Joachim Low says Germany have no room for error after being drawn against Poland, Ukraine and Northern Ireland in Euro 2016 Group C.
The World Cup champions will try to win their first continental title since 1996, but Low said they must first focus on the group stage, which the nation failed to escape in 2000 and 2004.
"We have a rather balanced group which we have to win," Low said. "We will concentrate from the very first game.
"Poland are a great side but Ukraine and Northern Ireland can be difficult to play against, with their counters and strong defending.
"We are the favourites and want to win the group."
Poland were again drawn with Germany after they faced off in the qualifying campaign. The two sides were also in the same group at Euro 2008 when Germany beat their Eastern neighbours 2-0 in their opening game.
"It's a strong group, it has no weak teams," Poland coach Adam Nawalka said. "We mainly wanted opponents we already knew.
Germany and Poland each won their home qualifying fixture against the other.
"I did not mind drawing the Germans once again," Nawalka said. "They're a top-tier side, but we played well. The team were prepared for them in each qualifier, so they also will be in Paris."
Northern Ireland coach Michael O'Neill said his minnows would rely on their defending to see them through against some powerful strike forces.
"In many ways it's a good challenge because our strongest options are at centre-back -- we've got three Premier League centre-backs, and they will relish the challenge of playing against Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski," O'Neill said.
"There are a lot of positives we take into the tournament. We actually won our group, we didn't come through a play-off. People overlook that and we go into this tournament with everything to gain."
He also told the BBC: "At the end of the draw the chief executive said to me, 'Well you have to beat Germany if you want to win the tournament,' and of course that was slightly tongue in cheek, but everybody's looking forward to it."
Ukraine FA president Andriy Pavelko said he was glad to draw Germany in the group stage so they would be unlikely to meet them in the knockout rounds.
"Whether we have a good group or not, only the results will tell," Pavelko said. "What is good is that should we progress, we would not have to play Germany or Poland until the final.
"What we have to do now is ensure Ukraine have the best possible conditions to prepare for the finals."