Euro 2012 qualifying draw approaches

World champions Italy will be among nine top seeds for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying draw in Warsaw on Sunday at 1100 (UK time).

The Azzurri will avoid reigning European champions Spain, Germany, Netherlands, England, Croatia, Portugal, France and Russia, who are also seeded for the qualifying draw.

Nine qualifying groups will be formed including six groups of six sides and three groups of five, as teams chase the 14 finals places alongside co-hosts Poland and Ukraine.

The seeding pots were formed on the basis of the UEFA coefficient ranking system, finalised after the completion of FIFA World Cup qualifying last year.

All groups will contain one nation from the first five seeding pots and six groups will also include a team from the lowest-ranked Pot 6.

Sides in each group will play one another on a home-and-away basis, with qualifiers scheduled according to the international match calendar between September 2010 and October 2011.

The nine group winners and the runner-up with the best record against the teams first, third, fourth and fifth in their group qualify directly for the final tournament.

The eight remaining runners-up contest play-off matches in November 2011, for the four last spots.

Seeding pots
Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, Russia.
Pot 2: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, Romania.
Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Pot 4: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, FYR Macedonia, Cyprus.
Pot 5: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Pot 6: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino.

Source: UEFA