Euro2004, the quadrennial European championship second only to the World Cup in prestige, kicks off this Saturday, June 12, in Portugal, and runs through July 4. Defending champion France has been tabbed as the betting favorite; Italy, the 2000 runner-up, has the easiest road through the first round; while Germany, drawn into the “group of death,” is an underdog to even make it out of the prelims. Another favorite, Holland, goes into the tourney in some turmoil after exhibition losses to Belgium and Ireland in the last eight days. With the exception of five first-round games that will be shown on Fox Sports World and Fox Español, all games are pay-per-view only. Contact your cable company or favorite sports bar, and see “Soccer Watch Online” for a more complete preview and links to live webcasts.

Meanwhile, World Cup qualifying is the order of the day on all the other continents.

The United States men begin their WC campaign on Sunday, June 13, in Columbus, Ohio, taking on Grenada; it’s live on ESPN2 at noon, with the return leg the following Sunday in St. George.

Mexico plays Domenica next Saturday, June 19, in front of what should be a raucous crowd in San Antonio’s Alamodome. TicketMaster for tickets.

New Zealand‘s loss to Vanuatu (see last week) proved fatal to their WC hopes, as they were beaten out by the Solomon Islands in Oceania qualifying.

For results from Africa, Asia, and South America, see the WC Qualifying page in “Soccer Watch Online.” The Austin Lightning dominated the second half of their road game against the Laredo Heat on Saturday, to grab their second win of the season, 1-0.

Euro2004 First Round Groups

with odds of winning overall tournament

Top two teams in each group advance to quarterfinals

Group A

Portugal (13-2)

Spain (7-1)

Russia (66-1)

Greece (80-1)

Group B

France (3-1)

England (7-1)

Croatia (80-1)

Switzerland (125-1)

Group C

Italy (9-2)

Sweden (25-1)

Denmark (33-1)

Bulgaria (80-1)

Group D

Holland (15-2)

Czech Republic (14-1)

Germany (16-1)

Latvia (250-1)

This article appears in June 11 • 2004.

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