WARSAW, June 7: In the face of a chorus of critics, Poland have defended their right to co-host the European Championship.

The country scrambled to build three stadiums, pave hundreds of kilometres of roads for fans to get around, and upgrade everything from hotels to train stations to airports. Now the time has come to finally have some fun.

Poland hope to put on a good show on Friday for the 55,000 fans expected to pack Warsaw's sparkling new National Stadium and the millions more that will be glued to TVs when they open the tournament against Greece.

Both Group A teams are fully aware of how important a good start will be in their quest to advance to the knockout stage.

Poland lost their opening match at the three last major tournaments they played in — the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2008 — and are anxious not to dig themselves an early hole and kill the popular buzz surrounding the team.

“The first step is always the most important step, and the first step is the Greece match,” said Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski.

“I believe that with a lot of luck, we can cause some havoc during the tournament.”

Poland are led by a talented trio that play for German champions Borussia Dortmund — Robert Lewandowski, Lukasz Piszczek and Blaszczykowski and their chances of advancing out of the group, which also includes Russia and the Czech Republic, largely depend on how the Dortmund trio lead them.

For Greece, a perfect start would have historic resonance: Eight years ago, they beat host Portugal in the Euro 2004 opener and went on to win the tournament, defeating the Portuguese again in the final.

And their 35-year-old captain Giorgios Karagounis, who scored in that shock opening win against Portugal, is aiming to give their hard-pressed compatriots back home a rare moment of cheer with the country under enormous financial hardships.

“We want to give joy to the Greeks. We will do our best, without stress and pressure, and hopefully bring back beautiful memories,” said Karagounis,

The Greeks have creative talent in right-sided midfielder Sotiris Ninis, who has recovered from a serious knee injury suffered against Israel in a qualifier last September. His attributes include an impressive change of pace and powerful shot.—AP