA Cup talk – then he brought the TV cameras into the changing room and they were following us around everywhere!
“But we have managed to win all the (league) games and then drew a tough one (at Cray Valley).
“We are sitting up there in the league and we have had all of this going on as well, so the focus has been good actually.”
Taylor added: “We are no stranger to an upset now. I think the last four teams we have played have been higher league opposition.
“We sort of suit that (underdog) tag pretty nicely and we have all bought into that.
“Let’s be frank, Wimbledon are a better side than us, they are full-time, but we know our qualities and our strengths, so we are ready to give it a go.”
Eddie Howe is confident there is more to come from Anthony Gordon as he attempts to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals.
The 22-year-old, a £45million signing from Everton in January, scored for the fourth successive Premier League game at St James’ Park to secure a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday night to further enhance his blossoming reputation.
Howe has studiously avoided pressing Gordon’s case for a senior international call-up, but knows further improvement will inevitably catapult him into Southgate’s thinking.
Asked how much more there is to come from the youngster, Howe said: “I think there is a lot more to come, but I would say that, that’s always been my mentality to players, especially if they want to improve.
“Anthony has got this desire to get better every day. Every day he steps on to the training pitch, he’s wanting to do extra. We have to sometimes take him off the pitch ourselves when we feel he’s done enough.
“But he’s got a burning motivation to be the best that he’s capable of becoming and we’re loving working with him.
“There’s an openness in him, he is inquisitive, he wants to ask questions, he wants to start that dialogue and debate his game which is great from our perspective.”
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Gordon’s 55th-minute intervention proved decisive on the night as he timed his run to meet Kieran Trippier’s inviting cross and slot past keeper Andre Onana.
He also scored the winner against Arsenal on November and registered against both Crystal Palace and Chelsea to underline his rich vein of form.
Asked if his consistent level of performance put him in contention for England’s Euros campaign, Howe said: “I’d agree that he’s playing at a very, very high level and he has done this season. When you’ve come here to watch Anthony, that’s been his level.
“He is getting the goals and you need the headlines if you are going to force your way into the England squad with the competition that he has in those positions.
“There’s a long way to go to that squad and he’s just got to keep very level and focused on playing so well for us, and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
The only sour note for Newcastle was an injury to keeper Nick Pope, who is to see a specialist after dislocating his left shoulder late in the game.
Howe said: “That’s the disappointment of the night. Nick looks like he’s dislocated his shoulder. It was such a strange thing, really, because he has made that dive thousands of times, but it looks like the arm has kept going maybe on the moist floor and his shoulder has come out of joint.
“We’re going to have to seek specialist opinion and see what happens, but it doesn’t look good for him.”
Harry Maguire has warned Manchester United their need to be more aggressive if they are to achieve their ambitions for the season.
Erik ten Hag’s men slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday evening – their third successive loss in all competitions against the Magpies – and were decidedly second-best until they very nearly snatched a point they really did not deserve amid a late rally.
England defender Maguire, who was one of their better players on the night, admitted as much in the wake of a disappointing display and called for a reaction against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.
He told the club’s official website: “We know we’ve got to do better, we’ve got to play better, the team’s got to perform better.
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“We’ve got to play with a lot more intensity and tempo. We’ve got to win more duels – I feel that in the first half, we lost far too many duels. Every 50-50, we got beat in.
“We’ve got to be aggressive, we’ve got to play on the front foot, we’ve got to play at a big tempo and we just didn’t do that well enough tonight.”
Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute strike ultimately settled the game at St James’ Park, although Kieran Trippier had earlier hit the crossbar with a fine free-kick.
The visitors thought they had snatched a draw at the death when substitute Antony’s shot was unwittingly deflected into the Magpies’ net by Maguire, but he was in an offside position and the flag went up swiftly to dash their hopes.
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Maguire, who played in both last weekend’s 3-0 win at Everton and the 3-3 Champions League draw at Galatasaray, said: “The boys are disappointed. I don’t think we played to our level.
“It’s been a tough week – three away games in six days – but we don’t use that as an excuse. We didn’t play well enough, especially in the first half.
