Hammers paired in Euro draw

West Ham United European stars will go head-to-head in their quests to reach the 2012 UEFA European Championship finals in September.

England, Switzerland and Wales were all drawn in Group G in qualifying for the 16-team tournament, which will take place in Poland and Ukraine, following Sunday's draw in the Polish capital Warsaw.

Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Carlton Cole and Scott Parker will all hope to be involved in Fabio Capello's squad, while Valon Behrami is a regular starter for Switzerland, as are Jack Collison and Danny Gabbidon for Wales.

Bulgaria and Montenegro complete the five-team group, with only the group winners guaranteed a place at Euro 2010 alongside the two host nations.

Former West Ham and Wales striker John Hartson said he was looking forward to seeing his nation taking on the English, saying: "It will be a fantastic occasion at the Millennium Stadium, for sure. I remember playing against England last time in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and we lost 1-0. I also remember playing at Old Trafford when David Beckham scored a free-kick."

Of the other countries represented by West Ham players, Luis Boa Morte and Manuel da Costa saw their native Portugal placed in Group H alongside Denmark, Norway, Cyprus and Iceland.

Peter Kurucz's Hungary were drawn to face the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Moldova and San Marino, while Marek Stech's Czech Republic take on reigning champions Spain, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

The runner-up with the best record against the first, third, fourth and fifth teams in their qualifying group will also reach the finals, while the eight other runners-up will play off for the four remaining places.

Qualifying begins in September 2010 and ends with the two-legged play-offs in November 2011, with the national team managers and representatives meeting later on Sunday to thrash out the fixture arrangements.

UEFA 2010 European Championship qualifying draw:

Group A: Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan
Group B: Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra
Group C: Italy, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Faroe Islands
Group D: France, Romania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg
Group E: Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, HUNGARY, Moldova, San Marino
Group F: Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, Malta
Group G: ENGLAND, SWITZERLAND, Bulgaria, WALES, Montenegro
Group H: PORTUGAL, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland
Group I: Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein