Old friends and new in Euro 2012 draw
Sunday, 07 February, 2010
England will meet an old rival and a new opponent in Euro 2012 qualifying.
UEFA Euro 2012
Poland and Ukraine
Qualifying Draw
Group G England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Montenegro England will re-unite with one of their oldest rivals when they meet neighbours Wales in their UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, but they'll also face Montenegro for the very first time.
The Three Lions also take on Switzerland, who were Fabio Capello's first opponents as England manager almost two years ago to the day. The other Group G opponent will be Bulgaria, a side the Three Lions haven't played in eleven years.
England's Group G opponentsSwitzerlandHead Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld
England's record P20 W13 D4 L3
A 2-1 victory signalled the start of Fabio Capello's reign as England Manager when the Three Lions last played against Switzerland. Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips hit the goals, either side of Eren Derdiyok's equaliser. The nations also met at the European Championship Finals in 2004 (3-0 win) and 1996 (1-1 draw). Switzerland's last triumph over England was back in a World Cup qualifier in 1981 in Basel.
Under current coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, twice winner of the UEFA Champions League in charge of Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Switzerland have reached the World Cup Finals in South Africa as winner of Group 2.
BulgariaHead Coach Stanimir Kolev Stoilov
England's record P8 W4 D4 L0
It's eleven years since England last faced Bulgaria during their qualification for Euro 2000. But both matches in that campaign ended even, with Alan Shearer scoring the Three Lions' goal in a 1-1 draw in Sofia, while the match at Wembley a year earlier finished goalless.
England are yet to lose to the Bulgarians in eight meetings. Their last win was at Wembley in a 1996 friendly when Les Ferdinand hit the only goal of the game. Bulgaria missed out on a place in this summer's World Cup, finishing third in Group 8, four points behind runners-up Republic of Ireland.
WalesHead Coach John Toshack
England's record P99 W64 D21 L14
Joe Cole scored the only goal of the game when England last met Wales at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in September 2005. It was their second meeting in their qualifying group for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
David Beckham and Frank Lampard struck a year earlier when Sven-Goran Eriksson's team beat the Welsh 2-0 at Old Trafford in the first game between the two nations in over 20 years.
England have played Wales one short of 100 times, dating back to January 1879. The Three Lions have the edge with 64 wins and only 14 defeats.
MontenegroHead Coach Zlatko Kranjcar
No previous record with EnglandThe Three Lions are yet to face Montenegro at senior level, but their new manager will no doubt be familiar with England. Croatian Zlatko Zranjcar only took charge of the national team on 5 February 2010, but he will no doubt have seen his son, Spurs midfielder Niko, score at Wembley to help knock England out of contention for a place in Euro 2008 Finals.
England's Under-21s have taken on Montenegro before. In their Euro 2009 qualification campaign Matt Derbyshire was on target in a 1-0 win at Leicester, while Nedum Onuoha, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andrew Surman were the scorers in a 3-0 victory away in Podgorica.
Montenegro will line up in qualifying with Bulgaria once again. the two countries were in Group 8 for the 2010 World Cup.
Details of fixture dates will be announced in due course.