Andorra dreaming of Wembley date

Nyon meeting
The seven countries in the pool - England, Israel, Croatia, Estonia, Russia, F.Y.R. Macedonia and Andorra - reached agreement at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland today after failing to decide the schedule at their first meeting in Zagreb last month. If the seven nations had not agreed, UEFA would have held a draw next Thursday, which is still the case for a competitive Group B which features France and Italy.

Wembley uncertain
England will start at home against Andorra on 2 September, by which time work on the new 90,000-seater Wembley should be completed. England will travel to fellow FIFA World Cup finalists Croatia on 11 October, with the return on 21 November 2007. Israel also begin their campaign on 2 September with a trip to Estonia, while the Croatians have to wait four more days for a testing opener in Russia.

'Humble team'
Justo Ruiz, the Andorra captain, told uefa.com it would be a privilege to get under way against England and hoped the new national stadium would be ready. "Playing our first match against England is the best way to kick off EURO 2008," he said. "It would be an honour for us, a humble team, to play at Wembley. Although it will be a privilege to play at any English ground, Wembley is full of history and prestige."

'Strong chance'
David Davies, the Football Association's executive director, said: "Reaching agreement between seven countries was never going to be easy but it was clearly worth having a second attempt today. No country gets everything they want, but overall we think this is a balanced schedule which will give the England team a very strong chance of qualification."

Kranjčar happy
Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjčar said: "I'm satisfied with the fixtures. There were no major changes from the original schedule, the only change for us being the rescheduling of a match with Russia. I believe we'll battle with England for first place in the group but I am not underestimating any of our opponents. Russia are very strong and Israel are a quality side. We've proved our quality already and are now among the best teams in Europe - something we will try to prove in the group."

'Great job'
Haim Zimmer, Israel Football Association general manager, observed: "As soon as England agreed with the Russians on one of the dates, things started working out. The English representatives conducted the meeting and did a great job in reaching this final agreement. We all had a few arguments but as far as we are concerned, we have achieved more or less what our coach Dror Kashtan initially requested."

'Positive'
Estonia coach Jelle Goes, whose team will kick off the group at home to F.Y.R. Macedonia on 16 August, added: "It was a very positive meeting. Although we have to play twice in August, I'm satisfied with the schedule. In the end we have to play all the sides anyway. For us every game is a top game, so it was much better to reach an agreement now than to go to a draw."