It all starts here

The long road to Portugal and the finals of EURO 2004™ starts here. Ninety-two weeks and 210 matches before the finals kick off on 12 June 2003, 50 teams split into ten groups will begin competing for a place alongside the hosts Portugal in the 12th UEFA European Championship.

Live coverage
Of the 15 places available in the finals, ten will go to the winners of the qualifying groups, with the five remaining places taken by the winners of the play-off ties between the group runners-up. uefa.com will bring you live minute-by-minute coverage of eight matches today as well as live score updates from the day's other matches, starting from 16.00CET.

Title defence
The holders France open the defence of a title won so dramatically in Rotterdam two years ago with a trip to Cyprus. Their new coach, Jacques Santini, has spoken of his wish to "give back joy to the players" after the crushing disappointment of their early FIFA World Cup exit. To this effect, he has given the squad an injection of youth, with young luminaries like Sydney Govou and Olivier Kapo given a chance, following the international retirements of Youri Djorkaeff, Frank Leboeuf and Christophe Dugarry.

Spain's next generation
If France's reaction to their Far East failure merits attention, it is Spain's visit to Greece in Group 6 that is arguably the most eye-catching encounter of the weekend. This is the first competitive match in charge for Spain coach Iñaki Sáez, who replaced José António Camacho after the FIFA World Cup finals, and should provide a baptism of fire for a youthful-looking Spanish side. With Fernando Hierro and Luis Enrique retired, Sáez is expected to call on a new generation with Xavi Hernández, Joaquín Sánchez and Vicente Rodríguez all likely starters and the likes of Carlos Marchena and Raúl Bravo called up for the first time.

Greece eye win
Greece have won five and lost just one of eight friendly matches played since the end of their World Cup qualifying campaign last year - a sign that they are making progress under their German coach, Otto Rehhagel - and according to midfield player Stelio Giannakoupoulos are looking for nothing less than three points at a sold-out Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium tomorrow. "To draw against Spain wouldn't be bad but we want to start with a win," he said. "To get three points would mean a significant step towards qualification, even at this early stage."

Scandinavian struggle
There is unlikely to be too much neighbourly goodwill on the pitch in Oslo's Ullevål stadium where Norway host Scandinavian rivals Denmark in Group 2. A recent poll suggested only 35 per cent of Norwegians believed their team would qualify for EURO 2004™ but victory over a Danish side who impressed in reaching the second round of the World Cup would go a long way to changing the public mood. Four players could make their 50th international appearances - Norway's Frode Grodas, Ronny Johnsen and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and Denmark's Ebbe Sand - in a match Denmark enter missing several key players, notably Dennis Rommedahl, Martin Jørgensen and captain René Henriksen.

Fresh start
World Cup runners-up Germany will be looking to build on their performance in the Far East when they visit Lithuania but elsewhere there will be teams looking to shake off World Cup hangovers - Russia and Croatia, for instance, who take on the Republic of Ireland and Estonia respectively. Dick Advocaat's Netherlands side will be hoping to signal a fresh start against Belarus after missing the World Cup, while Italy - beaten finalists at EURO 2000™ - will be looking for something to celebrate in Azerbaijan after an unhappy summer for 'calcio' lovers. Finally, the hosts Portugal begin their long warm-up for the finals with a friendly in Birmingham against England.