Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez has announced his retirement from international football. The 34-year-old alerted the media to his decision during a press conference this morning. "I've taken the decision to leave the national team. My time there has finished," he said. "From now on I'm another fan of the Spain team. I'm grateful to […]

When you get to the semi final of a major tournament, you need your best players available to assist you in the task in front of you. You're facing one of the most consistent international sides of the last 50 years, a side whose reputation is forged in steel and who have reached 10 international […]

Today's clashes throw up some potentially exciting games with everything still to play for in this Group. The first game today, Sweden v Spain, gives us a mouth-watering start to the proceedings. Spain looked awesome against Russia and will be looking to qualify to the next stage with a game to spare. Sweden have had […]

Spain are off to a great start against the Russians, here are some of my observations this far. Spain are two goals ahead from David Villa, who looks sharp and full of confidence today. There was no way he could have missed from the setup by Torres, and did well to finish under pressure by […]

Was it just me, or did you all also get a sense of déjà vu when watching today's action from Group B? I felt like I was witnessing yesterday's games all over again. Consider: • Both yesterday’s first game and today’s first game ended 1-0, and yesterday’s second game and today’s second game both ended […]

So this afternoon sees the opening two matches in Euro 2008 and it will one of the co-hosts, Switzerland will open proceedings for us against the Czech Republic in Basel.  Whilst I appreciate that no host nation has failed to qualify from a group in championship history, I feel that Switzerland are easily the weakest […]

Deals are heating up on the eve of the Euro 2008 tournament so let's dive straight in and get caught up. This morning's big news is that Mexican striker Giovani dos Santos has left Barcelona to sign for English club Tottenham Hotspur after the two clubs agreed an initial £4.7m fee which could rise to […]

French manager Raymond Domenech is facing the prospect of being without 3 key players for Mondays opening Group C clash with Romania in Zurich. Patrick Vieira is extremely doubtful to recover from his thigh strain but he has now been joined by worries over Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery's fitness.  Henry is suffering from a sciaric nerve issue and […]

Dutch coach Marco van Basten just announced his final 23-man roster, leaving ten nations needing to do the same before tomorrow's deadline. His last cut was former Chelsea and now Sevilla defender Khalid Boulahrouz. As you'll see, this team is loaded with attacking players that fit the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 "total football" system, but this emphasis on going […]

Last week, Guus Hiddink denied reports that he was in talks with Roman Abramovich to become Chelsea's newest manager. Today, the Russian boss announced his 23-man squad for Euro 2008, with his team set to fight it out with Sweden, Spain, and defending champion Greece in Group D. GK (3): Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir […]

Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky has announced that he will not be taking part in next month's European Championships due to a recurring knee injury. Rosicky held a news conference to announce the decision. "I'm not capable of starting the European Championships. My injury requires an operation. I will go (for it) at the start […]