All Roads to Europe Pass Through Ljubljana

The draw for the 2000 championship of Europe play-off matches was held on October 13 in Aachen, Germany, exactly at noon, GMT. Ukraine's national team, which came off second in the qualification tournament (Group 4), will play against the team of Slovenia. This rival is quite serious. Suffice it to remember this season's Champions League starting match Dynamo vs. Maribor (by the way, a victory in the return match will allow the Kyivans at least to continue playing in another European tournament, the UEFA Cup). The two national teams will play their first game on November 13 or 14 in the capital of Slovenia, and the second on November 17 in Kyiv.

The other teams to meet are Israel vs. Denmark, Ireland vs. Turkey, and Scotland vs. England (a super match indeed!). Each pair will identify the participant in Euro-2000 by the results of two matches. The draw for the championship finals will be held on December 12 in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.