EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS - 2014/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS - Thursday 8 October 2015 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Northern Ireland Group F - Matchday -4 Last updated 12/07/2021 18:12CET

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Previous meetings 2 Match background 3 Squad list 4 Head coach 6 Match officials 7 Competition facts 8 Match-by-match lineups 9 Team facts 11 Legend 13

1 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast

Previous meetings Head to Head 2016 UEFA European Championship Stage Date Match Result Venue Goalscorers reached 14/10/2014 QR (GS) Greece - Northern Ireland 0-2 Piraeus Ward 9, K. Lafferty 51

UEFA EURO 2004 Stage Date Match Result Venue Goalscorers reached 11/10/2003 QR (GS) Greece - Northern Ireland 1-0 Athens Tsiartas 68 (P) 02/04/2003 QR (GS) Northern Ireland - Greece 0-2 Belfast Charisteas 4, 55

FIFA World Cup Stage Date Match Result Venue Goalscorers reached 17/10/1961 QR (GS) Northern Ireland - Greece 2-0 Belfast Mclaughlin 29, 57 Papaemanouil 9, 84; 03/05/1961 QR (GS) Greece - Northern Ireland 2-1 Athens McIlroy 85

Final Qualifying Total tournament

Home Away Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA EURO Northern Ireland 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 - - - - 3 1 0 2 2 3 Greece 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - 3 2 0 1 3 2 FIFA* Northern Ireland 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - 2 1 0 1 3 2 Greece 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 - - - - 2 1 0 1 2 3 Friendlies Northern Ireland ------1 0 0 1 2 3 Greece ------1 1 0 0 3 2 Total Northern Ireland 2 1 0 1 3 1 0 2 - - - - 6 2 0 4 7 8 Greece 3 2 0 1 2 1 0 1 - - - - 6 4 0 2 8 7 * FIFA World Cup/FIFA Confederations Cup

2 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Match background

Northern Ireland will seal a place in their first-ever UEFA European Championship if they get three points against rock-bottom Greece in their last Group F home game. • Northern Ireland will also qualify irrespective of the outcome in Belfast if Hungary simultaneously fail to defeat the Faroe Islands. Previous meetings • and scored as Northern Ireland won 2-0 in Greece in the sides' first Group F meeting. • Northern Ireland's record in six fixtures against Greece is W2 D0 L4 (W1 D0 L1 in Belfast). That lone home defeat came in a FIFA World Cup qualifier over 50 years ago. Form guide • Northern Ireland have never played in a UEFA European Championship, though they got to the FIFA World Cup finals in 1958 and 1982. • Northern Ireland are unbeaten at home in Group F: two victories followed by two draws. • Greece are bottom of the section having yet to win a Group F game. Their away record in this qualifying campaign reads D3 L1. They have lost all four of their home qualifiers without scoring. Disciplinary • , Kyle Lafferty and Connor McLaughlin are all banned against Greece; Chris Brunt's next yellow card will incur a suspension. • serves a one-match ban against Northern Ireland; Nikos Karelis, and are all within a booking of a suspension. Trivia and links • Kyle Lafferty has netted seven of Northern Ireland's 12 goals in this campaign. • Greece go into this fixture having played 250 competitive international matches in EUROs and World Cups; their record is W107 D52 L91. • The two countries have met in four UEFA age-group tournaments, Greece registering three wins to Northern Ireland's one – the most recent of those encounters a 2-0 success for the visitors in Dungannon in a 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship tie. • The nations' clubs have met in six UEFA games to date, with the Greek sides' record W3 D2 L1. The most recent of those ties was very tight; Linfield won 1-0 at Xanthi in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round but went down 2-1 after extra time in the return fixture in Belfast, losing the tie on away goals.

