Greece When Nicos Dabizas quit Newcastle United after five and a half bitter-sweet years on Tyneside, one motivating factor more than any other lay behind the tough decision to leave the Toon Army behind.
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Portugal As the pint-sized powerhouse at the heart of Jose Mourinho's all-conquering Porto, mesmerising midfielder Deco is the little man all the big names will follow at Euro 2004. more
Russia Sergei Ovchinnikov, Russia's ponytailed goalkeeper, is a passionate footballer prone to the occasional tantrum. more
Spain Many Spaniards are already looking towards their country's final group game against Portugal. With the competition taking place just over the border, Spain coach Inaki Saez knows he is under huge pressure to impress. more
- Group B -
Croatia Man mountain Igor Tudor finally gets the chance to strut on to the big international stage for Croatia this summer. more
England While Bobby Moore was holding the Jules Rimet trophy up to the skies another young footballer was coveting more modest silverware in the northern Swedish timber town of Torsby. more
France David Trezeguet had admired Gabriel Batistuta from afar, watching the great Argentinian plunder scores of goals for the once-mighty Fiorentina, before realising that it was 'Bati-gol' whose feats threatened to ruin his career. more
Switzerland With the honourable exception of the occasional Alpine skier, Switzerland 10 years ago was a nation with little history of sporting endeavour. more
- Group C -
Bulgaria Celtic's best-kept secret is unleashed on an unassuming Europe this summer. The mystery man is not Henrik Larsson, Johan Mjallby, Chris Sutton or Stanislav Varga, and neither is he a player who one might imagine to be a natural captain. more
Denmark Thomas Sorensen was still at school when Denmark were thrust, without warning, into the cauldron of the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. more
Italy Two years ago it looked odds on that Massimo Maccarone would be leading the line for Italy in Euro 2004. more
Sweden Aston Villa skipper Olof Mellberg believes a big opening performance against Bulgaria - coupled with the re-introduction of Henrik Larsson and a dollop of luck - could send fancied Sweden into the latter stages of Euro 2004. more
- Group D -
Czech Republic Who will be the most entertaining team in Euro 2004? The cultured French, the tempestuous Portuguese or the skilful Spaniards? For a guarantee of entertainment, fixtures involving the Czech Republic could be a safer bet. more
Germany Never write off the Germans. England held a party at the expense of Rudi Voller's side in 2001. The 5-1 win in the World Cup qualifier in Munich was hailed as the greatest night in English football since 1966. more
Holland Weighed down by expectation, Patrick Kluivert almost buckled. But as Euro 2004 presents itself as the ideal stage on which to parade his talent, Kluivert will be more keen to impress than most as he looks to bury his sorry memories of the past year. more
Latvia Latvia were not expecting miracles from Aleksandrs Starkovs when he took over from Englishman Gary Johnson in 2001, but they got one. more
