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.

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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?

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Gianluigi Buffon has spoken of his pride at wearing the captain’s armband for Italy in what promises to be a hard-fought clash with Holland.

Fabio Cannavaro misses the entire tournament with ankle ligament problems and Alessandro Del Piero is likely to be on the bench, so the goalkeeper leads his team out tonight.

“I am happy, because my debut with the Nazionale was many years ago and it was just a question of time, considering my age,” smiled the Juventus star.

It will be only the third time he has captained his country at senior level. He currently boasts 81 caps since a 1-1 World Cup play-off result in Russia on October 29, 1997.

“Clearly it is sad that Fabio is out of action and his absence is terrible for us in a thousand different ways. Above all he is a reference point for everyone, but those who do play are talented and will certainly be ready.”

Buffon and Cannavaro go way back, as they have been teammates at Parma, Juventus and with Italy.

“With Fabio we just need a glance to understand each other and he is one of the two or three in this group who can really make their leadership skills felt.

“I don’t know if I’ll be the one commanding the defence now. You need to talk only so much in these situations to give the right orders. I think our defence still gives us real guarantees and I feel very relaxed.”

Euro 2008 has played its first four games with Portugal and Germany standing out as early contenders for the trophy.

This afternoon France open Group C by taking on Romania, then at 19.45 UK time Italy face Holland.

“From Saturday we have been sensing the right atmosphere, from the moment they started playing. We are curious to see how ready we are for this appointment. It is very important to get off to a strong start with three points, as we have seen how difficult it can be to begin in stuttering fashion.”

Ref From channel4.com