Spain ready to join EURO party

• The UEFA EURO 2012 excitement intensifies as holders Spain begin their title defence this evening against Italy, while the Republic of Ireland take on Croatia – follow the build-up to both games via our Continental match preview blogs and then join us in MatchCentre when the action gets under way for minute-by-minute updates.

• Group B is already under way, with winning starts for Denmark and Germany. Get all the reaction from the camps to Saturday night's action.

• Our interviews with the tournament's biggest names continue as we hear from Spain's Xabi Alonso, Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimović and Franck Ribéry of France.

• Which player has had most attempts on target so far and failed to score? That was Cristiano Ronaldo with four for Portugal against Germany – UEFA.com brings you all the stats you need to know from the EURO.

• Two days into the tournament, McDonald's Fantasy Football players may have had mixed fortunes already. The deadline for making any changes for Matchday 1 remains another two days away but now is the time to start planning ahead.