CRAIG Brown was a step ahead of the game when the quarter-final draw

for the Under-21 European Championship was made in Geneva yesterday,

writes James Traynor. The Scottish under-21 manager had gone to Aachen

to watch Germany's youngsters beat Luxembourg 3-0 in their final

qualifying game after the draw had paired his team with Germany.

Germany's full international side will play Luxembourg in Leverkusen

tonight, when it is expected they will clinch their place in the finals

of the European Championship.

The senior Scottish team have already qualified for the finals and

Brown felt it appropriate to take time out to check on the standard of

play among the teams his under-21s could meet in their competition. The

winners of Scotland's tie against Germany will meet the winners of the

quarter-final between the Netherlands and Sweden.

No dates or venues have been set for Scotland's quarter-final games,

but it is likely Pittodrie will be selected and that would certainly

suit the likes of Eoin Jess, Scott Booth, Stephen Wright, and Michael

Watt, who are all Aberdeen players.

The under-21 captain, Paul Lambert, is not worried about where the

matches will be played because he is too concerned about his future

standing in the international scene.

The St Mirren midfield player, who has been a substitute in his club's

past two games, said last night: ''The draw gives me an extra incentive

to try to get my place back in the first team. It would be a great

disappointment if I lost my place in the under-21 side.''

On the quarter-final draw itself Lambert, who has captained the

under-21s for two season now, added: ''We could not have been given a

tougher tie. It will be extremely difficult, but if we can beat Germany

we could go all the way.''

The draw for the UEFA Cup competition also was made in Geneva

yesterday and Liverpool were given a quarter-final tie against Genoa. It

will be their first competitive matches against Italian opposition since

the Heysel tragedy in 1985, when 39 supporters died during the European

Cup final against Juventus.

The draw gives Graeme Souness an opportunity to return to one of his

old stamping grounds since he played in Italian football with Sampdoria,

who ground-share with Genoa. ''It is great to be going back to a stadium

which is one of the best in Italy,'' he said.

''It is British in style, with the crowd close to the pitch. They

generate a tremendous atmosphere.''

Liverpool were supposed to play the first leg at Anfield, but they

have been ordered to play away first because Sampdoria were drawn to

play at home in the return leg of their European Cup tie against

Anderlecht.

This competition takes precedence over the UEFA Cup. However, the

switch suits Souness, who prefers to play away from home first, and he

has every reason to feel confident of reaching the semi-finals.

Liverpool surged into the last eight with Dean Saunders scoring a hat

trick, his second of the tournament, against Swar Tirol last week,

helping his side to a 6-0 aggregate win.

Italy and Denmark were put on standby yesterday for next summer's

European Championship finals because UEFA are concerned that the

troubles within Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union might prevent these

teams from taking part. The Italians and the Danes were runners up to

the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia respectively in the qualifying groups.

Draws:

European Under-21 championship. Quarter-finals -- Denmark v Poland,

Netherlands v Sweden, Germany v Scotland, Czechoslovakia v Italy.

Semi-finals -- Denmark or Poland v Czechoslovakia or Italy, Germany or

Scotland v Netherlands or Sweden.

Quarter-finals and semi-finals to be completed by March 31 and April

30 respectively.

UEFA Cup. Quarter-finals -- Torino (Italy) v BK 1903 Copenhagen

(Denmark), Sigma Olomouc (Czechoslovakia) v Real Madrid (Spain), Genoa

(Italy) v Liverpool, Ghent (Belgium) v Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Matches to be played on a home-and-away basis, on March 4 and 18, with

the first-named team at home in the first leg.