Spain should win Group I
World and European champions Spain are strong favourites to win Group I in the 2012 European championship qualifiers.
That would mean direct qualification for the defending champions, while the Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein would be left to fight for second place.
The best runner-up of all nine groups qualifies directly, while the remaining eight enter play-offs for the last four places. Hosts Poland and Ukraine are automatically in the tournament.
Group I: del Bosque's team to lose
Spain are the early favourites to win the 2012 tournament, despite the fact that no European champion has ever managed to defend the title.
If it manages to retain the focus it showed during the recent World Cup, Vicente del Bosque's side should have little trouble finishing on top in Group I.
The Spanish squad remains largely unchanged from the team that travelled to South Africa, with none of the players choosing to retire after the team topped their European success by becoming world champions.
Ahead of Spain's opening qualifier against Liechtenstein this week, Real Madrid full-back Sergio Ramos insisted that the team was "more focused than ever" and ready to work hard to earn its place in the 2012 tournament.
On Monday, del Bosque ignored Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson's plea to rest striker Fernando Torres for the international matches by asking the 26-year-old to report to the team's training ground in Madrid.
Czech team hoping to repeat 2004 success
Relying on the experienced trio of keeper and captain Petr Cech, midfielder Tomas Rosicky and striker Milan Baros, the Czech Republic are likely to make a strong qualifying bid.
Managed by by former Czech internationals Michal Bilek and Vladimir Smicer, who have been in charge since October last year, the Czech team will be hoping to repeat its strong performance in the 2004 European championships.
That year, Baros bagged five goals for the team to reach the semi-finals, where eventual champions Greece proved too strong. The Czech Republic begin their qualifying campaign at home against Lithuania next Monday.
Lithuania and Scotland weigh their chances
Raimondas Zutautas was appointed as manager of the Lithuanian national team in February this year, at a mere 37 years of age.
After Lithuania's failure to reach the 2010 World Cup, it is Zutautas' ambition to see his country enter its first international tournament as an independent nation.
And he has plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Despite the team's disappointing campaign, Lithuania finished fourth in a highly competitive qualifying group, beating Romania, Austria and Serbia in the process.
Scotland, captained by Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, has the ability to test any of the teams in the group. Craig Levein's team will be desperate to prove their worth in the Euros for the first time since 1996.
Scotland play their first game away to Lithuania before receiving Liechtenstein at Hampden park on 7 September.
It will not be in 2012 that Liechtenstein enters its first European championships, but Hans-Peter Zaugg's team will do their best to give the other teams in the group a run for their money.
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