Fabio Capello was in Warsaw over the weekend for the Euro 2012 Qualification draw to find out his team will be up against John Toshack and his Welsh players in a battle of Britain which is sure to get passions rising when the two teams meet, Capello was pleased to be focusing on football after Sacking John Terry as Captain last week and he was looking forward to the qualifying campaign. England who are the top seeds in Group G will also be joined by Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro in a group that the English will be clear favourites to progress from, England breezed through World Cup qualification and will be expected to do so again despite there being no easy games in the section.

The team that finishes top in each group will automatically head to Poland and the Ukraine for Euro 2012 along with the best placed runner-up from all the groups, the remaining eight teams will then head to the play-offs for one last chance to qualify for the tournament. Wales and John Toshack will be relishing heading to Wembley to play the old rivals but few expect them to make it out of a group with no easy games, the Welsh fans will be hoping to see their team progress from their World Cup Campaign which was somewhat of a disaster, Toshack is under some pressure and will know that a poor showing in the group will signal the end of his tenure. England are odds on with all the major bookmakers to win the group with Paddy Power going 2/5 about England winning their group.

New Scotland manager Craig Levein is making all the right noises about qualification but the Tartan Army face a tough task with Euro 2008 Champions Spain in their section, Spain will be hot favourites to win the group leaving Scotland in a likely battle with the Czech Republic for that second spot. The Czechs are not quite the force they were five or ten years ago so Scotland will be hoping to turn them over as Levein aims to lead Scotland to their first Major Championships since 1996. Also in Group I with Scotland, Spain, and the Czech Republic are Lithuania and Liechtenstein meaning the two matches between Scotland and the Czechs are likely to be absolutely crucial for Levein as he faces his first test in International Management.

The Republic of Ireland have received a kind draw with Giovanni Trapattoni desperate to lead the team to the Euros following their World Cup play-off heart break in the Stade De France, Henry’s handball knocked them out of the running but they have a genuine chance of reaching the Ukraine and Poland this time. They have been drawn in Group B with top seeds Russia who the Irish will believe they can beat, Slovakia look the other threat having qualified for this years World Cup but they are another beatable team. The 4/1 with VC Bet about the Republic winning their group looks excellent value at this stage with Trapattoni dead set on achieving qualification in what is likely to be his last cycle as the Irish Manager.

Once again Nigel Worthington faces a tough task as Northern Ireland have been drawn in a tough group alongside the likes of World Champions Italy, Serbia and Slovenia, Worthington has just signed a new contract but he may well be regretting that decision now with an impossible task on his hands. Northern Ireland will be alongside Wales in the ‘next to no chance of qualifying’ section, Scotland and Ireland are in with good chances with the Irish especially looking good while England should be heading to Euro 2012 providing they perform to their potential.

EURO 2012 QUALIFICATION GROUPS:

GROUP A: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Germany

GROUP B: Andorra, Armenia, Macedonia, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Russia

GROUP C: Faroe Islands, Estonia, Slovenia, NORTHERN IRELAND, Serbia, Italy

GROUP D: Luxembourg, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Romania, France

GROUP E: San Marino, Moldova, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands

GROUP F: Malta, Georgia, Latvia, Israel, Greece, Croatia

GROUP G: Montenegro, WALES, Bulgaria, Switzerland, ENGLAND

GROUP H: Iceland, Cyprus, Norway, Denmark, Portugal

GROUP I: Liechtenstein, Lithuania, SCOTLAND, Czech Republic, Spain

Popularity: 2% [?]