Czechs get seeding boost for play-offs

SCOTTISH pain at missing out on the Euro 2012 play-offs didn’t ease yesterday when the seedings were revealed for the eight second-placed teams to progress from the qualifying groups.

Czech Republic, who finished second in Group I ahead of Scotland, are seeded for today’s draw in Krakow (noon BST) along with Portugal, Croatia, and Republic of Ireland. The four higher-ranked teams will face either Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Montenegro – none of whom have reached the finals of a major competition before – or Euro 2008 semi-finalists Turkey.

Uefa based rankings on national team co-efficient, calculated from qualifying and tournament results for Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

First-leg matches will be played on 11 or 12 November, with the return games scheduled for 15 November. Winners will advance to the tournament co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, which is the last before the European Championship is expanded from 16 to 24 teams.

Seeded teams will no longer be guaranteed the second leg at home however - that rule was scrapped after the Republic of Ireland’s controversial defeat to France in the 2010 World Cup play-off. That will now be decided by the luck of the draw.

Portugal were consigned to the play-offs after losing 2-1 to Denmark on Tuesday. They could again meet Bosnia, two years after edging a World Cup play-off with a pair of 1-0 victories. Bosnia have reached the play-offs despite almost being kicked out of the tournament while suspended by Fifa and Uefa during April and May. The governing bodies forced Bosnia to stop running its federation in a three-way ethnic divide which mirrored the difficult political situation in the former Yugoslav republic.

Turkey, led by Guus Hiddink, will be viewed as the unseeded opponent to avoid. The Turks made a dramatic run to the Euro 2008 semi-finals after getting two late goals in a 3-2 win over the Czechs to advance from their group.

A trio of underdogs who gained football independence after the fall of communism will sense history beckoning them. Montenegro are ranked 35th in Uefa’s 53-nation standings, despite not being allowed to enter Euro 2008. After splitting with Serbia in 2006, Montenegro were recognised as the 208th and newest member of world football’s family too late to take part. Estonia failed in two attempts to qualify for the World Cup in the 1930s, then regained football status in 1992 after breaking from the Soviet Union. The Baltic republic is the lowest-ranked team left at No37 in Uefa’s standings.

Already through to the finals, alongside co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, are England, holders Spain, Germany, Russia, Italy, France, Holland, Greece, Denmark and best runners-up Sweden. The finals draw is on 2 December in Kiev.