Strange seeding make for interesting Euro 2008 draw
LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP): Some of Europe's strongest teams are more nervous
than usual ahead of Sunday's draw for the European Championship, thanks
to a seeding system that could put three of last year's World Cup semifinalists
in the same group.
World Cup winner Italy is only in the second seeding group, three-time
European champion Germany is in the third tier and France is among the
bottom seeds, meaning they are all hoping to avoid being pitted against
each other.
A worst-case scenario for those teams _ and perhaps best-case scenario
for many soccer fans _ would see the continent's three winningest teams
paired in the same group together with the top-seeded Netherlands, the
1988 European champion.
"You have to try to win the first couple games, regardless of whom
you are playing,'' said German coach Joachim Loew. "Everything is
possible and there are no easy opponents.''
Still, many countries would rather be pitted against the tournament's
top seeds than the perennial powers seeded lower down by UEFA.
That is because European soccer's governing body gave top seeds to defending
champion Greece and the two hosts, Switzerland and Austria. While the
Greeks seem to have rediscovered their form after missing out on the 2006
World Cup, the co-hosts are considered longshots to advance deep into
the 16-team tournament.
Four pots have been created, and the groups will be made up of one team
from each seeding tier. Each nation plays the other three in its group
in the first round, with the top two teams qualifying for the quarterfinals.
The rest of the seeding order was determined according to coefficients
based on won-lost records and goal differentials in qualifying for the
2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
The Dutch earned the last top seed, despite losing 2-1 to Belarus in the
final qualifier last week.
Pot 2 includes Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden and Croatia. Germany is joined
in Pot 3 by Portugal, Romania and Spain, the 1964 winner.
France, Poland, Russia and Turkey make up Pot 4. "We were finalists
in the World Cup, we qualified (for Euro 2008) with points to spare, and
there are practically 12 teams ahead of us,'' said France coach Raymond
Domenech. "I do not understand how.''
Les Bleus lost last year's World Cup final in Berlin on penalties after
France captain Zinedine Zidane was famously sent off in his final match
for head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi. France finished three
points behind Italy to qualify for Euro 2008. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni
said he wasn't bothered by his team's lower seed, and that he was simply
happy to have qualified. The last time Italy was coming off a World Cup
victory, in 1982, it failed to qualify for the next Euros
, November 30, 2007
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