As the anticipation builds towards this summer's World Cup Finals in South Africa, Fabio Capello will learn of England's fate in the Euro 2012 draw in Warsaw on Sunday.
Despite their failure to reach the Euro 2008 finals England have been seeded for the draw and will avoid the likes of Spain and Germany in the qualifying stages for the tournament due to take place in Poland and the Ukraine.
Qualifying matches will begin in September 2010 and Capello's men will be looking to ensure that the Three Lion’s secure their eighth appearance at the tournament in a position to better their semi-final result on home turf in 1996.
The draw splits the 51 participating teams into six pots based on ranking and past performances with one team being selected from each pot in order to constitute the nine qualifying groups.
The teams in each group will play one another on a home and away basis, with qualifying matches scheduled according to the international match calendar between September 2010 and November 2011.
Group winners will automatically qualify for the finals as well as the best second placed team with the remaining runners-up entering a play-off to determine the final nations to join co-hosts Poland and Ukraine at the finals.
The 2012 edition of the tournament represents the competition’s furthest foray into eastern Europe and the last time that 16 teams will compete for the crown before its expansion to a 24 team contest in 2016.
Poland will host 15 matches during the finals including the opening fixture in Warsaw with Kiev hosting the final as part of the Ukraine's 16 encounters.
Infrastructure
Having surprisingly beaten Italy’s bid to become host nations of the tournament it was hoped that when UEFA awarded the tournament to the two former Communist states, that a platform for the development of a strong infrastructure would leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
Of course, as is so often the case when organising such huge projects, concerns have been raised as to the progress and timing of preparations and the apparent dishevelled nature of communication between the relevant parties in Ukraine and Poland.
Many of the concerns surround the current transport systems in both nations with questions still being posed as to their ability to cope with such a large influx of supporters arriving from the rest of the continent. With stadia spread far and wide across the region and with suitable roads, rail links and accommodation thin on the ground, UEFA officials are thought to be concerned by the prospect of maintaining the high standards set by Austria and Switzerland in 2008.
Ukraine especially has taken the brunt of the criticism from UEFA with officials failing to provide guarantees that new stadia will be delivered on time and on budget or that ageing arenas will be suitably renovated.
Kiev's Olympic Stadium, which is due to host the tournament’s final, is in line for a much needed facelift, however as things stand it is possible that the 83,000 capacity ground could sacrifice the showpiece conclusion with Poland taking up the slack.
Relying heavily on government funding, not helped by recent political upheaval, the Ukraine’s football association has also been working alongside numerous private investors to push through the upgrades in accordance with UEFA deadlines although rumours abound that corruption at ground level is rife.
Threats
Poland has also been threatened with sanctions after the country’s football association was suspended by the government and an administrator appointed after alleged foul-play within the sporting body.
UEFA quickly moved to oppose such a move and William Gaillard, UEFA communications director and adviser to Michel Platini, stated that should government interference in the planning of the finals persist, Poland would be at risk of losing their right to host.
The Polish FA was quickly reinstated to their original position in charge of the planning, albeit under close scrutiny at government level.
Draw Pots
Pot 1: Spain (defending champions), Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, Russia
Pot 2: Greece, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, Romania
Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Pot 4: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, Macedonia, Cyprus
Pot 5: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Pot 6: Azerbaijan, Luxemburg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino