Route to Porto becomes clear

Having progressed to the UEFA European Futsal Championship qualifying round as the second best preliminary round runners-up, Cyprus face a daunting mini-tournament against holders Spain as the seven teams to join hosts Portugal in the finals are decided next month.

Spanish test
Cyprus, who finished behind Kazakhstan in preliminary round Group C today, will play from 22-25 February in Spain, with Poland and F.Y.R. Macedonia also in the running. Finland, the best runners-up, take on home team the Netherlands, Serbia and Azerbaijan in Group D for the available place in Porto from 16-25 November, the last final tournament before the expansion to 12 teams in 2009.

Group winners
Turkey, winners of preliminary round Group A, have the dubious reward of a trip to Italy, who won this competition in 2003 and lost to Spain in the next year's FIFA Futsal World Cup. First in Group B, Romania take on Slovenia, Belgium and Moldova in a pool guaranteed to produce a qualifier that did not play in the 2005 finals in Ostrava, while the hosts that year are in Group C against the winners of the preliminary round pool of the same name, Kazakhstan, home team Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Russia meet Hungary
Two mini-tournaments had their make-up confirmed before the preliminary round. The first to begin will be Group F on 20 February, involving 2005 runners-up Russia meeting hosts Hungary - who qualified for the first time in the last edition - Greece and Lithuania. Group B, in contrast, will end the round when it concludes on 1 March. Andorra are at home to two-time runners-up Ukraine, Slovakia and Israel.

Qualifying round group winners progress to join Portugal in the finals in Porto from 16-25 November.