“We grew into the game in the second half and maybe could have got the point. We put a lot of pressure on them in the last 10 or 15 minutes but it wasn’t enough and, in the end, you’ve got to say Newcastle deserved it.
“We allowed them to get into our box far too easily, so it’s something that we need to work on – all of us as a team.”
The Arizona Coyotes continued an impressive stretch with their fourth straight win on Saturday, as Alex Kerfoot had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Michael Carcone scored for the fourth time in three games and Connor Ingram stopped 31 shots to give Arizona four consecutive wins, all against the last four Stanley Cup champions – Colorado (2022), Tampa Bay (2020-21), Vegas (2023) and St. Louis (2019).
Carcone, Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli scored and the Coyotes limited the Blues to three shots in a dominant first period.
Brandon Saad spoiled Ingram’s shutout bid midway through the third before Kerfoot sealed the win with an empty net goal with 1:15 left.
Stars pound struggling Lightning
Jason Robertson scored twice and the Dallas Stars matched a season high in goals in an 8-1 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists and Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment each added a goal and an assist as Dallas improved to 7-2-2 in its last 11 games.
The Stars also scored eight goals in an 8-3 win at Minnesota on Nov. 12.
Tampa Bay has lost a season-high four straight and had to replace Andrei Vasilevskiy after two periods. He allowed six goals on 25 shots in his fourth start since returning last week following offseason back surgery.
Marchand lifts Bruins over Maple Leafs in OT
Brad Marchand scored with eight seconds left in overtime to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Linus Ullmark made 37 saves to help Boston win its second straight following three consecutive regulation losses.
Marchand snapped an eight-game goal drought with his eighth goal of the season.
Auston Matthews had a pair of goals for Toronto, his second coming with six seconds left in regulation.
Mikal Bridges scored 26 of his 42 points in the first quarter to help the Brooklyn Nets snap the Orlando Magic’s franchise record-tying nine-game winning streak with a 129-101 victory on Saturday.
Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony each had 20 points for the Magic, who were bidding for the first 10-game win streak in team history but never caught up after Brooklyn opened a 43-22 lead after 12 minutes.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 points and Cam Thomas contributed 20 for the Nets, who sent Orlando to its first loss since Nov. 14 and won for the fourth time in five games.
Bridges’ 26 points were the most in the opening period of any game since Dallas’ Luka Dončić had 28 against the Clippers in the 2021-22 season.
The Magic trimmed the deficit to 89-80 with 2:37 left in the third quarter, but Dinwiddie answered by outscoring Orlando 9-5 to increase Brooklyn’s lead to 98-85 heading into the fourth quarter.
Thunder rally past Mavericks after allowing 30-0 run
Jalen Williams led eight players in double figures with 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 126-120 despite allowing an NBA-record 30-0 run in the fourth quarter.
The franchise-record surge took the Mavericks from a 111-87 deficit to a 117-111 lead with 4:18 remaining. Dallas led 120-116 before Oklahoma City scored the game’s final 10 points, the first four by Chet Holmgren.
Luka Doncic returned after missing one game following the birth of his daughter and notched his 59th career regular-season triple-double with 36 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds in a season-high 46 minutes.
Hot-shooting Pacers beat Heat
Despite playing without leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers shot a blistering 66 percent from the field in a 144-129 win over the Miami Heat.
Obi Toppin led six players in double digits with 22 points and T.J. McConnell added 20 and 11 assists off the bench for Indiana, which connected on 56 of 85 from the field for 65.9 percent, the second-best rate in team history.
The Pacers shot 67 percent against Minnesota on Oct. 24, 2017.
Jimmy Butler scored 33 points as Miami clearly missed Bam Adebayo on the defensive end. Adebayo has a bruised left hip and isn’t expected to play again until Friday against Cleveland at the earliest.
Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or on this day in 2018, marking the first time since 2007 the award did not go to either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder broke the stranglehold placed on France Football’s prestigious award by Messi and Ronaldo in the previous decade at a ceremony in Paris.
Argentina forward Messi and former Real team-mate Ronaldo and had each won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions since Brazilian Kaka did so in 2007.
