Spain and Ukraine breathed a sigh of relief when they were drawn alongside Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in Group H for the World Cup.

On paper the two European sides are strong favourites to claim the top two places and a passport into the knockout round, leaving the other two teams to scrap it out for the minor places.

Ukraine qualified for their first ever World Cup with a spectacular campaign in which they saw off Euro 2004 winners Greece, 2002 World Cup semifinalists Turkey and former European champions Denmark.

Their primary weakness, however, is seen as their likely overdependence the team's one truly world-class player, Andriy Shevchenko who goes to the finals just days after joining English champions Chelsea from AC Milan for a reported British record transfer fee of 30.8 million pounds.

Coach Oleg Blokhin, like Shevchenko a former European Footballer of the Year, has also expressed his concerns about the lack of competition for places in the squad, saying his players are in danger of becoming complacent.

Spain were far less impressive than Ukraine in qualification and had to take the playoff route to ensure their place in at an eighth successive World Cup, but a 19-match unbeaten run and an emphatic 6-2 aggregate victory over Slovakia make them confident of progressing beyond the group stage.

Injuries to leading figures like Raul, Xavi and Vicente have forced changes in the likely starting line-up in Germany [Images], but the emergence of some talented youngsters such as Cesc Fabregas, is likely to provide ample compensation.

The opening group match between the two sides in Leipzig on June 14 is the likely group decider, but both teams will do well not to underestimate their other opponents.

If there is a definite result from that match, then the winner will be in a very strong position. Whoever loses though will have to ensure maximum points in their second game with Spain facing Tunisia in Stuttgart on June 19 and Ukraine meeting the Saudis in Hamburg on the same day.

Tunisia, who have qualified for the World Cup for a third time in succession, won the African Nations Cup on home soil in 2004, gave a good account of themselves in last year's Confederations Cup and can count on the experienced hand of former France [Images] boss Roger Lemerre as coach.

Saudi Arabia will be at their fourth successive World Cup, and although they were dealt an embarrassing whitewash in South Korea and Japan [Images], they are hoping that the appointment of Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta will revitalise the team in Germany.

Although he looks to be facing an uphill battle in Germany, the presence of Asian Footballer of the Year Hamad Al Montashari in defence, the influential Mohammed Noor in midfield and rising star Yasser Al Qahtani up front will give them hope of scoring an upset or two.