What are the expectations for the team?
The French public are pessimistic. Which is a good indicator that they’ll get to the final at least, previous low expectations having been recorded in 1998 and 2006. Ten years on, four players from the 1998 World Cup squad – Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram, David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry – could all take part. If picked, Nicolas Anelka, another player from 1998 generation, will be looking to score his first goal in a major international competition. There is some optimism surrounding the new generation represented by Hatem Ben Arfa, Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema – all three tipped as the next Zidane – as well as “Kaiser Franck” Ribéry.
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Stories
Exclusive chats with Cristiano Ronaldo, insider gossip from the Italian camp and tactical analysis from a host of expert coaches will be among the things we won't be doing over the next month. But we will be putting together daily European Championship updates, while also preparing comprehensive coverage of the tournament for the next edition of WSC. Will Euro 2008 live up to the claim we made during World Cup 94 that major championships are better when England aren't involved? Find out over the next four weeks.
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Comment
Spanish lessons for England 30-06-08 ~ England can learn from the champions, apparently
Teutonic efficiency? 29-06-08 ~ Why you don’t have to be a great team to get to the final
On the transfer trail 27-06-08 ~ Likely movers from Euro 2008 and within the UK
Arshavin v Aragones 26-06-08 ~ The men getting attention prior to the Spain v Russia semi-final
Englishmen abroad 25-06-08 ~ The anglo-centric build up to the Germany v Turkey semi-final
New ground for Spain and Ince 23-06-08 ~ The day after the final quarter-final
Spanish expectations 22-06-08 ~ The surprise today would be if Spain beat Italy
Dutch masters 21-06-08 ~ Guus Hiddink sends out Russia to face his native country
Turkey test for confident Croatia 20-06-08 ~ The second quarter-final confounds commentators
Phil's final fling? 19-06-08 ~ Portugal face Germany in the first quarter-final
Russia's time 18-06-08 ~ Group D has more than one team with something to prove
Italy and France fear a fix 17-06-08 ~ Anyone could go through from Group C
Austria's big night 16-06-08 ~ The co-hosts invoke the spirit of 1978
Host story 15-06-08 ~ A poor show from Switzerland and Austria
Seeing the world in negative 14-06-08 ~ Great teams don't always win
Tangled Webb 13-06-08 ~ English impact on the tournament
Phil the gap 12-06-08 ~ Portugal's manager has a new job
No pain for Spain 11-06-08 ~ Easy for Spain; Turkey v Switzerland unearths unpleasant memories
Offside? 10-06-08 ~ A dodgy decision in the best game so far
Still no shocks 09-06-08 ~ Results are as expected, and the Dutch are rowing
Anglo angles 08-06-08 ~ The obsession with England continues as the other hosts take to the field
And they're off – but do we care? 07-06-08 ~ One of the hosts starts it all off
Euros not accepted 06-06-08 ~ The British press struggle to get excited about the tournament
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Message board
Join in the debate on WSC's Euro 2008 message board. Current busy threads include:
Euro 2008 report: England triumph
Why I like the German football team
Why I hate the German football team
I almost felt sorry for Clive Tyldesley…
Tournament Anti-XI
Löw Will Tear Us Apart
Euro 2008 report: England's progress thus far
Anglicise Foriegn names here
Quarters, Semis, Final
Raymond Domenech
I Love Martin O'Neill
New discoveries
Let's get superficial
Anyone but Italy
Euro 2008 Lookalikes Thread
Euro 2008 checklist
Things about Euro 2008 you're pleased about
Things about Euro 2008 you're already annoyed by
British bookies
Panini Swap Shop
Match by match threads:
Final
Germany v Spain
Semi-finals
Germany v Turkey
Russia v Spain
Quarter-finals
Holland v RussiaSpain v Italy
Croatia v Turkey
Portugal v Germany
Group stage
Spain v Greece
Russia v Sweden
France v Italy
Holland v Romania
Austria v Germany
Poland v Croatia
Czech Republic v Turkey
Switzerland v Portugal
Greece v Russia
Sweden v Spain
Italy v Romania
France v Netherlands
Austria v Poland
Croatia v Germany
Switzerland v Turkey
Czech Republic v Portugal
Greece v Sweden
Spain v Russia
Italy v Netherlands
Romania v France
Germany v Poland
Austria v Croatia
Portugal v Turkey
Switzerland v Czech Republic
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Team guide
Find more about the participating countries with our handy team-by-team guide
Group A
Czech Republic Portugal Switzerland Turkey
Group B
Austria Croatia Germany Poland
Group C
France Italy Netherlands Romania
Group D
Greece Russia Spain Sweden
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Wallchart
To help you follow the games, download our Euro 2008 wallchart that was given away with WSC 256 (and if you want a proper version click here to buy the issue). Download is a 1.1mb pdf
A France midfielder and amateur film director, sacked for “insubordination”. Andy Brassell looks at a player for whom the World Cup was the nadir not a peak
“I wouldn’t have liked to have left people indifferent about me.” As the former France midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo contemplated a football epitaph for himself having formally confirmed his retirement, at least one career objective had been comfortably fulfilled.
To suggest that the French midfielder has an attitude problem would be like saying Tewkesbury has been a bit damp of late. James Eastham reports on a career that has gone nowhere, via pretty much everywhere
Stéphane Dalmat scored a glorious goal in the Champions League last season. Playing for Bordeaux, he picked up the ball on the halfway line, breezed past an opponent and lobbed PSV Eindhoven’s goalkeeper, Gomes, from 25 yards. In the Sky TV studio, Jamie Redknapp, Dalmat’s team-mate at Spurs in 2003-04, described the midfielder along the lines of being “one of the most skilful players I’ve ever seen”, but labelled his attitude “shocking”.
Tuesday 1 Steve McClaren begins his first day as England manager by saying: “It will be totally different from Sven and the past five years. I’m going to do it my way.” Liverpool’s Champions League opponents Maccabi Haifa are contesting UEFA’s plan to switch the Israel leg of their tie to a neutral venue. That man Ken Bates is to report Chelsea to the Premier League, the FA, FIFA and the World Council of Churches after claiming they recruited two Leeds youth-team players through an illegal approach. José Antonio Reyes is hoping to tie up a move to Madrid: “Real are like a candy that is difficult to turn down.” Ghana full-back John Pantsil joins West Ham.