In his acceptance speech, Modric said: “It’s a unique feeling. I am happy, proud and honoured. I have sensational emotions at the moment that are really hard to describe in words.
“First of all, I would like to thank my team-mates and coaches at Real Madrid and all the people who work for Real Madrid, all my coaches and team-mates with the national team, all those who voted for me and of course, my family, my wife and kids.
“They are fulfilling me as a person and helping me in all aspects to be successful as a professional.
“As a kid, we all have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club, to win important trophies. I dreamed about it, but the Ballon d’Or was more than a childhood dream for me and it’s a real honour and a privilege to hold this trophy.”
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Modric’s recognition was reward for a fine 12 months during which he helped his club lift the Champions League for the third successive season before playing a key role in Croatia’s surge to the 2018 World Cup final.
He won the Golden Ball for his contribution in Russia and was named the Best FIFA Footballer of the Year, and was the first Croatian to claim the Ballon d’Or.
Modric, now 38, is still playing for Real Madrid and helped his country to the World Cup semi-finals last year in Qatar.
Eddie Howe saluted one of Newcastle’s best performances of the season after watching them beat Manchester United to end a gruelling week on a high.
Four days after suffering late heartache in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Paris St Germain, having dispatched Premier League rivals Chelsea 4-1 before heading for France, the Magpies secured a 1-0 league victory over the men from Old Trafford at St James’ Park.
Asked if that represented the perfect ending to a testing week, head coach Howe said: “Yes it is. I think that’s one of our best performances of the season, for me.
“I thought we were very, very good on and off the ball and when you consider the week we’ve had and the difficult games we’ve had, the end of the game in Paris, what a response from the group of players.”
Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute strike from Kieran Trippier’s cross ultimately secured the points on a night when Newcastle largely dominated without reward until his intervention.
Having been robbed of victory by a contentious stoppage-time penalty in Paris, they were spared further pain when Harry Maguire inadvertently turned Antony’s shot past substitute goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, but from an offside position.
Gordon has now scored in each of his last four league games on Tyneside and taken his tally for the season to six goals to reap the rewards of his hard work on the training pitch.
Howe said: “He himself has really worked on that.
“I’m really pleased because I thought he played really well at the start of the season, but every attacker needs to score, needs to have that feeling and that confidence that that brings.
“It elevates your game, not just the goals, but he’s getting assists as well. He’s involved in match-winning moments.
“I thought he played really well again today. It was a really good cross from Kieran, a good team move and a good finish.”
The only disappointment for Howe was that goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has played such a key role in the club’s recent success, suffered a dislocated shoulder late in the game and may now need surgery.
Asked how long he might be sidelined, the 46-year-old said: “It’s too early to say. He was in pain when the shoulder was out of its joint. It’s been put back in now and he feels much more comfortable.
“We’ll seek specialist opinion, but it doesn’t look good.”
It proved a difficult night for the visitors, who have now lost to the Magpies in their last three encounters and rarely looked like avoiding that fate until a late flurry.
Manager Erik ten Hag said: “Today we have to say ‘credit to Newcastle’. After the start, where we could have scored with (Alejandro) Garnacho, they were better than us, they were more proactive.
“We had to go back, we had to defend and we did that. We allowed them one goal, but at the end, we fought back, we had two good opportunities, but unluckily we could not take a point from here.”
England international Marcus Rashford in particular cut a frustrated figure and was replaced by Rasmus Hojlund with 29 minutes remaining.
Asked about Rashford’s form, Ten Hag said: “He works hard and he is investing a lot. He will get back, he will recover and he’s got all our support.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui will roll back the years when they square off in the UK Snooker Championship final in York on Sunday.
Their clash comes 30 years after O’Sullivan reached his first UK final as a 17-year-old in 1993, while Ding’s first taste of UK glory came in 2005 when he saw off four-time winner Steve Davis at the age of 18.
The pair came through their respective semi-finals in contrasting circumstances on Saturday, with O’Sullivan easing past Hossein Vafaei 6-2, while Ding held his nerve to deny Judd Trump with a 6-4 win in the evening session.
