The group stage for the UEFA Cup has been drawn, handing tall tasks for advancement to Danny Califf's Aalborg and Tim Howard's Everton.

The Toffees and their US keeper will battle in Group A, which includes Eredivisie runners up AZ Alkmaar and two teams that dismissed clubs with Americans in the first round.

Greek side Larissa ousted Brad Friedel's Blackburn, while Russian title chasers Zenit St. Petersburg took care of Oguchi Onyewu's Standard Liège. The pool also features Bundesliga side Nürnberg, who have stumbled from the league gate this season after a sixth place finish in 2006/07.

Aalborg, meanwhile, must tackle English contenders Tottenham and Belgian holders Anderlecht. Califf & Co. must also face Spanish upstarts Getafe and back-to-back Israeli Cup winners Hapoel Tel Aviv.

A pair of US Under-20 strikers hoping to crack their respective first teams, Johann Smith of Bolton and Hamburg's Preston Zimmerman, also had a stake in Tuesday's draw.

Among the teams Zimmerman's HSV will face are Norwegian leaders Brann, who feature American left back Ramiro Corrales. Also included in Group D are Swiss power Basel, Ligue 1 outfit Rennes and Croatian champs Dinamo Zagreb.

Smith's Wanderers will run up against tourney favorites Bayern Munich and Portuguese side Braga, who dumped Charlie Davies and Hammarby in the last round. Also in Group F are Serbian kings Red Star Belgrade and Greek entrants Aris Thessaloniki.

Group play kicks off on October 25th, with Brann hosting Hamburg and Everton welcoming Larissa to Goodison. Aalborg will begin their second round odyssey on November 8th with a visit from Anderlecht.

Group A
AZ Alkmaar
Everton
Larissa FC
Nürnberg
Zenit St. Petersburg

Group D
FC Basel
Dinamo Zagreb
Hamburg
Rennes
SK Brann

Group F
Aris Thessaloniki
Bayern Munich
Bolton
Braga
Red Star Belgrade

Group G
Aalborg BK
Anderlecht
Getafe
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Tottenham