England returns to the European Championship after an eight-year absence with new manager Roy Hodgson hoping to improve on what is a woeful record at the event for one of Europe's strong nations.
Italian soccer has long had a chip on its shoulder, blaming supposedly sinister outside forces whenever the national team fails in a major tournament.
Laurent Blanc will be trying to restore France's reputation at the European Championship.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had dinner with the German national team in their Euro 2012 headquarters in Sopot of Poland Wednesday.
Russia is approaching Euro 2012 in a confident mood, eager to at least match its performance from four years ago when it reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Spain.
Germany goes into Euro 2012 among the favorites, but this time it has less to do with past successes and more to do with its modern game that has won over legions of new fans.
Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland have put its hopes of advancing beyond the group stage in the hands of grey-haired, no-nonsense coach Franciszek Smuda.
Bert van Marwijk was not considered the perfect candidate to succeed Marco van Basten in 2008, but after guiding the Dutch to the 2010 World Cup final he has been handed an extended contract to 2016.
A goal-rich European soccer season suggests Euro 2012 could be a high-scoring tournament, despite the likely preponderance of apparently conservative single-striker formations.
The Spanish soccer team has chosen Gniewino as their hub for the Euro 2012 soccer championships.
Spain finished their preparation for the European Championships with a narrow 1-0 win at home to a hard- working Chinese national side on Sunday.
Ukrainian officials are denying that football fans of African and Asian origin will be the targets of violence by racist hooligans at the European Championship, and a top tournament organizer says stewards - and not police - will be the most visible security at stadiums.
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