The countries in Group Nine met in Cardiff on Monday to sort out their fixtures, and the result was a first-up trip to Finland for Hughes and his squad on 7 September.

But they will face a tough opening home game with Italy at the Millennium Stadium on 16 October.

Wales will also get their long trip to Azerbaijan out of the way early, travelling to Baku on 20 November.

Hughes has avoided any fixtures during the summer months, and the Dragons will finish their fixtures with home double against Finland on 10 September, 2003, followed by Yugoslavia on 11 October.

Despite the tough draw, Hughes is looking for continued improvement from his side.

"We have progressed in the last two years and have become difficult to beat. We will be looking to build on the work we've already done," he said.

"We'll go into it in a positive frame of mind. There will be a lot of interest in football after the World Cup and to go straight into a major championship will be great for the players.

"I will be looking for some good performances from them," he added.

"We do not have to play games in June of next year, which was a concern for me because our season is over by then.

"And we do not have a double-header the week we play in Azerbaijan. I wanted to avoid the problems of travel and tiredness that occured when we played Armenia in the recent World Cup qualifiers."

Hughes added: "We also have two home games to finish off with and they are both against the countries we have to beat if we are to qualify.

"It should keep the interest going right to the end."