Euro 2004

FOCUS: The dream team Attack: Maris Verpakovskis (Dynamo Kiev and Latvia) The 24-year-old striker almost single-handedly shot the tiny Baltic Republic of Latvia into this year’s European Championship finals –

FOCUS: The dream team Last week’s look at Portugal concluded our series on Euro 2004 participating nations. Over the next two months leading up to the championship, we will be

FOCUS: Bulgaria (Group C) The Eastern European Balkan country has little to show in terms of footballing achievement, apart from its ‘Golden Era’ in the 1990s, when the combined talents

• The Portuguese Football Federation has finalised its agreement with Sporting Football Club as to the use of its residential and training facilities at Alcochete. The national squad will hold

FOCUS: SPAIN (Group A) Apart from a European Championship success on home soil in 1964, Spain have been the great under-achievers at international level, yet FIFA’s No. 3 ranking in

FOCUS: ITALY (Group C) Founded in 1898, Italian football has enjoyed a rich history, with three World Cup victories in 1934, 1938 and 1982, as well as one European Championship

FOCUS: CROATIA (Group B) Independent from former Yugoslavia since 1991, this small country on the Adriatic, which is less than a quarter of the size of Britain, is made up

FOCUS: GERMANY (Group D) In football terms, the 1954, 1974 and 1990 World Cup winners need little introduction. Germany also won the European Championships in 1972, 1980 and most recently

FOCUS: RUSSIA (Group A) The Russian Football Federation was formed in 1912 and its greatest moment came in 1960 when, under the guise of the USSR, the national team won