Draw for the UEFA EURO 2012 play-offs
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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A number of teams will be renewing ties after the draw for the UEFA EURO 2012 play-offs in Krakow, not least Turkey and Croatia who played out a memorable quarter-final in 2008.
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The draw for the UEFA EURO 2012 play-offs in Krakow today produced a repeat of the epic quarter-final from 2008 when Turkey eliminated Croatia on penalties.
On 20 June 2008 in Vienna, Croatia were on the verge of a semi-final place after Ivan Klasnić struck in the 119th minute only for Semih Şentürk to score a dramatic equaliser in the dying seconds. Turkey won the shoot-out to progress to a last-four meeting against Germany which they lost 3-2.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Portugal will also be renewing ties after the Portuguese edged a play-off between the sides for the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2-0 on aggregate. The two teams in contention with no previous play-off experience, Estonia and Montenegro, drew the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic respectively.
Play-off draw
Turkey v Croatia
Estonia v Republic of Ireland
Czech Republic v Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Portugal
First legs: 11/12 November
Second legs: 15 November
Play-off records
Bosnia and Herzegovina – P1 L1
Croatia – P2 W2
Czech Republic – P2 W1 L1
Estonia – N/A
Montenegro – N/A
Portugal – P1 W1
Republic of Ireland – P5 W1 L4
Turkey – P4 W2 L2
Already qualified
Co-hosts: Poland and Ukraine
Group winners: Spain (holders), Germany, Russia, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Greece, England, and Denmark
Best runners-up: Sweden
Final tournament draw: 2 December in Kyiv, 18.00CET (20.00 local time)
Final tournament: 8 June–1 July
Final tournament venues: Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw (Poland); Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv (Ukraine)
UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, who conducted the draw alongside former Poland forward and tournament ambassador Zbigniew Boniek, said: "There are two important reasons why we are here in Krakow today. First of all, this draw is a key milestone on the road that is taking us closer to the final tournament to be played in Poland and Ukraine in June next year. This is the third play-off draw in UEFA EURO history, but actually the first one to be held in one of the host countries.
"The second reason for us being here in Krakow is of utmost importance for football as a whole and linked to our mission to protect the essential values of our sport and to eradicate a major threat: illegal betting and match-fixing. It's for this second reason that UEFA is joining the European sports ministers meeting [this afternoon to discuss these issues]."
