England face Scotland in Euro playoffs

AACHEN (GERMANY), OCT 13: British rivals Scotland and England will face each other in a potentially volatile play-off for the Euro 2000 S...

AACHEN (GERMANY), OCT 13: British rivals Scotland and England will face each other in a potentially volatile play-off for the Euro 2000 Soccer Championships.

The draw for the play-offs made today also put Israel against Denmark, Slovenia against Ukraine and Ireland against Turkey.

The teams, which finished runners-up in their qualifying groups, were paired in a straight draw without seedings.

The play-offs will be played over two legs on a home-and-away basis, with the first games on November 13 or 14 and the return fixtures on November 16.

The first two teams drawn out of the bowl by UEFA president Lennart Johansson were Scotland and England — two countries with a long, passionate and sometimes violent soccer history.

England and Scotland have played each other 108 times, dating back to 1872, the first officially recognised international soccer match. England has won 44, Scotland 40, and 24 matches have been tied.

England and Scotland used to play each other on a regular basis, but due to fears of crowd trouble, the fixture has been all but abandoned.

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In June 1977, after Scotland beat England at Wembley 2-1, Scottish fans invaded the field and tore down the goalposts. That incident led to perimetre fences being erected at Wembley.

England and Scotland have played only once since 1989 — with England winning 2-0 at Wembley at the Euro ’96 Championships.

Next month’s first-leg game is expected to be played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, with the return match at Wembley.

“I’m pleased with the draw,” England coach Kevin Keegan said in Aachen. “It means we won’t have to travel too far. It’s the shortest possible journey for us. I’m also pleased that the second leg will be at home. You always want to have that second game in front of your home fans.”

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“We will not underestimate the Scots,” Keegan added. “These will be two fantastic games. I think it will be like two cup ties. There’s a lot at stake in terms of pride and there will no bigger atmosphere than at the two grounds.”

Twelve teams have qualified directly for the championships: co-hosts Belgium and the Netherlands; group winners France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Norway, Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic; and the best runner-up, Portugal.

The draw for the finals will be held on December 12 in Brussels.