Belarus ended Albania's unbeaten run with a dominant performance that earned them a valuable victory in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying Group D.

Belarus ended Albania's unbeaten run with a dominant performance that earned them a valuable victory in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying Group D.

Albania had not been defeated in eight games before their trip to Minsk, including their first three qualifiers, but goals from Vitali Rodionov and Sergei Krivets ensured Belarus put Friday's 0-0 draw in Luxembourg behind them. The result moves Belarus three points ahead of third-placed Albania, with the return fixture scheduled for 26 March next year.

Bernd Stange's home side made a bright start and went ahead within ten minutes. Arjan Beqaj could only parry Aleksandr Kulchiy's powerful shot and that allowed Rodionov to turn in the rebound. Belarus continued to press and went close to doubling their advantage when Igor Shitov's lob rebounded off the crossbar.

The hosts' dominance continued after the break but it was only after Krivets was introduced on 75 minutes that they increased their lead. Within two minutes of arriving on the pitch, the KKS Lech Poznań midfielder headed a Timofei Kalachev cross into the far corner. Albania then ended the game with ten men after Armend Dallku received a second yellow card in the last minute.

FIFA has announced the schedule and the different scenarios in which they carry out each stage of Euro 2012 to be held in Poland and Ukraine

FIFA has announced the schedule and the different scenarios in which they carry out each stage of Euro 2012 to be held in Poland and Ukraine .

The selection of Poland is located in group A, so the opening will be June 8 in Warsaw, Polish capital city also will host three matches of the group stage, one quarterfinal and one of semifinals. The other Polish cities that will host the tournament will Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk, where he played 3 games of the group stage, also in Gdansk will play a quarter-final.

The selection of Poland will play its first two games of the group stage in Warsaw and one in Wroclaw.

Turning to Ukraine, Kiev will host three matches of the group stage, a quarter-final and grand final, which will host the first of July.

addition to the capital, the other Ukrainian cities that will see football Kharkiv, Lviv and Donetsk, where he played three matches in the group stage, Donetsk also will host a quarterfinal and semifinal.

Ukrainian national team played the first Group D match in Kiev and two in Donetsk.

Josip Kuže says Albania must be wary for "our most important game of the qualifiers" as they look to repeat the victory they recorded the last time th

Albania's record in three games against Luxembourg reads W2 D1 L0 (W1 D0 L0 at home).

• Their two most recent encounters came in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008, with Albania winning the opening engagement 2-0 in Tirana on 2 June 2007 thanks to goals from Edmond Kapllani and Altin Haxhi.

• The teams crossed paths again at the Josy Barthel stadium in Luxembourg four days later, and this time Albania triumphed 3-0 courtesy of a Kapllani double and a goal from Ervin Skela.

• Although they have yet to muster a single strike against Albania, Luxembourg did at least record a 0-0 draw with their upcoming opponents in a friendly game in Hesperange on 13 February 2002.

Following a shock Group D defeat by Belarus in Paris on Friday − France's fourth in succession in all competitions − captain Florent Malouda insisted

New France captain Florent Malouda is urging his less experienced team-mates to come out fighting against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday as Les Bleus look to kick-start their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign following a shock opening-day defeat by Belarus.

The hosts were left reeling in Paris on Friday after Sergei Kislyak's late strike secured a stunning win for the visitors and condemned Laurent Blanc to an unexpected loss in his first competitive game in charge. With nine games remaining in Group D, France still have time to recover but find themselves under pressure ahead of the trip to Sarajevo.

Malouda knows defeat against a side that beat Luxembourg 3-0 on Friday would leave his team with a mountain to climb. "We have to get a result," the Chelsea FC midfielder stressed. "This team needs a good performance and a result that can become a reference. We know it'll be very hard but maybe we should follow the example of Belarus, who came here looking for a point and then gradually started to play with more freedom."

At 30, the left winger is one of the most experienced heads in Blanc's new-look squad and seems to be enjoying the extra responsibility. "I've been speaking to the young players a lot," said Malouda, who won his 58th cap on Friday. "But even if I didn't have the armband I'd still feel a duty to help the youngsters by being more vocal. I've tried to get everyone going again [after the Belarus defeat] and I've explained to them that we can't afford to feel downhearted after just one game."

The France squad has an average age of just 25, although that figure may rise when the likes of Franck Ribéry and Patrice Evra return after bans. Malouda, though, is refusing to use the long list of absentees as an excuse. "Getting those guys back might change something, but don't forget we also lost games at the World Cup with them playing," he explained. "I was playing, too. There isn't a messiah. The reality is that we're losing matches and we have to bring this run to an end."

Despite the result, certain new faces impressed at the Stade de France. Stade Rennais FC midfielder Yann M'Vila, 20, turned in a particularly assured display, while Mathieu Valbuena provided spark after coming on in the first half. The Olympique de Marseille playmaker hopes to get France scoring again on Tuesday.

"We created chances and tried a lot of things against Belarus," the 25-year-old told UEFA.com. "Unfortunately their goalkeeper made a lot of saves. We're all a bit down about the situation, but we have another big game coming up so we have no choice but to pick ourselves up."

Belarus's 1-0 win against France was the biggest shock of the opening night, but coach Bernd Stange warned that their game against Romania would deman

Having been drawn together on the road to UEFA EURO 2008, Belarus and Romania will resume their rivalry in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group D, with the hosts desperate to reverse their losing trend.

Laurent Blanc France are currently going through a dark period

Laurent Blanc says France cannot leave Bosnia empty-handed but warned that they will find it difficult based on their recent results.


France are currently going through a dark period
France endured a dismal World Cup on and off the field under Raymond Domenech and, with a number of key players having retired or been suspended from Les Bleus since, former Bordeaux boss Blanc has struggled to get them back on track.

A 2-1 friendly defeat to Norway was followed by a 1-0 loss at home to Belarus in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier, and Blanc knows France now need to fight hard to keep their hopes alive.

"It is vital that we bring something back from Bosnia," he said. "We never said that we wouldn't win in Bosnia, but we must be honest based on the evidence so far, and we had difficulties against Belarus."

He added: "Bosnia are a side that likes to play possession football. We have to defend really well - something we have been having trouble in doing. If Bosnia have more of the ball, we have to defend well and to hit them on the counter attack."

Blanc has lost strikers Loic Remy, Louis Saha and Guillaume Hoarau to injury, but he has at least been boosted by Karim Benzema's return to fitness.

"He (Benzema) brings his individual qualities, his ability to score goals," he said. "He is our leading scorer in the squad, with eight goals in 28 appearances. One can safely say that scoring a lot of goals is not that easy at international level."