Athens to host Group 6 talks

The five nations that will contest Group 6 are to meet in Greece on 11 March to thrash out their EURO 2004™ qualifying schedule.

Athens talks
David Currie, the Irish Football Association's (IFA) head of international football, told uefa.com that a Northern Ireland delegation will meet representatives from Spain, Ukraine, Armenia and Greece in an as yet unnamed venue in Athens to decide the order of matches.

'Tough opposition'
Spain, the only country of the five to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals, are obvious favourites to claim an automatic passage to the final tournament in Portugal, although coach José Antonio Camacho insists it will not be straightforward. "It is a really competitive group and we know that Ukraine will be the most difficult opponents," he said. "However, we also have to be aware that it will not be easy to beat Greece and Northern Ireland who will also provide tough opposition."

Finest hour
Fans of Northern Ireland will no doubt be eagerly awaiting the visit of the Spaniards to Belfast, a fixture that will revive memories of the country's finest hour: a 1-0 defeat of hosts Spain at the 1982 World Cup finals.

Northern Ireland friendlies
The Windsor Park faithful will get an early chance to view their Group 6 rivals as the IFA had already lined up a friendly international with Spain on 17 April prior to last Friday's EURO 2004™ draw in Porto. Sammy McIlroy's side will also face Poland in Cyprus on 13 February, Liechtenstein on 27 March and Cyprus, at home, on 2 August - their final game before the qualifiers begin.