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<p>The Netherlands will join holders Greece and co-hosts Switzerland and Austria in Pot 1 for the UEFA EURO 2008™ final-round draw in Lucerne on 2 December.</p><p><strong>Coefficient order</strong><br/>With the two co-host nations already occupying positions A1 and B1 in the draw, European champions Greece join the side with the highest coefficient from 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, the Netherlands, in Pot 1. The remaining pots have been filled in order of coefficient. The teams in Pot 2 will be Croatia, world champions Italy, the Czech Republic and Sweden, with Romania, Germany, Portugal and Spain in Pot 3. The final pot contains UEFA European Championship finals newcomers Poland, France, Turkey and Russia.</p><p><strong>Competition cycle</strong><br/>\"The system is based on the results of the qualifying competitions – a cycle of two competitions, that is to say one EURO qualifying competition and one World Cup qualifying competition,\" explained UEFA\'s professional football director Giorgio Marchetti. \"The coefficients are drawn up by dividing the total number of points earned by each team during the two qualifying competitions by the number of matches played. From this point of view, the system is simple, transparent and objective, there is no interference.<br/><br/><b>Same coefficient<br/></b>\"In the case that teams have the same coefficient over the two qualifying competitions – which is the case for Romania and Germany, and Turkey and Russia – we apply the coefficient over the last competition [EURO], the average goal difference of the last competition, the average number of goals scored, average number of away goals scored and finally, if everything is still equal, we would draw lots. <br/><b><br/>Four top seeds</b><br/>\"The UEFA ranking has been constantly and consistently applied in this way over the past few editions of the European Championship,\" Marchetti said. \"The hosts and the reigning champions are always seeded, and this is the case for 2008 – the hosts are Switzerland and Austria, Greece is the third top seed as 2004 European champions, and the top team in the ranking is the fourth top seed.\" With constant improvement in mind, a UEFA review of its coefficient ranking system is under way for future EURO competitions. </p><p><strong>Draw procedure</strong><br/>Under the draw procedure, host associations Switzerland and Austria will be allocated into positions A1 and B1 respectively. The draw will start with Pot 1 in order to fill the first position in each group. A first ball will be drawn from Pot 1 and the drawn team placed into the first position in Group C. Thereafter, the second ball from Pot 1 will be drawn and the respective team will be placed into the first position of Group D.</p><p><strong>Draw continues</strong><br/>The draw will then continue with Pot 4 and ends with Pot 2. A ball will be drawn from Pot 4 and placed into Group A. In order to determine the position of the side within the group and the fixtures order, a ball will be drawn from Pot a (either A2, A3 or A4). Moving to Group B, another team will be drawn from Pot 4. Once again, to determine the position of the team within the group, a ball will be drawn from Pot b (either B2, B3 or B4). The same procedure will be repeated for Groups C and D (in consecutive order) until all balls from Pot 4 have been drawn and positioned in each group. The same procedures will be followed for Pot 3 and Pot 2. </p> |
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