3 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Squad list

Northern Ireland Current season Overall Qual. FT Team No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers - 30/09/1977 38 Notts County - 5 0 0 0 41 - - 19/05/1982 33 St Johnstone - 0 0 0 0 7 - - Michael McGovern 12/07/1984 31 Hamilton - 3 0 0 0 6 - Defenders - Gareth McAuley 05/12/1979 35 West Brom - 8 3 0 0 55 7 - Rory McArdle 01/05/1987 28 Bradford - 0 0 0 0 7 - - 06/02/1989 26 Watford - 2 0 0 0 21 - - 02/10/1991 24 MK Dons - 0 0 0 0 15 - - Luke McCullough 15/02/1994 21 Doncaster - 1 0 0 0 4 - - Paddy McNair 27/04/1995 20 Man. United - 1 0 0 0 3 - Midfielders - 01/01/1985 30 Southampton - 7 0 0 0 76 5 - Paddy McCourt 16/12/1983 31 Luton - 1 0 0 0 17 2 - Chris Brunt 14/12/1984 30 West Brom * 6 0 0 0 52 1 - Jamie Ward 12/05/1986 29 Nottm Forest - 5 1 0 0 16 2 - 15/08/1990 25 Kilmarnock - 5 0 0 0 14 - - 30/07/1990 25 Blackburn - 6 0 0 0 30 1 - 12/04/1991 24 Reading - 8 0 0 0 27 - - 19/04/1991 24 Leeds - 4 0 0 0 7 1 - 12/07/1991 24 Millwall - 4 0 0 0 20 1 - Ben Reeves 19/11/1991 23 MK Dons - 1 0 0 0 2 - Forwards - Niall McGinn 20/07/1987 28 Aberdeen - 6 1 0 0 38 2 Dundee - Billy McKay 22/10/1988 26 - 2 0 0 0 10 - United - Liam Boyce 08/04/1991 24 Ross County - 0 0 0 0 5 - - 03/07/1991 24 Wigan - 0 0 0 0 7 - Coach - Michael O'Neill 05/07/1969 46 - 8 0 0 0 28 -

4 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast

Greece Current season Overall Qual. FT Team No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers - 11/07/1985 30 Udinese - 8 0 0 0 31 - - Markos Vellidis 04/04/1987 28 Giannina - 0 0 0 0 1 - - 18/03/1994 21 Olympiacos - 0 0 0 0 3 - Defenders - 05/02/1981 34 H. Tel-Aviv - 4 0 0 0 55 - - Vangelis Moras 26/08/1981 34 Verona - 2 0 0 0 22 - - 10/06/1985 30 Roma - 6 0 0 0 77 7 - Sokratis Papastathopoulos 09/06/1988 27 Dortmund - 7 1 0 0 58 2 - Kostas Stafylidis 02/12/1993 21 Augsburg - 3 0 0 0 5 - - José Holebas 27/06/1984 31 Watford - 3 0 0 0 29 1 - Stelios Kitsiou 28/09/1993 22 PAOK - 1 0 0 0 1 - - Adam-Kristof Tzanetpoulos 10/02/1995 20 AEK - 0 0 0 0 - - Midfielders - Christos Aravidis 13/03/1987 28 AEK - 2 0 0 0 2 - - 13/02/1985 30 PAOK - 2 0 0 0 52 1 - Panagiotis Kone 26/07/1987 28 Udinese * 6 0 0 0 26 1 - Andreas Samaris 13/06/1989 26 Benfica * 8 0 0 0 16 1 - 15/02/1991 24 Genoa - 4 0 0 0 11 - - Petros Mantalos 31/08/1991 24 AEK - 2 0 0 0 3 - - Kostas Fortounis 16/10/1992 22 Olympiacos - 3 0 0 0 15 - - 26/10/1993 21 PAOK - 0 0 0 0 - - Forwards - 12/03/1988 27 Benfica - 6 0 0 0 42 8 - 24/12/1988 26 PAOK - 4 0 0 0 11 - - Nikos Karelis 24/02/1992 23 Panathinaikos * 6 1 0 0 7 1 Coach - Kostas Tsanas 22/08/1967 48 - 2 0 0 0 3 -

