Portugal awaits for lucky seven

The first seven teams to join hosts Portugal at the UEFA EURO 2004™ finals could be known tonight with the penultimate round of qualifiers taking place across Europe.

Holders confident
Leading the way are defending champions France, who need just a point from their match in Slovenia to make sure of their place next summer. Denmark or Romania, Sweden, Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland and either the Czech Republic or the Netherlands can also top their groups with victories, and, in some cases, other results going their way.

October finish
A total of 20 matches are being played across the ten groups with all but two having the potential to decide who ultimately qualifies. The teams finishing first get an automatic place, with the ten runners-up going into two-legged play-offs in November to determine the five remaining finalists. The qualifying campaign concludes on 11 October.

Live coverage
uefa.com will bring you live minute-by-minute coverage of eight key fixtures this evening including France's trip to Ljubljana and the Prague showdown between the Czechs and the Dutch, along with regular updates from every encounter. Match reports, reaction and photos will follow as the race for Portugal nears the finishing line.