Romania and France kicked off the Group of Death with the first draw of Euro 2008, the goalless encounter bringing delight to the Italian and Dutch camps.

France, shorn of their most recognisable faces – Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira – due to injury, had the best of the opening encounters and after nine minutes carved the first real opportunity as Franck Ribery’s ball behind the defence allowed Nicolas Anelka to unleash a shot just high and wide of Bogdan Lobont’s goal.

However, for all their possession Les Bleus were finding it a cagey and claustrophobic affair and around the 15-minute mark Daniel Niculae’s speculative effort from range suggested that Victor Piturca’s side were just as capable of being the side to break the deadlock.

Claude Makelele was the next to attempt to unlock the Romanian defence but his ball over the top was slightly too close to Lobont, who rushed out to deny Anelka the chance to capitalise. The loose ball was eventually played back to the Chelsea striker who floated just beyond Karim Benzema. The stars were starting to align for Raymond Domenech’s men, but the killer instinct was yet to rear its head.

For each of France’s crafted attacks, Romania had a direct reply. Cristian Chivu’s delightful chip in to the area outfoxed Niculae as well as William Gallas, the Tricolorii striker appearing to believe he was destined to be second to the ball – a quicker reaction may have punished the Cockerels.

Niculae was the first to attract the referee’s attention on 27 minutes when he was booked rather unfortunately for handball, having been pushed and jostled by Gallas as he leapt to meet Razvan Rat’s cross.

As halftime approached the Gallic nation pushed closer, firstly with Anelka nodding a short corner just over the bar and then firing into the side netting, while Cosmin Contra picked up a yellow card for petulantly kicking the ball away.

Next it was Ribery’s turn to get involved, playing a neat one-two with Benzema that ended with a deflection which almost tricked Lobont before drawing a caution-earning foul from Dorin Goian. But still no breakthrough could be found before half-time by an increasingly frustrated French side.

The momentum stayed with the beaten World Cup Finalists after the halftime oranges and Florent Malouda took just minutes of the second period to carve through the yellow wall, but yet again his shot was wayward and Romania survived.

At the other end Adrian Mutu attempted his own dribble only to be brutally scythed down by Willy Sagnol, who was booked for his exertions. However, the Fiorentina man’s free-kick failed to even progress past the French wall as a game devoid of true quality drifted on.

As the minutes passed, the pressure increased on French boss Raymond Domenech – dressed on the touchline like a sombre Butlins representative – and his side resorted to more and more desperate efforts. Jeremy Toulalan fired over the crossbar before Benzema side-footed straight at Lobont.

As a sour-faced Michel Platini looked on, Domenech threw in the relatively untested Bafetimbi Gomis in place of the uninspired Anelka – the St Etienne striker earning only his third cap. How France must have wished they could channel some of the former Juventus ace’s magic, or indeed that of current Bianconeri star David Trezeguet, who was left at home.

As the last ten minutes approached Benzema was withdrawn for Samir Nasri. It was a disappointing introduction to the big stage for the Lyon ace, but the fires of his talent need the oxygen of opportunity and Romania’s solid back-four doused any flicker of flames before they could take hold.

Romania also ringed the changes with skipper Mutu making way for Marius Niculae, his last action to wildly blast a free-kick over the crossbar. Even without their talisman though the Eastern Europeans continued to frighten France with their counter-attacks.

As time ticked down the game turned scrappy with France looking the more ragged and agitated while Victor Piturca’s Romanian’s kept their cool. A goal couldn’t be found in injury time and the first shock of the tournament was confirmed as the game ended 0-0.

No winners in Zurich, but celebrations in the Italian and Dutch camps as the final whistle blew.
Romania: Lobont; Contra, Tamas, Goian, Rat; Nicolita, Cocis (Codrea 63), Radoi (Dica 93), Chivu; D Niculae, Mutu (M Niculae 78)

France: Coupet; Sagnol, Gallas, Thuram, Abidal; Ribery, Toulalan, Makelele, Malouda; Benzema (Nasri 77), Anelka (Gomis 72)

Ref: Gonzalez (Spa)

Ref From channel4.com

Greece will begin the defence of their European Championship crown when they take on dark horses Sweden in Salzburg.

Otto Rehhagel’s men upset the odds in Portugal four years ago to lift the continental trophy for the first time in their history, proving that good organisation goes a long way. And this test against Sweden will play a big part in deciding whether they can cause another shock this time out, as the two teams look to be fighting for second place behind Spain.

“It would be great to get the three points,” insisted striker Georgios Samaras. “Victory in the first game is winning half the battle. We’ve been studying Sweden, and we’re mentally and physically ready for the game. Can we go all the way? I can’t have such big dreams. I’m jealous of the older players, in a good way. Our target is to reach the knock-out stages, and after that it’s step-by-step.”

