Pleased at the draw: Craig Levein was satisfied with Scotland's pairings for the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Pic: ©STV
Craig Levein has stated his excitement at being pitted against European champions Spain in the qualifying rounds for the 2012 tournament. Scotland were also paired with Czech Republic, Lithuania and Liechtenstein in Sunday’s draw in Warsaw, with games getting underway in September.
Levein and his SFA colleagues will now meet with officials from all the competing nations on February 19 in Madrid to thrash out what order those games will be played in but Levein seemed unconcerned after the draw, saying that he shared supporters’ happiness at taking on a world giant.
"We've drawn the best team in the world,” said Levein. “I'm excited and I'm pretty sure a lot of Scotland supporters will be looking forward to Spain coming to Hampden - and also maybe a little holiday to Spain.
"They should be favourites to win the game if they play to form but a five-team group may make it easier to get that second place.
“I looked at the teams we could have played against and I found it extremely difficult to pick teams that I felt were weak. I don't think that there are many in the 51 teams in the draw.”
To ensure any chance of qualifying, Levein’s squad will have to look for maximum points in four games against Lithuania and Liechtenstein and the former Dundee United boss has promised to do his homework to give the team the best chance of doing so.
"We know about Lithuania having drawn them in our last three qualifying campaigns,” he revealed. “We don't know so much about Liechtenstein but will find out about them.
"We need to get some momentum now and we've got a couple of friendlies before the qualifiers to do just that. My intention is to develop some team spirit and harmony and build momentum. I think we're more than capable of having a fighting chance in this group."
Meanwhile the scheduled March friendly against the Czechs will still go ahead. "There's enough distance between then and when we play them again for it not to be a problem," said Levein. "I've got some ideas about how I'd like qualifiers to pan out. We need to go away and formulate a plan."
