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LISBON, June 12: France begin their title defence against England on Sunday in a showcase Euro 2004 game that divides club and country loyalties as never before.
Many of the best world's best players will be at the Estadio da Luz, with France striker Thierry Henry looking to outshine Michael Owen and playmaker Zinedine Zidane ready to tie David Beckham in knots in midfield.
Along with the obvious desire for a winning start, however, France also have a bigger agenda as they look to make amends in Portugal for their dismal World Cup defence in 2002.
Yet the inescapable backdrop to the Group 'B' clash is that players who have sweated blood for each other all season will be sworn enemies for 90 minutes.
There can be few tactical secrets in a game where 24 of the 46 players in the two squads have one or more club mates from across the Channel.
Weeks after Henry, winger Robert Pires and midfielder Patrick Vieira hoisted Arsenal's second league title in three seasons, they will target two men who held the defensive line for them at Highbury, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole.
Chelsea, runners-up to their London rivals, have seven men spread across the two camps, with midfielders Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard on collision course.
France defender Mikael Silvestre, fresh from winning the FA Cup with Paul Scholes, must now block the pinpoint passes of his Manchester United team mate.
Yet the most entertaining battle should be in midfield, when Zidane and Beckham meet after a season of suffering together with Real Madrid.
For all the media attention, though, Sunday's game is arguably of limited significance as, win or lose, both sides should still reach the quarterfinals.
SWITZERLAND v CROATIA
PORTO: Switzerland and Croatia meet for the first time and although the game in Leiria is the first in Euro 2004 Group 'B' it is already seen by both sides as a "must-win" match.
With defending champions France and England waiting in the wings, the group outsiders know that three points from Sunday's fixture is essential to give them a realistic chance of progressing to the last eight.
Croatia are the form team having chalked up three warm-up wins, the most recent an impressive 2-1 success in Denmark.
Traditionally a flair team, Croatia earned their place in the finals more on the back of a parsimonious defence as they conceded only four goals in finishing second to Bulgaria in their group.
They edged past Slovenia 2-1 on aggregate in the playoffs, both goals coming from pony-tailed striker Dado Prso.
Prso continued to score regularly for Monaco in their run to the Champions League final and the 29-year-old is the key to his country's chances of emulating their only European Championship appearance in 1996, when they lost in the quarter-finals.
Croatia have suffered a blow at the other end of the pitch, however, with first-choice goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa ruled out of the opening two games with a leg muscle injury.
He is likely to be replaced by Tomislav Butina, who could be a little rusty after spending most of the season on the bench at Club Bruges.
The other notable Croatian absentee is experienced central defender Igor Tudor, who is suspended.
The Swiss have no injury worries, though midfielder Ricardo Cabanas is suspended, but it is a lack of form that must concern coach Kobi Kuhn.
They were impressive qualifiers from a group also including Russia and Ireland but since securing their place in the finals things have not gone smoothly.
Defeats by Morocco, Greece and Germany have hardly been offset by narrow wins over Slovenia and Liechtenstein and the fear is that the squad peaked a year too soon.
A tried and tested back four, led by the central defensive partnership of Murat Yakin and Patrick Mueller, with defensive midfielder Johann Vogel in front, presents a difficult challenge for Prso and friends.
Offensively, however, the Swiss look a little short.
Striker Stephane Chapuisat chalked up his 100th cap in the home defeat by Germany last week but he turns 35 later this month and is short of pace.-Reuters
