Olympiacos F.C. in European football semi-final appearance. Their campaign began in the second qualifying round, with Cypriot side Anorthosis not able to prevent them from participating in the group stage for a second time in a row. They were drawn in Group A along with Croatia Zagreb, Porto and Ajax, where they managed to win all three home games and secure two away draws, topping the group and getting the ticket for the quarter-finals. There, they were drawn to face Juventus, one of the favourites to win the trophy. In the first leg at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin, Juventus defeated Olympiacos 2–1, which
Wales national football team home stadium was immediately assigned as the new home venue for Welsh football matches, hosting its first match on 29 March 2000 against Finland which, due to the increased capacity of the new stadium, set a new attendance record for a Wales international match of 65,614. However, by the end of the decade the ground had seen a dramatic drop in attendances for international matches due to the progress of the Welsh side in qualifying competitions which led to calls from several senior figures in Welsh football, including national team manager John Toshack and players such as Jason Koumas and Craig Bellamy,