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Spain must overcome Slovakia test
 Spain will be favorites to beat Slovakia and reach the World Cup finals ZURICH, Switzerland -- Spain will play Slovakia, Switzerland will face Turkey and Norway will meet the Czech Republic in the play-offs to determine the last three European qualifiers for the World Cup finals. The draw was made by Franz Beckenbauer - with the matches taking place on November 12 and November 16. Spain, who were seeded in the draw along with the Czech Republic and Turkey, last met Slovakia in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup finals - winning 4-1 at home and 2-1 away. Switzerland and Turkey last met in the qualifiers for Euro 96 with the Swiss winning 2-1 in Istanbul and Turkey winning 2-1 in Berne. Norway and the Czech Republic also last met each other in the Euro 96 qualifiers with the teams drawing 1-1 in Oslo before the Czechs won 2-0 in Prague. The two other two-legged playoffs to be held on the same dates in November pit Trinidad & Tobago against Bahrain and Uruguay against Australia. Once those ties are completed all 32 finalists for the World Cup will be known. Meanwhile, Spain coach Luis Aragones is under no illusions about the difficult task his team face to qualify. "Slovakia are definitely not the team I was hoping for. Technically they might not be as strong as our players but they make up for that physically which will make it very difficult for us. Their defence is also very good so I have a lot of respect for them," said Aragones. Despite boasting one of Europe's strongest domestic leagues, Spain have only won one international title -- the 1964 European Championships -- and have never managed better than a fourth place finish in the World Cup. They last failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974. "Of course we have always had good players technically but in recent years we have not been able to convert that talent into international success," Aragones added. "I have only been the coach for a year, however, and I expect to turn this history around both in the playoffs and then at the finals in Germany." The Spanish play their second leg away in Bratislava. "That might give us a small advantage," Slovakian football association general secretary Dusan Tittel said. "But for us it's clear that Spain were the biggest side in the draw and they will be big favourites next month." Tittel added: "We were quite keen to avoid a big derby against the Czech Republic, so Turkey would have been our opponent of choice -- but the draw is made now, and our team just have to do their best." Turkish football association general secretary Lutfi Ambogan said he was happy to be facing Switzerland. "This is the team we wanted to play. "We know that it won't be easy, but there are around 100,000 Turks living in Switzerland so for us it will be like having two home matches -- and the fact that the real home match comes second gives us a slight edge I think." Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn said he would rather his team could have played their first match away. "But if we can get a good result in Bern, that should lay the foundation for an overall victory." He will hope to be able to call on playmaker Hakan Yakin, whose family originate from Turkey, if the Young Boys midfielder can first recover from a thigh injury. "A player like Hakan Yakin at his fittest will always be welcome in the Swiss team," said Kuhn. "But he will be selected based on his form rather than on his knowledge of Turkish football." 
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