5 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Head coach Michael O'Neill Date of birth: 5 July 1969 Nationality: Northern Irish Playing career: Coleraine FC, Newcastle United FC, Dundee United FC, Hibernian FC, Coventry City FC, Aberdeen FC (loan), Reading FC (loan), Wigan Athletic FC, Saint Johnstone FC, Portland Timbers, Clydebank FC, Glentoran FC, Ayr United FC Coaching career: Brechin City FC, Shamrock Rovers FC, Northern Ireland • A midfielder and forward during a 20-year playing career, O'Neill spent the bulk of his time in Scotland, most notably with Dundee United and Hibernian. Enjoyed late success when winning a Northern Irish league and League Cup double with Glentoran in 2002/03. • Made 31 appearances for his country, scoring four goals, two of which came in a memorable 5-3 victory against Austria during EURO '96 qualifying. • Moved into coaching as assistant manager of Scottish club Cowdenbeath in 2005 before taking the reins at Brechin in March 2006. Was named coach of Shamrock Rovers in the Republic of Ireland in December 2008, guiding the Hoops to a second-place finish in his debut season before clinching their first title since 1994 in 2010. • Made history as Rovers became the first Irish side to qualify for the group stage of a European competition, beating FK Partizan in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League play-offs. Also led the Hoops to a second successive domestic championship in 2011. • Appointed coach of his country in December 2011 and helped Northern Ireland record several notable results in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, including a 1-1 draw in Portugal and a home win against Russia. Kostas Tsanas Date of birth: 22 August 1967 Nationality: Greek Playing career: Levadiakos FC, Kalamata FC, Athinaikos FC, Ethnikos Asteras FC Coaching career: Athinaikos FC, Ilysiakos FC, Greece Under-19 (assistant), Greece U21 (assistant), Greece U19, Greece U21, Greece (caretaker) • As a striker Tsanas spent the bulk of his playing career at Levadiakos, hanging up his boots in 2000. He promptly moved into coaching, starting in the youth sections of Athinaikos the following year before taking charge of the senior squad in 2005, moving on to Ilysiakos 12 months later. • Tsanas spent 2008/09 working as a scout for AEK Athens before joining the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) as a coach. He was appointed assistant to Giorgos Georgiadis with the Under-19 team; a year later the duo took over the U21 squad. • In October 2011 Tsanas succeeded Leonidas Vokolos as U19 head coach after Vokolos had become Fernando Santos's assistant in the senior squad. He led the side to the 2012 UEFA European U19 Championship final, losing 1- 0 to Spain in Tallinn. • Tsanas then switched to the U21s, also getting the Greece team to the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time – guiding his side to the last 16 at the tournament in Turkey. • In August 2015 he took over the reins of the senior national squad after the departure of Sergio Markarián.

6 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Match officials

Referee Bas Nijhuis (NED) Assistant referees Rob van de Ven (NED) , Charles Schaap (NED) Additional assistant referees Kevin Blom (NED) , Peter Janssen (NED) Fourth official Bas van Dongen (NED) UEFA Delegate José Guilherme Aguiar (POR) UEFA Referee observer Fritz Stuchlik (AUT)

Referee UEFA EURO Name Date of birth UEFA matches matches Bas Nijhuis 12/01/1977 4 54

Bas Nijhuis Referee since: 1992 First division: 2006 FIFA badge: 2007

Tournaments: 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship

Finals N/A

UEFA European Championship matches featuring the two countries involved in this match No such matches refereed Other matches involving teams from either of the two countries involved in this match Stage Date Competition Home Away Result Venue reached 16/09/2010 UEL GS AEK Athens FC HNK Hajduk Split 3-1 Athens 19/10/2011 UCL GS Olympiacos FC Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Piraeus 30/11/2011 UEL GS Tottenham Hotspur FC PAOK FC 1-2 London 29/09/2015 UCL GS Arsenal FC Olympiacos FC 2-3 London

7 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Competition facts

8 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Match-by-match lineups Northern Ireland

European Qualifiers Matchday 1 (07/09/2014) Hungary 1-2 Northern Ireland Goals: 1-0 Priskin 75, 1-1 McGinn 81, 1-2 K. Lafferty 88 Northern Ireland: Carroll, C. McLaughlin, McAuley (72 Cathcart), Baird, S. Davis, K. Lafferty, Brunt, C. Evans, Norwood (79 McKay), Hughes, Ward (66 McGinn) Matchday 2 (11/10/2014) Northern Ireland 2-0 Faroe Islands Goals: 1-0 McAuley 6, 2-0 K. Lafferty 20 Northern Ireland: Carroll, C. McLaughlin, McAuley (56 McCullough), Baird, McGinn (67 McCourt), S. Davis, K. Lafferty (84 Magennis), Norwood, Ferguson, Hughes, Ward Matchday 3 (14/10/2014) Greece 0-2 Northern Ireland Goals: 0-1 Ward 9, 0-2 K. Lafferty 51 Northern Ireland: Carroll, C. McLaughlin, McAuley, Baird, S. Davis, K. Lafferty (72 Magennis), Ferguson (78 Reeves), C. Evans, Norwood, Hughes, Ward (59 McGivern) Matchday 4 (14/11/2014) Romania 2-0 Northern Ireland Goals: 1-0 Papp 74, 2-0 Papp 79 Northern Ireland: Carroll, C. McLaughlin, McGivern, McAuley, Baird, McGinn (63 Clingan), K. Lafferty, Brunt, C. Evans (78 McKay), Norwood, Hughes Matchday 5 (29/03/2015) Northern Ireland 2-1 Finland Goals: 1-0 K. Lafferty 33, 2-0 K. Lafferty 38, 2-1 Sadik 90+1 Northern Ireland: Carroll, C. McLaughlin, McAuley, J. Evans, Baird, McGinn (64 Dallas), S. Davis (46 C. Evans), K. Lafferty (79 Magennis), Brunt, Norwood, Ward Matchday 6 (13/06/2015) Northern Ireland 0-0 Romania Northern Ireland: McGovern, C. McLaughlin, McAuley, J. Evans (79 Cathcart), Baird, S. Davis, K. Lafferty, Brunt, Dallas, Norwood, Ward (79 C. Evans) Matchday 7 (04/09/2015) Faroe Islands 1-3 Northern Ireland Goals: 0-1 McAuley 12, 1-1 Edmundsson 36, 1-2 McAuley 71, 1-3 K. Lafferty 75 Northern Ireland: McGovern, C. McLaughlin (70 Magennis), McAuley, J. Evans, Baird, McGinn, S. Davis, K. Lafferty (78 McNair), Brunt (83 Ferguson), Dallas, Norwood Matchday 8 (07/09/2015) Northern Ireland 1-1 Hungary Goals: 0-1 Guzmics 74, 1-1 K. Lafferty 90+3 Northern Ireland: McGovern, C. McLaughlin, McAuley, J. Evans, Baird, S. Davis, K. Lafferty, Brunt, C. Evans (56 McGinn), Dallas (84 Ferguson), Norwood (75 Magennis) Matchday 9 (08/10/2015) Northern Ireland-Greece Matchday 10 (11/10/2015) Finland-Northern Ireland Greece