O’Sullivan and Ding – still the two youngest winners of the prestigious trophy – boast 10 UK titles between them and the world number one quipped that he was motivated by the desire to deny his rivals the chance of more silverware.
“I’m just hanging around so people don’t get as good as a career as me,” joked O’Sullivan, who ruthlessly exploited a series of costly errors from his Iranian opponent to seal by far his most comfortable victory of a gruelling week.
“If I could stop (Mark) Selby winning a few and Judd winning a few, and Ding and (Neil) Robertson winning a few – just ruin their careers a little bit – that would be great. Sometimes that’s just a nice motivation to play.”
O’Sullivan, who had previously laboured through final-frame deciders against Robert Milkins and Zhou Yuelong, was still far from his best but managed to ruthlessly exploit a string of errors by Vafaei, who spurned a good chance in five of the six frames won by his opponent.
“I feel as fresh as a daisy,” added a revitalised O’Sullivan afterwards.
“These tournaments are not a problem. I can do it quite comfortably. I’m still happy to have got this far, it’s great and I have enjoyed my week.”
Sunday’s clash will also see a repeat of last year’s quarter-final when Ding dealt out a rare 6-0 whitewash to O’Sullivan before going on to the final, where he surrendered a 6-1 lead to fall 10-7 to Mark Allen.
The Chinese 36-year-old, who also won the tournament in 2009 and 2019, had arrived in York considering withdrawal due to a serious bout of ‘flu, but like O’Sullivan, had managed to chisel out final-frame wins over Allen, then Mark Williams in Friday’s last eight.
Trump, also clearly still feeling the effects of illness, had reached the last four despite playing far from his best and will have been motivated by the possibility of facing O’Sullivan in the final with the title and the world number one ranking also at stake.
Trump started well with two centuries in the first eight frames but he could not shake off the dogged Ding, with the pair locked together at 4-4 before Ding nudged through a tense ninth to put himself one frame from victory.
Trump had the first chance to stretch the tie into another decider but jawed a relatively-simple red to middle and Ding stepped in with a nerveless 84 clearance to black, including a stunning long red after straying out of position, to seal his swift return in the final.
Ding, who routinely saves his best form for York, admitted such a scenario had seemed impossible when he was ailing midway through his first-round match against Allen.
“A lot of fans were watching and I just wanted to finish it – it didn’t matter how well I played, maybe I lost and would go home, I’d just try my best,” he admitted.
Of his win over Trump, Ding added: “It was a very tough match and the last few reds were a bit scrappy, but to pot that long red and go on to win the frame is saying something to myself.
“I hadn’t seen myself playing like that for a long time.”
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente believes La Roja have received the toughest draw for the group stage of Euro 2024, having been handed games against Italy, Croatia and Albania.
As one of five teams with the best records across the qualification groups, Spain joined hosts Germany, as well as England, France, Portugal and Belgium in pot one for Saturday's draw in Hamburg.
That did not stop them being handed a tough set of opponents, however, with reigning champions Italy and 2022 World Cup bronze medallists Croatia joining La Roja and Albania in Group B.
Spain are the only team to win back-to-back editions of the Euros, triumphing in 2008 and 2012, and excluding penalty shoot-outs, they have only lost two of their last 22 matches at the Euros, winning 13 and drawing seven.
The only two teams to beat La Roja at the tournament during that time are Croatia and Italy, both of whom did so in 2016.
While De la Fuente says there is no such thing as a straightforward group, he believes Spain will face a particularly difficult challenge in Germany.
"The level is very high. All the groups are tough, complex, but ours may be the highest level," the Spain boss told reporters at Saturday's draw ceremony.
"There are other complicated ones, like France and the Netherlands [in Group D], but I think ours is the most complex.
"We are playing in a European Championship, and we all know that the difficulty is at the maximum, including for teams playing against Spain.
"But that will make us concentrate from the first moment. We know perfectly how to play Italy and Croatia, and Albania are a very dangerous team.
"Italy was not in the favourites' pot, but it was guaranteed that no one wanted them. Their potential is better than the moment they are going through."
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