The draw has been made for the qualifying stage of the European football championship in the year 2000.

For the first time, the tournament is being jointly hosted - by Belgium and the Netherlands - which both qualify automatically for the final stage.

Fourteen other qualifiers will come from nine groups.

The holders, Germany, have been drawn in what the correspondents say is a relatively easy group - with Turkey, Moldova, Northern Ireland and Finland.

Italy are in the same group as previous winners, Denmark.

France will face Russia and Ukraine.

England will play Sweden, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Poland.

Yugoslavia, Croatia and Macedonia will all play each other for the first time since the break-up of the old Yugoslavia.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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