Switzerland set for EURO curtain-raiser

Co-hosts Switzerland will be looking to get UEFA EURO 2008™ off to a flying start when they kick off against the Czech Republic on 7 June, while elsewhere on the opening day Portugal and Turkey will meet for the third time in four UEFA European Championship final tournaments following the draw in Lucerne.

Opening-day action
Switzerland will get the action under way at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, beginning at 18.00CET, against a side who reached the final of EURO '96™ and also lost to eventual winners Greece in the semi-finals at UEFA EURO 2004™, where the Swiss failed to progress beyond the group stage. The Stade de Genève is the setting for the other Group A curtain-raiser, with Portugal playing Turkey having overcome the same opponents in 1996 and 2000, winning 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the latter tournament with Nuno Gomes scoring twice.

Familiar foes
The focus switches to Austria 24 hours later as the co-hosts inaugurate Group B at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion against Croatia, who inflicted a 4-1 friendly defeat on Austria in May 2006. Two teams that faced off in the 2006 FIFA World Cup renew acquaintances at the Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, with Germany taking on a Poland side who were overcome 1-0 in last year's competition thanks to an added-time Oliver Neuville goal.

Past meetings revisted
Group C commences on 9 June when Romania encounter 2000 European champions France at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Berne, while the country Les Bleus beat in that final seven years ago, world champions Italy, begin in Zurich at the Letzigrund Stadion with a repeat of their 2000 semi-final against the Netherlands. Group D kicks off at the Stadion Tivoli NEU in Innsbruck with a fixture between Spain and Russia, who also met at UEFA EURO 2004™ – the Iberian side prevailing 1-0 – before holders Greece complete the first round of group matches against Sweden at the Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim.

Tough section
There will be no let-up in intrigue in the remaining two instalments of group games, with perhaps the pick of the Matchday 2 ties being France's showdown with the Netherlands in Berne. In the 2000 group stage, the Dutch triumphed 3-2 over the same opposition to gain a measure of revenge for their quarter-final elimination four years earlier. The Italy-Romania contest in Zurich will also evoke memories of 2000, with Filippo Inzaghi having been on target as the Azzurri won 2-0 in the quarter-finals. However, arguably the most eye-catching Group C match comes on 17 June as France and Italy – who met in qualifying with the French winning their home game, drawing away and topping the group, having lost the World Cup final to the Azzurri – vie for supremacy once again.

Click here to see the fixture schedule in full.