Spain to face Italy, Croatia, Ireland in Euro 2012
Spain to face Italy, Croatia, Ireland in Euro 2012
The Netherlands were placed in perhaps the toughest pool with Germany, Portugal and Denmark.

Kiev, Ukraine: Defending champions Spain will play Italy, Croatia and Ireland in the group stages at next year's European Championship.

The 16-nation draw conducted by UEFA on Friday created a number of intriguing match-ups, with perhaps the toughest group pitting World Cup runners-up the Netherlands against traditional rivals Germany, together with Portugal and Denmark.

Old rivals France and England were also drawn together, along with co-hosts Ukraine and Sweden in a group based in Kiev and the far-flung eastern city of Donetsk.

Poland, the other host nation, are joined by Russia, Greece and Czech Republic in what many will see as the weakest group.

Euro 2012 kicks off June 8 when Poland play 2004 winner Greece in Warsaw.

The final is on July 1 in Kiev's Olympic Stadium.

Spain will seek to become the first country to win two straight European titles since the four-yearly competition began in 1960. The Spanish also won in 1964.

Their quest will begin with an attractive clash against Italy in the Polish port city of Gdansk on June 10. The group also plays in Poznan.

The Dutch and Germans, who normally bring lots of fans with them, will play in the tournament's two smallest stadiums, in Kharkiv and Lviv, separated by 891 kilometers.

Euro 2012 features the strongest possible line-up according to UEFA's rankings, which grades team by competitive match results since the 2006 World Cup.

The top 14 teams qualified and co-hosts Ukraine and Poland are entered automatically. Ukraine are ranked No. 15 and Poland are 28th on the 53-nation list.

Euro 2012 draw:

Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal

Group C: Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia

Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England

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