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On Wednesday, the 2008 European Championship qualifiers begin with three matches, in which 50 teams will compete to join the future hosts of the final tournament, Austria and Switzerland, and earn a ticket to the prestigious European national team competition. EuroFootball.com will try to introduce you to the tournament schedule and each of the qualifying groups.
Today, August 16th will mark the end of the qualifying matches in the groups that started on November 21, 2007. They will differ from previous ones as the teams were divided into seven groups of seven and one group of eight - in total there will be seven groups, and all participants will have to play more matches than usual in the European championship qualifiers so far.
Additionally, there will no longer be knockout matches, as the tickets to the final tournament will be earned by the two best teams from each group. In case of teams having the same number of points, the goal difference in head-to-head matches will be considered first, followed by overall goals scored and away goals. The 14 winners and two hosts will compete in the final group stage matches in June 2008, and the tournament will culminate in the final on June 29th in Vienna.
Group A
Portugal
Poland
Serbia
Belgium
Finland
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan
...21:45 Belgium - Kazakhstan
