Lausanne football club have been drawn against the French Cup winners Nantes in the third round of the UEFA Cup. Pierre-André Schürmann's side qualified for the draw on Thursday with an historic win over Dutch giants Ajax.

Nantes may not have as strong a reputation in Europe as Ajax, but will still be seen as strong favourites against Lausanne. Last season's cup win over Calais was the third time the French side had lifted the trophy. They can also list seven French league titles among their honours.

The draw could have been far less kind to Lausanne, though, with some of the continent's biggest sides competing in the third round. The Swiss side will also take heart from their impressive performance in downing Ajax.

A thrilling 2-2 draw in Asmterdam was enough to send Lausanne following their 1-0 win in last month's home leg.

Lausanne will go into the two matches against Nantes as Switzerland's only representatives in the UEFA Cup following the second round exits of both St Gallen and Basel on Thursday.

St Gallen were the victims of an injury time goal which saw their opponents, Bruges, snatch a late berth in the third round. The anguish of the Swiss champions will not have been helped by Friday's draw in Geneva which saw Bruges paired with the Spanish giants of Barcelona.

Basel's absence from Friday's draw was widely expected after their 2-1 defeat in last month's home tie against Feyenoord. In Rotterdam on Thursday the expectations were confirmed, the Dutch side winning 1-0 on the night to complete a 3-1 aggregate win over Christian Gross's side.

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