Poland and Ukraine are typical Central European countries, with Germany to the west, Russia to the east, the Baltic Sea to the north, and then a dense cluster of small Eastern European states to the south.

Euro 2012 will be co-hosted by the two countries, the third time in the history of the tournament that the two countries will co-host the tournament and the 14th edition of the tournament.

The opening ceremony and opening match were held in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and the final was held in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

In other words, there are only 16 teams in the European Cup, and even if they play to the end, they only need to play 6 games, which are played in a total of 24 days, an average of 4 days for one game.

Compared with the World Cup, the frequency and number of games are less, but for European teams, the intensity is obviously stronger than the World Cup, because there are no weak teams in Europe, especially the teams that enter the finals of the European Cup, unlike the World Cup, some African and Asian teams, the gap in level is still relatively large.

The grouping of the final stage has been drawn very early and is divided into 4 groups.

Group A: Czech Republic, Greece, Russia, Poland

Group B: Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Netherlands

Group C: Spain, Italy, Croatia, Ireland

Group D: England, France, Ukraine, Sweden

Every group is a group of death, there are no obvious underdogs, even traditional strong teams, not necessarily guaranteed qualification, this is the European Championship.

The continent with the most developed football in the world, and even the European Cup will develop into a national league in the future, which shows how far they have developed this sports industry.

In the summer, there was no buzz and no other big tournaments, and all eyes of the world football were focused on Central Europe.

The Copa America and the Asian Cup were held in the summer of 2011, and I don't know if it was to deliberately stagger the hugely influential European Cup, both continents have put the tournament in odd-numbered years, and the interval between the events is very strange, especially the Copa America.

The America's Cup was held once a year in the early days, sometimes at intervals of two years, sometimes three years, until 2007, when it was finalized as a quadrennial event.

Although the European Championship does not have as long a century-old history as the Copa America, it has been held every four years since the first European Championship in France in 1960, completely following the rules of the World Cup, and perfectly staggered with the World Cup time.

On this planet, in addition to the World Cup, the most influential national event is the European Cup, which I believe fans all over the world will not object.

In the last 13 editions, Germany has won the championship three times, Spain and France have won two times each, Italy, the Soviet Union, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark once, and unfortunately there is no England.

Their best achievement was a third place in 1996.

It's a place where myths are easily born, Czech mythology, Danish mythology, Greek mythology, every time it is talked about by fans all over the world.

And this summer, will a new myth be born? The world is watching.

……

Austria's Ildenin, still quite cloudy and windy, played his last Copa del Rey final in Calderon on May 26, and the next night he flew directly to the city by private jet.

The entire England coaching staff and 22 other players have been waiting for him here for almost five days, but he is the only English national on either side of the Spanish Copa del Rey team.

After Mack Qin arrived, he sorted out his bags a little and came to the team's collective meeting, time was pressing, England would not have a core without him, and many tactics could not be practiced.

"Sorry guys, it's late", as soon as he entered the conference room, he greeted him with a smile, most of them were old people from the World Cup, but there were also quite a few newcomers.

Capello has been updating in the past two years, promoting many young faces back and forth, and this time the 23-man squad can be said to be the old with the new.

He must have ambitions for achievements, so he didn't make too much effort to renew, but some obvious marginal characters in the past, this time Ma Qin didn't see any of them.

There was a little bit of media coverage throughout England, and no one dared to disagree, because he had won England's second World Cup, and England was still waiting for him to win the European Championship.

At this time, Capello has always been the same, and he is tougher than South Africa!

"Hey, Mark, the double champion is very cool", "That's it, envy", there are many old people who see him come in and joke with him casually, but there are also many newcomers who look at him like the boss of the underworld, and they dare not say hello.

Mack Qin glanced at it and saw at least 1/3 of the newcomers, and said that Capello's strength is still okay, and it has been submitted now, and it cannot be changed if it is not due to injury.

England 23-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Gran, Butland

Defenders: Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Cahill, Lescott, Phil Jones, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Barnes

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Macken, Barry, Parker, Ashley Young, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain

Forwards: Wayne Rooney, Carroll, Defoe, Welbeck

Not seeing Crouch and Darren Bent surprised Mackin very much, Capello actually chose youngsters Carroll and Welbeck, and it seems that the performance of these two this season has made him very unhappy.

Moreover, Beckham has finally erased the last trace of this national team, and now, here, it is the England team that completely belongs to Mackchen, he is, symbol!

"Mark, sit down first, let's continue", Capello gestured to his seat, asked him to sit down, and then resumed the meeting.

"A lot of veterans who have played in the World Cup know the rules we had during the World Cup, and I think you have all communicated in private, and our preparation manual is also clearly written", Capello said with his glasses in front of him.

"Don't touch the bottom line, unless you can handle the punishment, we're going to the game, not to the holiday pickles, although the Ukrainian beauties are really good"

"Shhh......hhh......h

Seeing Capello make a rare joke, there was a sudden commotion at the bottom, which also shows that the atmosphere in the team is more relaxed now, especially Terry and Lampard.

People, no matter how it is, you still have to win to be able to understand your thoughts.

"Some of you have played in qualifiers, some of you haven't, or some of you may not have a minute of playing time during the game, but I ask, be careful, not hope, ask for it"

He accentuated his tone and made himself serious, and the players on the field stopped talking and laughing, and continued to listen to his boss's speech.

"Everyone has to be fully committed to training and contribute to the team, even on the training ground, especially for a lot of young people who come here for the first time, I hope this is a good learning opportunity for you to learn, not to go back and show off"

"Two years ago, we won the Hercules Cup, and I'm sure you guys must be happy"

"Now Mr. 8 goals and 7 assists is sitting next to you", he stretched out his finger and pointed at Mackqin, "Our tactical style of play will not change, some people are familiar, some people are unfamiliar, or some people have forgotten, but I ask you to show the best attitude in the next ten days, to integrate the tactics with your heart"

"In the European Championship, we are the favourites, who calls us World Cup winners? If you can't win the European Cup, this is a failure for you, it's cruel, right? ”

With his words, the atmosphere in the conference room gradually became solemn, and many young players really began to seriously examine this European Championship trip.

"Finally, I will seriously say it once and for the last time, I don't have an absolute main force here this summer, no matter how famous you are, even if it is Mark, if you are not in good shape, you have to sit on the bench"

You can blow it hard, a few old people like Terry, Lampard, Gerrard they slandered in their hearts, and they can lie to the children, you can really try.

But they don't understand the appearance on the surface, but cooperate with Capello's play with a determined attitude, and no one will be stupid enough to fight against Capello at this time.

Now is the time for the England national team to produce results, and if you miss once, who knows if there will be a chance in the future? Makqin is now in full swing, and they only have the thought of hugging their thighs in their hearts.

"I agree", Mackin raised his hand directly, "I will try to adjust my condition, the excitement of the World Cup in South Africa is now back in my heart, I want to do it again, if I don't play well, I have no problem sitting in the stands"

"Agree", "agree", as soon as Mackin made a statement, Gerrard, Lampard and other old people followed suit, and they even cherished this opportunity more than Mackqin.

This may be their last European Championship!

The glory of the champion, how can they give it up so easily? Although it has been almost half a century, they have not even reached the final of the European Cup, and if they can replicate the miracle of South Africa this time, then they will definitely become the most glorious part of the history of English football.

"Very good, train tomorrow, show your attitude......"

……

Norway and Turkey are the warm-up opponents arranged by the FA for the team this time, because England has Sweden in the same group, and England was quite frightened by the Nordic style of play before, so Norway was specially selected this time.

In Ildenin, Mackin mainly focused on recovering his strength, and the two warm-up games continued his usual malaise before the competition, with less running, less forward insertion, and no shots on goal.

Capello put him on the pitch just to familiarize the newcomers with his passing style as soon as possible, and he never asked much about Mackin's self-adjustment.

It's that Mark Qin really can't run, as long as his legs can continue to play, he has to be the core, the darling of England, the hero, unless he dies himself, no one dares to touch him.

St. Mark's is more than just a nickname!

Ten days of training in Ildenin, during which two warm-up matches were played, and on June 6, two days in advance, the England team officially boarded and departed for Poland.

In this European Cup, their training station is set at the Hütnik Municipal Stadium in the Polish city of Krakow, and the conditions are naturally not as good as their station in South Africa.

In the inland part of central Europe, you want to find a savannah like South Africa, which is basically wishful thinking, and Poland itself really doesn't have that much football facilities.

As for why Ukraine was not chosen, Capello, who knows the virtues of English players, naturally has his thoughts, and it is better to stay away from that right and wrong.

"Coming, coming", there was a noise outside the airport, and many England fans wore Three Lions shirts, held English flags, and posters of major stars to greet them.

"England, England ......", when they appeared at the exit in dark blue suits and in good spirits, the crowd instantly boiled and shouted continuously.

It is said that in this European Cup, the number of away fans in England is even more than the World Cup in South Africa, you can imagine how crazy they are, and how hot English football is now!

As soon as he looked up, he saw a poster of himself, so he smiled and waved to the crowd, which immediately attracted even greater cheers.

The bus was already waiting outside, except for Capello, everyone else hurriedly got on the bus, without accepting any interviews, Capello said in front of the countless microphones in front of him:

"It's a new journey, and we'll try to create another summer of dreams......"