England were handed a dream qualifying draw for Euro 2008 in Montreux today.
They will face Russia and Croatia in the championships which take place in Switzerland and Austria, but managed to avoid the likes of Italy, Germany and Spain.
They also managed to avoid their old adverseries Poland and the problems that would have arisen from being in a group of eight teams.
Israel, Estonia and Macedonia and Andorra will be their other opponents.
England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson attended the draw, but the Swede will not be in charge for the campaign after announcing he will leave his post following the World Cup this summer.
Scotland face a very difficult qualifying programme, which includes facing both France and Italy, while Republic of Ireland and Wales were drawn in the same group.
Scotland were defeated 5-0 by former World and European champions France in Berti Vogts' first game in charge in March 2002.
But, under Andy Rox- burgh, the team claimed a 2-0 win over the French in the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, although Les Bleus also scored a three-goal triumph over the Scots in the same group. HOW THEY LINE-UP Group A
Portugal
Poland
Serbia & Mont
Belgium
Finland
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan
Group B
France
Italy
Ukraine
SCOTLAND
Lithuania
Georgia
Faroe Islands
Group C
Greece
Turkey
Norway
Bosnia-Herz
Hungary
Moldova
Malta
Group D
Czech Republic
Germany
Slovakia
REP of IRELAND
WALES
Cyprus
San Marino
Group E
ENGLAND
Croatia
Russia
Israel
Estonia
Macedonia
Andorra
Group F
Holland
Spain
Denmark
Latvia
Iceland
N IRELAND
Liechtenstein
Group G
Sweden
Romania
Bulgaria
Slovenia
Albania
Belarus
Luxembourg
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article