It allows them to feel equally optimistic about progress to the knock-out stages without fear that their meeting in the second group game in Lens is a win-or-bust showdown.
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The World Cup holders will be fancied to finish top of a group also containing Ukraine and outsiders Northern Ireland, but coach Joachim Loew is not taking anything for granted.
The ex-West Brom boss took over less than two months before Euro 2012, replacing Capello as manager, and led the country to the quarter-finals, where they lost to Italy on penalties.
Mamadou Sakho’s France are in Group A, with the hosts alongside Romania, Albania and Switzerland, while Adam Bogdan will aim to be in the Hungary party that is in Group F along with Portugal, Austria and Iceland. “Whichever teams we got in that pot would have been tough, so why not have a tough one close to home?”
You’d still expect England to qualify from the group, but you look at what they did back at the World Cup and you just don’t know for sure.
An immediate thought among many English sports fans was plain enough.
England’s team, incidentally, was far from weak: Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Thompson, Glenn Hoddle and Trevor Brooking were among their starting XI.
“It was more to do with the hype surrounding the game”.
Coleman said: “They broke our hearts that day and I still remember that feeling of losing in the play-offs”.
Northern Ireland were handed a tricky draw in Group C.
“Two good teams, obviously, and for them to win 10 games in their qualifying was fantastic”. “Roy has had two tournaments, he was very early for the first Euros and then he has had the World Cup, he has learned a lot and he has great global experience”.
Wales begin with a match against Slovakia, captained by Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel.
The opener for England is against Russian Federation in the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
The Russia coach, Leonid Slutsky, said: “England will be favourites”.
The toughest pool appears to be in Group E, where Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden and Italy will be battling it out in France next summer for a spot in the knockout phase.
“The Republic of Ireland took four points off Germany (in qualifying) so that gives us hope – we beat the Republic 6-0 in a behind closed doors game recently so we did!”
As for the Republic of Ireland, they have done brilliantly to get to the finals – it was their spirit that saw them through in the end. It is also the first time they have made it to the European Championship.
“Sweden have Ibrahimovic and everything hinges on him”.
“It couldn’t be tougher”, said O’Neill.
“Payback – my son texted me that immediately after the draw: payback”.
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He also suggested being a top seed wasn’t overly beneficial, saying: “There’s no advantage being in pot one other than avoiding teams like Spain and Germany”.