European Qualifiers Matchday 1 (07/09/2014)

9 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Greece 0-1 Romania Goals: 0-1 Marica 10 (P) Greece: Karnezis, Mantalos (65 Christodoulopoulos), Manolas, Mitroglou, Samaras (46 Diamantakos), Salpingidis, Torosidis, Papastathopoulos, Holebas, Samaris (65 Kone), Tachtsidis Matchday 2 (11/10/2014) Finland 1-1 Greece Goals: 0-1 Karelis 24, 1-1 Hurme 55 Greece: Karnezis, Maniatis, Manolas, Vyntra, Torosidis, Mavrias (70 Moras), Athanasiadis (84 Mitroglou), Karelis (81 Samaras), Papastathopoulos, Samaris, Tachtsidis Matchday 3 (14/10/2014) Greece 0-2 Northern Ireland Goals: 0-1 Ward 9, 0-2 K. Lafferty 51 Greece: Karnezis, Maniatis, Manolas, Samaras (67 Salpingidis), Mitroglou, Vyntra (16 Stafylidis), Torosidis, Athanasiadis (46 Samaris), Karelis, Papastathopoulos, Tachtsidis Matchday 4 (14/11/2014) Greece 0-1 Faroe Islands Goals: 0-1 Edmundsson 61 Greece: Karnezis, Maniatis, Karabelas (78 Mantalos), Manolas, Moras, Kone, Christodoulopoulos, Torosidis, Gekas (46 Athanasiadis), Karelis (62 Mavrias), Samaris Matchday 5 (29/03/2015) Hungary 0-0 Greece Greece: Karnezis, Stafylidis, Manolas, Papadopoulos, Kone (77 Katsouranis), Christodoulopoulos (69 Fortounis), Fetfatzidis (77 Gianniotas), Torosidis, Athanasiadis, Papastathopoulos, Samaris Matchday 6 (13/06/2015) Faroe Islands 2-1 Greece Goals: 1-0 Hansson 32, 2-0 Hendriksson 70, 2-1 Papastathopoulos 84 Greece: Karnezis, Stafylidis, Manolas, Kone (81 Fountas), Mitroglou, Christodoulopoulos (46 Ninis), Karelis, Torosidis, Fetfatzidis (71 Kolovos), Papastathopoulos, Samaris Matchday 7 (04/09/2015) Greece 0-1 Finland Goals: 0-1 Pohjanpalo 75 Greece: Karnezis, Tziolis, Mitroglou, Fortounis, Vyntra, Papadopoulos, Karelis (77 Fountas), Papastathopoulos, Holebas, Aravidis (68 Kone), Samaris (86 Tachtsidis) Matchday 8 (07/09/2015) Romania 0-0 Greece Greece: Karnezis, Manolas, Tziolis, Mitroglou (87 Karelis), Fortounis (54 Kone), Kitsiou, Fetfatzidis (46 Vyntra), Papastathopoulos, Holebas, Aravidis, Samaris Matchday 9 (08/10/2015) Northern Ireland-Greece Matchday 10 (11/10/2015) Greece-Hungary

