Fighting for life in the Group of Death

PICTURE: ACTION IMAGES

When Marco van Basten unrolled the slip that read “Germany” during the draw last December, the die was cast.

Group B, comprising the Germans, Holland, Portugal and Denmark, would be the Group of Death of Euro 2012.

But it's not the most extreme case. The 1982 World Cup's Group C, which had Brazil, Italy and Argentina, is considered the toughest ever.

More recently, the 2002 World Cup also threw up an exciting grouping with England, Argentina, Nigeria and Sweden in Group F.

It was so tight, no team won more than one game. And in a dramatic match, David Beckham (above) erased memories of his sending-off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup by scoring the winner against the same opponents from the spot.