Little has changed for Greece since their triumph in 2004, aside from a few of the older players making way – including their skipper, ex-Bologna man Theo Zagorakis. Angelos Basinas has taken over the armband and he will likely link up with Giorgios Karagounis – who has shrugged off a knee complaint – and Kostas Katsouranis to form a midfield trio. Angelos Charisteas, scorer of several crucial goals in Portugal, remains an integral part of the attack, but Theofanis Gekas looks the most likely source of goals if he gets the nod over Dimitris Salpingidis.

Sweden boss Lars Lagerback has warned his players not to fall into the trap of underestimating the Greeks, particularly from dead-ball situations. "Greece are very good at set-pieces," he insisted. "They have several tall players and have scored many goals through headers. From now, we’ll be working on set-pieces and certain facets of our game that we feel will be important against Greece."

The tactician, who has been with the national side for a decade, is also adamant that he has settled on his starting XI for the Greek clash – which almost certainly means that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start, even if he’s unlikely to last the 90 minutes. “We’ll start with him. He’s the kind of player who doesn’t lose his ability just because he’s been away for a while. He also has great genes physically – he has a lot to thank his parents for."

It promises to be a bruising encounter for the Inter ace, though. “The Greek defenders are physically strong," he said. "They’re as tall and as solid as me. It’ll be tough, with both teams starting out playing tight and cautious. After that we’ll see who gets the first goal. That will decide it all.”

Tobias Linderoth seems to be back to full fitness and should start, despite not completing the last training session, with Lagerback’s biggest decision seemingly centring on who will partner Ibra up front. Johan Elmander looks the favourite to get the nod, but Henrik Larsson is looking sharp and has the experience, while Marcus Allback seems to save his best performances for his country.

Ref From channel4.com

Perennial underachievers Spain will be looking to get their Euro 2008 campaign off to a flying start when they take on Russia.

The two sides are no strangers, as they also met in the group stage in Portugal four years ago. Juan Carlos Valeron proved to be the Red Fury’s match-winner on that occasion, but neither side reached the quarter-finals so they will be hoping to improve their fortunes this time out.

With the likes of Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres in their ranks, Spain are unsurprisingly being tipped by many to win their first European Championship in over 40 years, when they beat the USSR in the Final. Luis Aragones’ men made a meal out of their qualification campaign, but they’ve been in good form of late and picked up an impressive friendly win over Italy earlier this year.

“We are here, hungry and ready,” revealed Arsenal ace Fabregas. "I believe the keys to winning a tournament are confidence, physical fitness and possessing a tough mentality. You build around quality, but it’s defending and not conceding needless goals which wins you trophies. If Spain can match that then we have ample attacking quality and then we can think about winning the tournament.”

Aragones is set to start the tournament with a two-man strike force comprising of Torres and Valencia’s David Villa, which looks as potent a pairing as you’re likely to find. Xabi Alonso netted a wonder goal in training, but the Juventus target is unlikely to force his way into a midfield which could be missing either Fabregas or Andres Iniesta, with Marco Senna expected to be preferred in a holding role. And there will be a lot of pressure on the defensive duo of Ramos and Carles Puyol, with Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdevilla prone to mistakes.

Russia, meanwhile, will be looking to cause an upset or two having failed to make an impact in their two previous European Championships as an independent nation. Guus Hiddink’s men came through a tricky qualification group at the expense of England and, aside from their trip to Wembley, generally looked pretty sound defensively. Their organisational skills are very similar to Greece’s four years ago, but the loss of playmaker Andrei Arshavin through suspension for the first two games is a huge blow.

However, Hiddink has promised that his side haven’t come to Euro 2008 to defend. “Of course there are nerves but I don’t want them to play in a way that it will weigh heavily on them and affect their performance," the Dutchman stated. "They must express themselves and when they do that they can play football, that’s for sure. I want to see a very bright team. People like to see a team which is going forward and taking risks, so because of this there have been a few tactical changes recently."

The biggest adjustment seems to have been a switch to a 4-4-2 rather than the 3-5-2 used throughout much of the qualifying campaign, but it remains to be seen whether there will be a change of personnel in the back four. However, one certainty is that Pavel Pogrebnyak will not be taking part in the tournament after pulling out with a knee injury, so Roman Pavlyuchenko is almost certain to lead the attack. Konstantin Zyrianov will be charged with supplying him with chances after some fine performances in training, but Igor Semshov is sweating on his place after failing to impress Hiddink and his teammates during practice.

Key clash: Fernando Torres v Sergei Ignashevich
Few strikers enjoyed the 2007-08 campaign more than Fernando Torres. The Liverpool ace – who cost £21m last summer – proved to be worth every penny as he scored every type of goal you can imagine. The bad news for Russia is that he has displayed that sort of form for his country too. Thankfully, Guus Hiddink’s men have the impressive Sergei Ignashevich to try and keep him quiet. The CSKA Moscow stopper will be desperate to make a good impression after missing the last event through injury. What better way than by shutting down Torres?

Ref From channel4.com