Greece were the surprise winners of Euro 2004 in Portugal
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Uefa has altered the qualifying format for the 2008 European Championship.
The winners and runners-up from seven groups will automatically qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.
The move means there will no longer be play-offs between teams finishing in second place in the groups.
Six of the qualifying groups will contain seven teams, and the other eight, with the hosts filling the other two spots in the 16-team tournament.
The qualifying-round format was decided by Uefa's executive committee at its meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, on Tuesday.
The qualifying competition will begin in the autumn of 2006, after the World Cup in Germany in the summer.
The format for Uefa Euro 2004 in Portugal involved 10 group winners qualifying, along with the host country and the winners of five qualifying play-offs staged over two legs on a home-and-away basis.
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