England's manager Steve McClaren walks out on to the pitch for a team training session at the newly-opened Wembley stadium, London, on Wednesday. - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters)

The European Championship finals are more than a year away, but the outcome of several key qualifiers over the next week could have a significant bearing on who gets there.

With 14 months to go before the championship opens in Basel in June 2008, only co-hosts Austria and Switzerland are assured of their places in the 16-team event.

Forty qualifiers are being played tomorrow and next Wednesday and, although a handful of qualifiers were played during the winter months, this is the first time all the major nations have been in competitive action since Nov-ember.

There is no more room for errors for those harbouring dreams of booking chalet hotels in the Alps next year.

Reigning European champions Greece, Sweden, the Netherlands and Scotland could all take significant steps along the qualifying path.

Conversely, defeats for estab-lished powers like world cham-pions Italy, England or Portugal could seriously hamper their chances while defeat for Spain could kill off their hopes completely.

Greece, largely unimpressive for two years after surprisingly winning the title in Portugal in 2004, missed out on the World Cup last year.

PERFECT START

But they have won their opening three matches in Group C and are just behind Turkey on goal difference. They now play the Turks, who have also made a perfect start with three straight wins, in Athens tomorrow and then travel to Malta next week.

Whoever wins tomorrow will boost their chances considerably and Greek defender Yourkas Seitaridis says a victory would essentially mean qualification.

"If we win this match then we can say with almost certainty that we are through," he claimed while his teammate Takis Fyssas added: "This is a crucial game and we are aware that if we beat Turkey then we have taken a major step towards qualification."

With the top two in each of the seven qualifying groups advancing and no play-off deciders to come, a consistently strong campaign is essential.

No team has started better than Sweden in Group F where the Scandinavians have opened with four straight wins. A fifth suc-cessive victory over Northern Ireland next week will put them in a commanding and probably unassailable position in their group, leaving Spain, among others, trailing in their wake.

Spain have won one and lost two of their opening three matches in Group F — and if they were to lose again to unbeaten Denmark in Madrid tomorrow — or even Iceland in Mallorca next week — their campaign would effectively be over.

The Netherlands are another side who have started well with three wins and a draw and victories over Romania at home and Slovenia away next week will put them even closer to qualifying from Group G.

HUGE STEP

Scotland have made almost as good a start in Group B with three wins — including a 1-0 victory over France — and just one defeat from their first four games.

They face Georgia and world-champions Italy in their first competitive matches under new coach Alex McLeish and would also take a huge step to the finals for the first time in their history with a win over the Georgians and even a draw against the Italians in Bari.

Scotland have lost all five matches they have played in Italy since 1931.

Scotland's old rivals England are not so well placed in Group E following a 0-0 draw with Macedonia and a 2-0 defeat in Croatia in their last two qualifiers.

They trail Croatia and Russia in the standings and a defeat to Israel in Tel Aviv tomorrow, in tandem with wins for Croatia over Macedonia and Russia over Estonia on the same day, would cut England adrift of the top two.

Even if they then thrash Andorra as expected next week in Barcelona, defeat to Israel could cost England coach Steve McClaren his job.

There are two choice matches in Group D with the top two, Germany and the Czech Republic meeting in Prague and Ireland facing Wales in an historic match at Croke Park — the first ever soccer match played at the home of gaelic sport.

A win for Ireland, whose rugby union team played at the ground for the first time last month, would not only be hugely symbolic, but also keep alive their chances of catching the top two in the group.