Czechs hope for magic touch

GROUP A
Greece: Greece were not lucky in the draw, but we are not out yet. Otto Rehhagel said we still have a chance to shine in Portugal - we would still have a chance whether we had to play the best team in the universe or the weakest side. (Filathlos)
Portugal: Portugal have to consider the draw favourable. The nation wants to see the national team repeat the adventures of its navigators in the 16th century. May the Henri Delaunay Cup remain here. (A Bola)
Russia: The hand of the legendary Portuguese player Eusébio, who decided the fate of the draw yesterday, was quite lucky for us. The opponents are not easy, but they are not the most terrifying either - look at who our brothers from Latvia have to play. (Sport-Express)
Spain: Just what Sáez did not want - to land in the host country's group. (El Mundo)

GROUP B
Croatia: Today there is no reason to be sad. We are faced with great opponents and challenging games, but why couldn't we reach something we consider unreachable at the moment? (Sportske novosti)
England: Just when Anglo-French relations seemed to be improving, along came the draw to renew the rivalry. England and France will play in Lisbon and the repair done to cross-channel relations by last week's visit to London by the French president, Jacques Chirac, will be hard-pressed to survive the build-up. (The Guardian)
France: While everybody remembers the win at Wembley in February 1999, thanks to two goals from Anelka, the rest of history is often ignored. France have never beaten England in a major finals. (Le Parisien)
Switzerland: Switzerland do have a chance in Portugal, and the players are right to be optimistic. They should keep their cool and play with the confidence of a favourite, while showing the fighting commitment of an outsider. Never mind Zidane or Beckham, the Swiss can reach second place. They don't need a miracle, just a little good fortune at most. (Blick)
 
GROUP C
Bulgaria: Both Sweden and Denmark are well respected teams and Italy are probably the best team in Europe along with France. The draw is over and it is pointless discussing whether it is good or bad. The positive point is that Bulgaria now has a promising side which the other three sides will have to take into consideration. (Meridian Match)
Denmark: We do not underestimate Sweden, but considering the alternatives - France, Portugal and the Czech Republic - this is a gift, and all in all the draw can only be called good. (Ekstra Bladet)
Italy: Group C is the only one without a match between two of the tournament favourites. However, we should not underestimate our opponents because Sweden and Denmark were the surprises of the World Cup group stage and Bulgaria did really well in qualifying. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Sweden: The draw is closer to a dream than a nightmare, even though our three counterparts probably see us as more of a gift than we see them. Denmark and Bulgaria are teams that we are at least on a par with, and therein lies the danger: we rarely perform well when looked upon as favourites. (Aftonbladet)

GROUP D
Czech Republic: We know all about the Netherlands - who will be out for revenge after we qualified ahead of them - and we never have any luck against Germany. We need Karel Brückner to be like Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and perform some magic to help us through this really tough group. (Sport)
Germany: Why Holland? It is unbelievable! Rudi Völler closed his eyes in horror when Portuguese football legend Eusébio placed us in Group D with Holland. And then with the Czech Republic, a dark horse for the title, came a second hammer. (Bild Zeitung)
Latvia: The draw was merciless towards us - we are going to face three former European champions. Aleksandrs Starkovs, however, was neither grim nor happy about it. He was realistic - next June brings a new and very tough test. (Diena)
Netherlands: The intense, and probably eternal, rivalry between Holland and Germany receives fresh impetus when the countries meet in Porto. No other opponent appeals as much to the imagination as Germany, the country that has taken over Belgium as our arch-rival since the 1970s - a rivalry stimulated by the loss in the 1974 World Cup final. (De Volkskrant)