Euro 2012 in Group D

WARSAW, Poland, Feb. 8 – Albania will play against France, the 2000 champion, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus and Luxembourg in Group D in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship.
Albanian Croatian coach Josip Kuze said that was a tough group with not-so-rich countries that make the test very difficult. He said nevertheless he would likely aim at the 3rd or 4th place in the group.
The groups were divided last weekend at a ceremony held in the Polish capital.
Defending champion Spain will have the Czech Republic and Scotland among its rivals in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, together with Lithuania and Liechtenstein.
Germany, the runner-up to Spain in 2008, were placed with Turkey and neighboring Austria in Group A. The Germans will also face Belgium, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, coached by former Germany boss Berti Vogts.
Reigning World Cup champion Italy will play Serbia and Slovenia, also faces Northern Ireland, Estonia and the Faeroe Islands in Group C.
England was with another World Cup finalist, Switzerland, in Group G. It also faces neighbor Wales and has two trips to the Balkans, to Bulgaria and Montenegro.
Greece, the 2004 champion, has Croatia and Israel as its rivals in Group F, plus Latvia, Georgia and Malta.
Portugal will have three trips to northern Europe, with World Cup finalist Denmark, Norway and Iceland awaiting along with Cyprus.
The Netherlands will have two Nordic rivals in Sweden and Finland, plus Hungary, Moldova and San Marino in Group E.
Russia is in Group B along with Slovakia.
The nine winners and the runner-up with the best record qualify directly for the final tournament. The remaining eight runners-up will go into a home-and-away playoff round that will be played in November 2011. Four teams in those playoffs will be seeded.
As co-hosts, Poland and Ukraine qualify for the tournament automatically.