England were paired with title-holders France, Switzerland and Croatia in the group stages of the Euro 2004 finals after the draw for the tournament was made in Lisbon today. While England and France will slug it out in Group B, Holland have been pitted against old foes Germany in Group D, with the Czech Republic and Latvia making up the other two teams in the group. The opening matches will feature all four teams from Group A: host nation Portugal v Greece and Spain v Russia. The tournament will take place from June 12-July 4 in Portugal.
Reacting to the draw, England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said that his team had avoided the hardest group at Euro 2004. Eriksson was relieved to avoid Group D, comprising Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Latvia. "D is the most difficult group," said Eriksson. "We will have the first match against France, in Lisbon. It will be a big, big, game and very nice. Difficult, but beautiful. Switzerland and Croatia are doing very well, so I don't expect that to be easy. France are a difficult one but I think we can beat them if we play our game," he added.
Meanwhile, France coach Jacques Santini said his side's meeting with England would be like a derby match. Santini said: "It's a very balanced group and each match will have its own particular identity. 'We played the Swiss in a friendly a few weeks ago, Croatia was the last step we took before winning the (World Cup in) 1998 and well. France v England which will open our group campaign will be more like a derby given the number of players playing in the Premiership."
EURO 2004 DRAW
Group A: Portugal, Greece, Spain, Russia
Group B: France, England, Switzerland, Croatia
Group C: Sweden, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy
Group D: Czech Republic, Latvia, Germany, Holland
MATCH SCHEDULE (KICK-OFF TIMES GMT):
Saturday, June 12 Group A - Portugal v Greece (Oporto, 1600), Spain v Russia (Faro-Loule, 1845)
Sunday, June 13 Group B - Switzerland v Croatia (Leiria, 1600), France v England (Lisbon, 1845)
Monday, June 14 Group C - Denmark v Italy (Guimaraes, 1600), Sweden v Bulgaria (Lisbon, 1845)
Tuesday, June 15 Group D - Germany v Netherlands (Aveiro, 1600), Czech Republic v Latvia (Oporto, 1845)
Wednesday, June 16 Group A - Greece v Spain (Oporto, 1600), Russia v Portugal (Lisbon, 1845)
Thursday, June 17 Group B - England v Switzerland (Coimbra, 1600), Croatia v France (Leiria, 1845)
Friday, June 18 Group C - Bulgaria v Denmark (Braga, 1600), Italy v Sweden (Oporto, 1845)
Saturday, June 19 Group D - Latvia v Germany (Oporto, 1600), Netherlands v Czech Republic (Aveiro, 1845)
Sunday, June 20 Group A - Spain v Portugal (Lisbon, 1845), Russia v Greece (Faro-Loule, 1845)
Monday, June 21 Group B - Croatia v England (Coimbra, 1845), Switzerland v France (Lisbon, 1845)
Tuesday, June 22 Group C - Italy v Bulgaria (Guimaraes, 1845), Denmark v Sweden (Oporto, 1845)
Wednesday, June 23 Group D - Netherlands v Latvia (Braga, 1845), Germany v Czech Republic (Lisbon, 1845)
Quarter-finals
Thursday, June 24/25. 1-Group A v 2-Group B (Lisbon, 1845)
Friday, June 25/26. 1-Group B v 2-Group A (Lisbon, 1845)
Saturday, June 26/27. 1-Group C v 2-Group D (Faro-Loule, 1845)
Sunday, June 27/28. 1-Group D v 2-Group C (Oporto, 1845)
Semi-finals
Wednesday, June 30 W-Match 25 v W-Match 27 (Lisbon, 1845)
Thursday, July 1 W-Match 26 v W-Match 28 (Oporto, 1845)
Final
Sunday, July 4 (Lisbon, 1845)
Filed by James Boylan
