Euro 2004 Teams

Portugal* host their first major tournament with huge expectations from the home fans. World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will attempt to integrate rising stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma alongside the old guard of Luis Figo and Rui Costa.

Player to watch: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Portugal national team profile: more info

Greece have come good again under German coach Otto Rehhagel finishing above Spain and the Ukraine in qualifying. Scoring goals is a problem.

Player to watch: Angelos Charisteas.

Coach: Otto Rehhagel.

Greece national team profile: more info

Spain are still perennial underachievers in international football. To reach the finals they had to go via the play-offs against Norway though they won comfortably in the end.

Player to watch: Fernando Torres.

Coach: Iñaki Sáez.

Spain national team profile: more info

Russia crushed Welsh hopes by winning the two-leg November playoff. Featuring a team made up mainly of Russian league players, little is expected of the Russians. Can the aging Alexander Mostovoi pull one out of his ushanka (fur hat)?

Player to watch: 190 cm forward Dmitri Boulykin.

Coach: Georgi Yartsev.

Russia national team profile: more info

France* should win the tournament as they have the best strikers in Trezeguet and Henry supported by Zidane in midfield. However, they need to show more tactical awareness than they did at the World Cup.

Player to watch: Zinedine Zidane.

Coach: Jacques Santini.

France national team profile: more info

England will feel good after their creditable quarter-final place in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup and other teams will not be looking forward to meeting them in Portugal. Can they reach the final?

Player to watch: Wayne Rooney.

Coach: Sven Goran-Eriksson.

England national team profile: more info

Switzerland. The Swiss narrowly won Group 10 - thus avoiding a playoff - but in eight matches only scored four goals more than they conceded. Better than their present long odds suggest, they will still struggle to go past the first round.

Players to watch: Hakan Yakin & Alexander Frei

Coach: Jakob Kuhn.

Switzerland national team profile: more info

Croatia scraped into the finals and there has been trouble in the camp - Liverpool's Igor Biscan has been told he will never play again by coach Otto Baric. Hopes of an upset lie with new striker Dado Prso.

Player to watch: Dado Prso.

Coach: Otto Baric.

Croatia national team profile: more info

Sweden* conceded only three goals in qualifying for Portugal, though they did lose 1-0 to Latvia in their last match. Since then they have also lost 1-0 to Egypt. They should be difficult to beat in Portugal, but can they eke out wins?

Player to watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Coaches: Tommy Söderberg & Lars Lagerbäck.

Sweden national team profile: more info

Bulgaria are a well-coached side, without outstanding individual players as of years gone by. Bulgaria nipped Croatia and Belgium to wrap up Group 7. The new side is alot more solid and professional (thus less newsworthy) than the old talented but wayward brigade. Theirs should be a short visit to Portugal.

Player to watch: The Ghost of Bulgarian Soccer Past (aka, Stoichkov), or perhaps Martin Petrov.

Coach: Plamen Markov.

Bulgaria national team profile: more info

Denmark qualified by winning the relatively easy Group 2, just edging out Norway, Romania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Danes should, however, crash out in the first round and be back in Copenhagen in time to watch the Final at home.

Player to watch: Martin Jorgensen.

Coach: Morten Olsen.

Denmark national team profile: more info

Italy felt aggrieved at refereeing decisions at the last World Cup, though in truth they did not play well. Beaten finalists in Euro 2000, Italy can never be counted out.

Player to watch: Marco Di Vaio.

Coach: Giovanni Trappatoni.

Italy national team profile: more info

Czech Republic * The Czechs bounced unbeaten through their qualifying group defeating Holland on the way. Finalists at Euro 1996, the team lead by Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky are definite dark horses this time around.

Player to watch: Pavel Nedved.

Coach: Karel Bruckner.

Czech Republic national team profile: more info

Latvia This will be Latvia's debut at the major tournament level. The little Baltic nation upset Sweden in the final match of the qualifying round (Sweden had already won Group 4) to make it to a playoff date with Turkey. In Istanbul, down by 2, Latvia came back to tie the Turks and earn a spot in Portugal.

Player to watch: The "Riga Rocket" Maris Verpakovskis (who, in the summer of 2003, failed a trial with Wolverhampton Wanderers).

Coach: Aleksandrs Starkovs.

Latvia national team profile: more info

Germany are no longer dominant in Europe as a 2003 3-0 home defeat to France testifies. The team is building for the 2006 World Cup on home turf, but never bet against the Germans in a major competition! Expect substantial ex-pat German support in Portugal.

Player to watch: Kevin Kuranyi.

Coach: Rudi Voller.

Germany national team profile: more info

Holland After a stunning playoff loss to Scotland at Hampden Park, the Dutch regained their form and thrashed the upstart Scots 6-0 at home in the second leg to earn a rightful spot in Portugal. Along with the hosts and 2000 winner France, Holland is one of the clear pre-tournament favorites. If the team can avoid its usual internal bickering and keep in check the egos of its hyper-talented lineup, it should do very, very well.

Player to watch: Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Coach: Dik Advocaat.

Holland national team profile: more info

Soccer Shop