Hosts begin EURO preparations

As UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying begins in earnest this weekend, co-hosts Austria and Switzerland will start their preparations with a four-nation tournament in 2008 host cities Basel and Geneva.

American opposition
Jakob Kuhn's side, fresh from reaching the last 16 and not conceding a goal in regulation time at the FIFA World Cup, face Venezuela in Basel on Saturday before taking on Costa Rica in Geneva on Wednesday. The fixtures are reversed for Austria, who open in Geneva against Costa Rica before meeting Venezuela in Basel.

Huggel returns
Kuhn has three debutants in his squad: defender Gökhan Inler and midfielder Steve Von Bergen from FC Zürich and FC Sion winger Alberto Regazzoni. Eintracht Frankfurt's Benjamin Huggel returns from the suspension that caused him to miss the World Cup. For Kuhn, the road to UEFA EURO 2008™ begins here: "We will not use the word friendly any more. These are tests for the EURO. We owe the public good results."

Cautious Hickersberger
For Austria coach Josef Hickersberger, who took his team to UEFA headquarters in Nyon this week, the goals are more modest for now. He struck a cautious note ahead of the Costa Rica tie, saying: "People would like to hear we are favourites, but that is not the reality of the situation. We have lost our last three matches and face a 2006 World Cup finalist."

New trio
Hickersberger has three newcomers at his disposal: defenders Manuel Ortlechner (SV Pasching) and Mario Sonnleitner (Grazer AK) as well as midfielder Andreas Hölzl (FC Wacker Tirol). The coach explained: "I am not aiming to try out as many players as possible - but I am trying to improve results."