Spain handed Norway hurdle

Spain have been handed a tie against Norway in the UEFA EURO 2004™ play-offs after today's draw in Frankfurt.

Dutch test
The Spanish, who lost 1-0 to the Norwegians at UEFA EURO 2000™, will be confident of success in the two-legged tie next month. Spain captain Raúl González said: "In theory it's a manageable draw for us but we will need to be alert and focused if we are to qualify."

First meeting
Elsewhere, the Netherlands, runners-up in Group 3, were paired with Scotland. Latvia will take on Turkey, who finished third at the FIFA World Cup finals, in the first-ever meeting of the teams. Croatia will meet Balkans neighbours Slovenia while Russia will play Wales.

Johansson reaction
"I think there were some matches where both teams wanted to avoid each other," said UEFA President Lennart Johansson after the draw. "From what I could see they avoided the pairings that they were afraid of. I have to say that it was a fair decision not to seed the teams.

'See what happens'
"National-team football in Europe is of a very high standard, you cannot make a distinction between so-called small countries and big countries. In the small countries, their players are playing in the strongest leagues and in that sense it is almost impossible to predict the result of matches. I will not be the person predicting winners and losers - we will see what happens."

Ties to be played on: