Euro 2004 Preview June 8, 2004

The 2004 edition of the European championship runs from June 12th to July 4th. This competition is thought to be the most difficult to win and it features 16 of Europe's best. Not unlike many of its kind it has been known to cause a few surprises over the years too.

Denmark won it as a last minute replacement in 1992, the Czech Republic reached the final four years later. France solidified their status as a world power in the 2000 edition.

This year's groups are as follows. Group A features somewhat surprise hosts Portugal, Spain, Greece and Russia. Group B includes France, England, Croatia and Switzerland. Group C Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy and Sweden. The mandatory group of death, group D, includes Holland, Germany, Czech Republic and surprise qualifiers Latvia.

As with the rest of the groups group A is open and any of the 4 can cause a minor surprise and go through. The hosts will have to deal with the pressure of being at home and have not forgotten the flop of the 2002 World Cup. The so-called golden generation of Luis Figo and Rui Costa will have their last and perhaps best chance this summer.

Spain have always failed to make a mark and this time like the other occasions they have the players to go deep but it remains to be seen if Fernando Morientes, Raul and company can deliver. Coach Inaki Saez maybe the one to succeed where others have failed in convincing the players success can be achieved.

Russia and Greece qualified impressively, however in the case of Russia they left it late and needed a playoff against the Welsh. Greece topped Spain in their qualifying group and that may work positively for them.

The match-up of group B will be that of England vs.France. France eager to recover from one of the biggest disappointments of World Cup history, being eliminated in the first round in Korea./Japan, seem very motivated.

England seem better organized and more confident than previous occasions. Nevertheless both teams will be relying on their star players and hope that their somewhat shaky defenses hold up well.

Croatia and Switzerland maybe able to cause upsets but both teams have a lot questions to answer, Croatia for selection and tactical choices of coach Otto Baric and Switzerland because they will be missing some bright players like Marco Streller. Switzerland like many others also have the worry that stars such as Hakan Yakin are out of form.

Group C is perhaps the most open. Italy maybe the favoured choice but their history of starting poorly and some questions of their own about the form of some starters will give others hope. Fabio Cannavaro hasn't been at his best for most of the season at Inter Milan, nor have other key players like Alessandro Del Piero, Mauro Camoranesi and Gianluca Zambrotta.

Denmark are a solid team doing very well under coach Martin Olsen and can be considered a dark horse, Sweden are very well organized and should be able to do well now that prolific scorer Henrik Larsson has agreed to play one last international tournament. Bulgaria, with a new generation of exciting players, are impressive but may lack the experience this summer.

The group of death includes Pavel Nedved and the Czechs, outsiders Latvia and two rather unpredictable teams in Holland and Germany. Holland are never a united team and in-fighting may still be a factor. Coach Dick Advocaat has continued to experiment with using one or two forwards where any of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Patrick Kluivert and Roy Makaay are capable of doing the job. The Germans have had a string of bad friendly results losing to Romania (1-5) and Hungary (0-2) but should not be ruled out as they can always win games with patience and a few late goals.

Editor's choice for top two finishers in each group:

Group A

Portugal
Spain

Group B

France
England

Group C

Italy
Denmark

Group D

Czech Republic
Germany



Euro 2004 fixtures