10 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Team facts

UEFA European Championship records: Northern Ireland History 2012 – did not qualify 2008 – did not qualify 2004 – did not qualify 2000 – did not qualify 1996 – did not qualify 1992 – did not qualify 1988 – did not qualify 1984 – did not qualify 1980 – did not qualify 1976 – did not qualify 1972 – did not qualify 1968 – did not qualify 1964 – did not qualify 1960 – did not participate Qualifying win 0-5: Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland, 11/09/91 5-0: Northern Ireland v Cyprus, 21/04/71 Qualifying defeat 1-5: Northern Ireland v England, 17/10/79 4-0: four times, most recently Germany v Northern Ireland, 08/09/99 Overall appearances 32: 31: Keith Gillespie 31: Chris Baird 29: 29: Maik Taylor 27: Pat Jennings 27: Steven Davis Overall goals 13: David Healy 10: Kyle Lafferty 7: Iain Dowie 6: Colin Clarke 5: James Quinn 4: George Best 4: Jimmy Nicholson 4: Gareth McAuley

UEFA European Championship records: Greece History 2012 – quarter-finals 2008 – group stage 2004 – winners 2000 – did not qualify 1996 – did not qualify 1992 – did not qualify 1988 – did not qualify 1984 – did not qualify 1980 – group stage 1976 – did not qualify 1972 – did not qualify 1968 – did not qualify 1964 – did not participate

11 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast 1960 – did not qualify Final tournament win 1-2: Portugal v Greece, 12/06/04 1-0: four times, most recently Greece v Russia, 16/06/12 Final tournament loss 1-3: Greece v Czechoslovakia, 14/06/80 0-2: Greece v Sweden, 10/06/08 Qualifying win 8-1: Greece v Finland, 11/10/78 Qualifying loss 7-1: France v Greece, 01/10/58 Final tournament appearances 13: 10: 9: Antonis Nikopolidis 9: Traianos Dellas 9: Final tournament goals 4: Angelos Charisteas 2: Giorgos Karagounis 2: 1: Six players Overall appearances 38: Giorgos Karagounis 36: Theodoros Zagorakis 34: Kostas Katsouranis 27: Vasilis Torosidis 26: Angelos Charisteas 25: Antonis Nikopolidis 25: Stelios Giannakopoulos Overall goals 11: Angelos Charisteas 11: Nikos Anastopoulos 7: Nikos Machlas 7: Fanis Gekas 6: Dimitris Saravakos 6: Giotis Tsalouchidis

12 Northern Ireland - Greece Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (19.45 local time) Match press kit Windsor Park, Belfast Legend

:: Previous meetings

Goals for/against: Goal totals include the outcome of disciplinary decisions (e.g. match forfeits when a 3-0 result is determined). Goals totals do not include goals scored during a penalty shoot-out after a tie ended in a draw

:: Squad list

Qual.: Total European Qualifiers appearances/goals for UEFA EURO 2020 only. FT: Total UEFA EURO 2020 appearances/goals in final tournament only. Overall: Total international appearances/goals. DoB: Date of birth Age: Based on the date press kit was last updated D: Disciplinary (*: misses next match if booked, S: suspended)

:: Team facts

EURO finals: The UEFA European Championship was a four-team event in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 (when the preliminary round and quarter-finals were considered part of qualifying).

From 1980 it was expanded to an eight-team finals and remained in that format in 1984, 1988 and 1992 until 1996, when the 16-team format was adopted. UEFA EURO 2016 was the first tournament to be played as a 24-team finals.

Records of inactive countries A number of UEFA associations have been affected by dissolution or splits of member associations. For statistical purposes, the records of these inactive countries have been allocated elsewhere: therefore, all Soviet Union matches are awarded to Russia; all West Germany – but not East Germany – matches are awarded to Germany; all Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro matches are awarded to Serbia; all Czechoslovakia matches are allocated to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Abandoned/forfeited matches For statisical purposes, when a match has been started and then abandoned but later forfeited, the result on the pitch at the time of abandonment is counted. Matches that never started and were either cancelled or forfeited are not included in the overall statistics. Competitions Other abbreviations (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties No.: Number og: Own goal ag: Match decided on away goals P: Penalty agg: Aggregate Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition Pts: Points D: Drawn R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth Res.: Result ET: Extra Time sg: Match decided by silver goal GA: Goals against t: Match decided by toss of a coin GF: Goals for W: Won gg: Match decided by golden goal Y: Booked L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow cards) Nat.: Nationality N/A: Not applicable Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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