Ukraine (Boris Popov, @UEFAcomBorisP)
While Ukraine and Poland soak up the atmosphere of the EURO, the Tirolean Alps – location of the Ukraine basecamp – are as calm and quiet as ever, and the players seem to be enjoying the choice of location. Right-back Bohdan Butko said: "There is nothing reminding us about the EURO in the air here [in Walhsee]. Perhaps this is the reason out coaches decided to stay here for pre-tournament camp.
Oleh Blokhin, Ukraine coach today rested all those who played at least 45 minutes against Austria, meaning just 11 players attended today's session. Should Blokhin have any doubts about his personnel, he has the final friendly fixture, against Turkey on Tuesday, to get any extra information regarding the team starting in their EURO opener against Sweden.
While the Ukrainian media consider that first fixture to be the key one, the players themselves are looking at the bigger picture. Midfielder Olexandr Aliyev said: "In Germany [at the 2006 World Cup] we lost the first match, and still managed to qualify to the next round. For me there is no difference in matches against Sweden or against England or France."
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Rank | Team | W/D/L | Pts |
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Cities & Stadiums
The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments
Year | Winners | Runner-up | Third place |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Spain | Germany | Russia / Turkey |
2004 | Greece | Portugal | Netherlands / Czech Republic |
2000 | France | Italy | Netherlands / Portugal |
1996 | Germany | Czech Republic | France / England |
1992 | Denmark | Germany | Netherlands / Sweden |
1988 | Netherlands | Soviet Union | Italy / West Germany |
1984 | France | Spain | Denmark / Portugal |
1980 | West Germany | Belgium | Czechoslovakia |
1976 | Czechoslovakia | West Germany | Netherlands |
1972 | West Germany | Soviet Union | Belgium |
1968 | Italy | Yugoslavia | England |
1964 | Spain | Soviet Union | Hungary |
1960 | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia |