June 7, 2008, at 4.30 p.m. Swiss time.

Basel, St. Jakobs Stadium for the opening ceremony of Euro 2008.

Accompanied by majestic music, the flags of the 16 national teams that entered the group stage of the European Championship slowly rose.

On either side stand 'Trix' and 'Felix', two mascots representing Switzerland and Austria respectively.

From this moment on, the European Championship will officially begin.

"The opening ceremony of the European Championship has begun, and from this moment on, the teams from 16 European countries will play for 22 days to finally produce the winner of this European Cup."

"The entire tournament will be played in Switzerland and Austria"

The voice of Switzerland sounded in the television.

Suker and others gathered in front of the TV as they watched the opening ceremony of the European Championship and the upcoming opening game.

There are two games today.

They are Group A matchups.

In the first match, the host country Switzerland faced the Czech Republic.

In the second match, Portugal played Turkey.

The second race is clearly more watched than the first.

The Portuguese national team is a European powerhouse, led by the new generation of Cristiano Ronaldo, which naturally attracted a large number of fans to watch.

Many of the biggest European teams are also watching this game, after all, they all believe that Portugal must occupy a place in Group A.

"You say, who can win, Switzerland or the Czech Republic?"

Mandzukic chewed gum and turned to the rows of people lying on the bed.

On Suker's bed, Dujmovic, Modric, Srna, and Pranic were lying on the bed horizontally, causing Suker to have to sit in a chair by the window.

"I'm bullish on Switzerland!"

"Blind! The Czech Republic is significantly stronger! ”

"I also think the Czech Republic can win! After all, it's the same Eastern European team! ”

The term 'Eastern European Knights' does not refer to Croatia in general, but all Eastern European teams hold this title.

But which national team deserves the title with the best performance?

Many people's impression of Croatia is that of the Plaid Army.

But for Croatia itself, they prefer the title of 'Knight of Eastern Europe'.

However, the Czechs also want to get their hands on it, but they can't compete with Croatia.

But even so, Switzerland can't kick the Czech Republic.

"I mean, don't you have a TV in your own room?" Suke complained.

Luka Modric: "Yes! But the game has to be watched together to have an atmosphere. ”

"Then why don't you go to your room?"

Modric: "I'm sick, let them come to my room and make trouble?" ”

Suke was about to speak, but Dujmović pointed to the TV and said, "The game is about to start." ”

Everyone's eyes were on the television.

I saw that the camera had switched to the players' tunnel.

Swiss and Czech players stood on both sides of the tunnel, ready to enter.

At this moment, everyone's hearts also became a little heavy.

It was also at this moment that the pressure of the European Championship came to the face.

At the St. Jakobs Stadium, fans from Switzerland and the Czech Republic cheered vigorously.

In the footage, you can see the fans in fancy costumes, cheering hard for the home team in the camera.

Waves of cheers, whistles, and applause ensued, and the night sky in Basel became inflamed.

"This is the European Cup!"

Dujmovich couldn't help but lick his dry lips.

The eyes of the others also became more and more solemn.

Tomorrow, they will be standing in the tunnel like these players, preparing for their first international tournament as national team representatives.

In this room, with the exception of Srna, the rest of the people are participating in the European Championship for the first time, so there is a lot of anticipation for this kind of international competition.

Suker also looked at the TV, and he saw his club team-mates in the footage.

Jankulovsky for the Czech national team.

After a while, the whistle sounded.

The race is on!

From the first minute of the game, the Czechs were firmly in control of the pace of the game.

While Switzerland played hard to win the opening game, the Czechs were also very cautious.

For the entire 45 minutes, he didn't score a single goal, and he didn't threaten the attack or shoot very little.

The ball is mostly swirling in the midfield.

"It's so dull!"

Dujmović looked panicked.

"Breakthrough! When you pass to the wing, the winger doesn't want to break through, what does it mean to keep passing back? ”

"It's a big competition, after all! And it's still the opener, so it's okay to be cautious. ”

"But it's really not good-looking!"

Everyone complained.

But they can also understand that after all, it is an event representing the national team, not to mention the opening game, the state has not been fully adjusted, and it is okay to slow down the pace.

In the second half, the Czechs adjusted a little bit and became more aggressive in attack.

Finally, on 71 minutes, Galasek used a beautiful cross to play a full-back and set up substitute Sverkosh to score.

But after this goal, the Czechs began to defend again, and the game returned to a dull session.

In the entire 90 minutes of the game, there was only one goal.

In the end, the Czech Republic defeated the host Switzerland 1-0.

In the second match, Portugal played Turkey.

The pace of this game is relatively fast, and the confrontation has become a little hotter, but this is also compared to the previous game.

Turkey has been outstanding despite this European Championship.

But they are not yet in the state, they are in the environment of the European Cup, step by step to improve their form, and finally break into the ranks of the last four of the European Cup.

Portugal has Figo, Ronaldo, Moutinho, Deco and other good players, and the game is more aggressive.

But the goals were still minor.

In the end, it was Gomez who set up Pepe to score.

The striker assisted the defender's goal, which also gave Portugal the advantage of the game.

But Portugal also immediately switched to defensive mode, intending to take the lead in securing the victory in this game.

Eventually, the second game was over.

Portugal beat Turkey 1-0.

The first day of the European Championship was over.

The Czech Republic and Portugal are three points high.

Hosts Switzerland and Turkey failed to win.

"Sleep! Sleep! ”

At the end of the day, everyone got up and went back to bed.

Even though the game was dull, they were thrilled to think about tomorrow's event.

This is their first European Cup!

The tournament is approaching, and this exciting atmosphere requires even more adjustment.

The most important thing is the problem of sleep.

Many players will be unable to sleep before the game due to excessive excitement.

The Croatian players also tossed and turned, counting sheep, cows, frogs with their eyes closed, and counting everything, and then slowly fell asleep.

As for Suke, he fell asleep early.

He has always had good sleep quality.

Suker believes that his greatest strength is his ability to switch quickly to matchmaking.

Even on the eve of a tournament, Suker was able to sleep and get into the game quickly when the game was about to start.

The next day, the wild atmosphere continued to rise in the city of Basel.

After the opening day of the first day, the passion and enthusiasm for the European Championship were fully mobilized.

On matchday two, Croatian fans were the protagonists.

This is also based on the strong Croatian national team, which has received a lot of media attention.

Croatian fans enjoy the feeling, after all, who doesn't love to be praised.

From the afternoon, they march through the streets of Basel.

His high-pitched singing voice floated through the sky and slowly converged towards the playing field.

As for the players of the Croatian national team, they spent the whole day preparing for the game.

It is not only necessary to activate the body, but also to mobilize enthusiasm and enthusiasm for the game.

On a match day, the busiest part of the day is the coaching staff.

Not only do they have to make pre-match arrangements, but they also have to shush the players and solve their problems.

The most valuable thing in this period of time is the condition of the players.

They can't be affected by the slightest emotion and need to be fully engaged in the game.

Luckily, Croatia doesn't have that kind of cowardice.

Despite being the first European Championship, they had no stage fright, but were eager to try.

It was also a relief to Croatia's head coaching staff, including Bilic.

(End of chapter)