Northern Ireland will start their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign with a trip to Slovenia on 3 September following a fixtures meeting today.

They are breaking with tradition as that game is on Friday, as are half the qualifiers, with no matches on a Saturday. That will be followed a month later with an eagerly-awaited home game against Italy.

Nigel Worthington's side will also round off their campaign against the current world champions. Northern Ireland have opted to play three of their first four games away from Belfast in the hope of an easier run-in.