Finalists hit the road to Portugal

Squad streamlining
With 115 days to go until the host nation Portugal get the tournament under way with a Group A fixture against Greece in Porto, coaches will be using tonight's fixtures to streamline their squads as the countdown intensifies. The final 23-man squads will have to be named at least ten days before the 12 June kick-off, and in many cases just one or two berths are up for grabs.

Figo century
One player assured of his place this summer is Figo - the man who will carry the hopes of 10 million Portuguese on his shoulders. The Real Madrid CF midfield player will earn his 100th cap tonight when the hosts take on England in the first official match at the 30,000-capacity Estádio Algarve - a venue which will stage two group games and the quarter-final between the winner of Group C and the runner-up in Group D.

'Enormous pride'
"I've felt enormous pride on all 99 occasions when I've worn the national team shirt," Figo said. "This is different. A hundred is a nice round number." Figo appeared in a semi-final at UEFA EURO 2000™, while Poborský was a runner-up as the Czech Republic lost the final four years earlier to a golden goal scored by Germany's Oliver Bierhoff. The midfielder will play his 91st international tonight to eclipse a record set by Zdenek Nehoda 16 years ago.

Poborský mark
Ahead of the game against Italy in Palermo, the 32-year-old said: "It's simple why I have played so many matches: I have avoided injury and coaches have always trusted me. Results have been good so there has been no need for change." Giovanni Trapattoni will hand UC Sampdoria defender Stefano Bettarini a debut. "Bettarini could prove to be an important player for the finals. Believe me, he is not here by chance," the Italy coach said.

Hamann returns
Dietmar Hamann will win his 50th cap against Croatia in Split after sitting out Germany's last nine internationals through injury. "When all of the players are fit I don't think there are many teams we must fear," he said. The Germans launch their EURO 2004™ campaign on 15 June against the Netherlands, who tonight begin preparations with a home match against the United States in Amsterdam.

Remaining matches
Another side from Group D, Latvia beat Kazakhstan 3-1 today in an eight-team tournament in Cyprus. Greece play Bulgaria in the remaining game between two EURO 2004™ qualifiers, while the Greeks' Group A rivals Spain are up against Peru. European champions France visit Belgium, Switzerland are in Casablanca to face African Cup of Nations finalists Morocco, Denmark travel to Turkey, and Sweden meet Albania in Tirana.

Matthäus era
It is a question of what might have been for the likes of Wales and Scotland ahead of their match in Cardiff. Both lost EURO 2004™ play-offs and tonight start the hunt for new personnel for 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Elsewhere, the Republic of Ireland entertain Brazil, Slovenia host Poland, and Lothar Matthäus takes charge of Hungary for the first time against Armenia.

Unwanted record
The final word, though, goes to Northern Ireland who have not scored for 1,242 minutes of play - a European record. If Lawrie Sanchez's side fail to score in the first half-hour against Norway they will set an unwanted world mark too.

As always, uefa.com is the place to be today for match reports from every game involving a European nation.