Jadual Euro 2012

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My Favourite Team in Euro 2012

Skuad Italy Euro 2012

23-man Italy Euro 2012 Squad:

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Napoli), Sirigu (Paris St. Germain).

Defenders: Abate (AC Milan), Balzaretti (Palermo), Barzagli (Juventus), Bonucci (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus), Maggio (Napoli), Ogbonna (Torino).

Midfielders: De Rossi (Roma), Diamanti (Bologna), Giaccherini (Juventus), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Motta (Paris St Germain), Nocerino (AC Milan), Pirlo (Juventus).

Forwards: Balotelli (Manchester City), Borini (Roma), Cassano (Milan), Di Natale (Udinese), Giovinco (Parma).

Russia vs Czech Republic Euro 2012 

The prominent Russian motivational speaker, Andrey Arshavin

More please! That was the reflex request after this tournament's opening game this afternoon, an affair that was expected to be the more dreary of the Group A curtain-raisers but turned out to be quite the lark. Attacking verve, jarring speed and dramatic twists, Poland and Greece served up a spectacle that really didn't need to be spiced up by absurd refereeing but was, nonetheless. Russia and the Czech Republic certainly have the ability to crank the quality rating up even higher … and it would not be a complete surprise if Howard Webb outdid the hijinks of his Spanish counterpart in the early fixture. So stay tuned!

Russia are the favourites and, indeed, many people's crafty fancy for a semi-final place, at least. They're a resolutely attacking side and capable of eminently nifty interplay even though that renowned purveyor of happy vibes, Andrei Arshavin, says "we lack too much speed to go far." Maybe they do lack speed, but they have a core of players from Zenit St Petersburg and ingenuity a-plenty from tricksters such as Alan Dzagoev, Marat Izmailov (who starts on the bench tonight) and even Arshavin himself. Roman Shirokov will drive menacingly from midfield; and I've placed a modest sum on Aleksandr Kerzakhov to be the tournament's top scorer.

The Czechs, meanwhile, do not look like especially daunting opponents. They finished miles behind Spain in the qualifying group and only edged out Scotland thanks to an ignoble dive at Hampden Park. Half of their four victories in the qualifiers were against Liechtenstein. Nonetheless, let's not be a giddy Spanish ref and dismiss them too rashly: for they have a decent wideman - Jan Rezek and Vaclav Pilar - on either flank and Rosicky prompting behind, um, Milan Baros, the man on whom everyone claims to have staked a tenner to be top scorer back in Euro 2004, when his pre-tournament odds were 50-1. I'll give you 5,000,000-1 on him winning a gilded boot again here.

Teams:
Russia: Malafeev; Anyukov, Ignashevich, Berezutski, Zhirkov; Denisov, Shirokov, Zyryanov; Arshavin, Kerzhakov, Dzagoev

Czech Republic: Cech; Gebre Selassie, Kadlec, Hubnik, Sivok; Rezek, Plasil, Rosicky, Jiracek, Pilar; Baros

Ref: Howard Webb

"KUMPULAN MAUT"

Siapa bakal tersingkir di peringkat kumpulan?

Antonio Di Natale said it was "very emotional" to score against Spain and although the holders pegged Italy back for a 1-1 draw the Azzurri players were happy with their Group C start.

Emotional Di Natale finds Italy redemption

Antonio Di Natale enjoys giving Italy a brief lead©Getty Images

Antonio Di Natale came off the bench to score in Italy's UEFA EURO 2012 opener against Spain and admitted it was "very emotional" after his unwanted role in their quarter-final loss to the same team four years ago. Although Spain then equalised for a 1-1 Group C draw, the Italy players were all happy with the outcome.

Antonio Di Natale, Italy forward
I'm happy about the goal, [Andrea] Pirlo gave me a great ball and I took my chance. It was very emotional for me, especially because four years ago I missed a penalty in the shoot-out against Spain, so it was very good for me to score today. I think it was a great game, there are several young players in this team who are eager to show how good they are and how far they can go. It's nice to play for this team.

Andrea Pirlo, Italy midfielder
I think we played a very good game but we knew we could do it, the result is good because we were facing a very strong team even if I think we did enough to win it. It's a pity we conceded the equaliser so soon after taking the lead, otherwise it could have been a different result.

Spain have a great midfield, but ours is good as well, it was a nice battle there. It was a good pass [for the goal] but Di Natale made a great move so it made everything easier for me. Now we have to keep working hard because we have two other important and difficult games in just a few days.

Daniele De Rossi, Italy midfielder
This result gives us confidence because we were facing a very strong side, if not the strongest of all. I think we had the right approach with no kind of fear. I knew I could do well in defence, but I must thank my team-mates who gave me a great hand.

I was a bit worried when I saw Spain were playing without a real striker. I thought it would have been more difficult for me without someone to mark. However, we have still achieved nothing, you don't qualify with one point and we are fully aware that it will be difficult against any opponents here.

Gianluigi Buffon, Italy goalkeeper
I'm happy about the point but mostly about our approach. We took to the pitch ready to give them a battle and we did well. I think we played better than them for 60 or 70 minutes, then we lived dangerously in the final stages of the game but it's normal against a team like Spain. You cannot avoid giving them some chances. I just touched it with my fingers [when Andrés Iniesta shot from close range], it was a good save
.