Northern Ireland found themselves in a Euro 2004 qualification group that consisted of Spain, Ukraine, Armenia, Malta and Greece and it proved to be a disaster for the Irish. They started the campaign off with an expected defeat against Spain in a match played at Albacete which was followed by a fairly decent home draw against the Ukraine. After suffering a defeat at home against Finland in a friendly, they travelled to Yerevan to face Armenia, suffering a 1-0 defeat in match they could have lost a lot more by. The next task was a home encounter against Greece, one which they lost 2-0 in Belfast which already put them at the foot of the table. The Irish had decent league players at their disposal including Michael Hughes, Steven Davis, Keith Gillespie, David Healy, Phillip Mulryne and Chris Baird. Northern Ireland met Spain in their following match t home and earned a creditable 0-0 draw against the mighty Spaniard