NEWS AND FEATURES

ENGLAND: The Three Lions have been seeded among the top seeds for the Euro 2008 qualifying competition.

England will know who they will have to play when the draw is made in Switzerland.

England await draw

England have been made one of the top seeds by UEFA for the Euro 2008 draw which takes place next year.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's team are one of seven top seeds along with holders Greece, Sweden, France, the Czech Republic as Portugal and Holland.

As holders, the Greeks are automatically the top seeds but England's ranking is bettered only by that of the Dutch and Portuguese.

That means that the Three Lions could be drawn against the likes of Italy, Germany, Spain or Croatia in the qualifying competition, a mouthwatering prospect certain to capture the imagination of England's loyal supporters.

Austria and Switzerland, as host nations, qualify directly for the final tournament. The remaining 50 associations will be drawn into one group of eight and six groups of seven teams. The seven group winners and seven runners-up will qualify for the finals.

The sides have been split into seven pots, based on results achieved in the qualifying tournaments for Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The total number of points obtained has been divided by the total number of matches to give the coefficient rankings.

England have qualified for every European Championship since 1984, reaching the semi-finals in 1996 and the quarter-finals in last year's edition of the competition.

Euro 2008 - Qualifying Stage Draw