Russia

The Russians begin their Euro 2004 campaign against Spain on June 12 before taking on hosts Portugal and Greece in Group A.

Wales had wanted Russia to be thrown out of the 16-team tournament because one of their players, Yegor Titov, failed a drugs test following the first leg of the playoff between the two countries last November.

After suffering a dismal 2002 World Cup and missing the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000 finals altogether, Russia can ill afford another embarrassing campaign at a major tournament.

Qualifying for Portugal was seen as paramount, so Vadim Yevseyev's solitary goal in their 1-0 playoff victory over Wales was virtually priceless as far as the sport in Russia is concerned.

The European Championship is special for Russian fans.

The Soviet Union won the inaugural championship in 1960 and reached the final on three other occasions, the last time in 1988 when the team, coached by the late Valery Lobanovsky, lost 2-0 to the Netherlands in the final in Munich.

Reuters

Best performance: Winners (as USSR) in 1960

Recent performances:
1980 Failed to qualify
1984 Failed to qualify
1988 Runners-up
1992 Round one
1996 Round one
2000 Failed to qualify

SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: 1-Sergei Ovchinnikov (Lokomotiv Moscow), 12-Vyacheslav Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg), 23-Igor Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow)

Defenders: 16-Vadim Yevseyev, 17-Dmitry Sennikov (both Lokomotiv Moscow), 13-Roman Sharonov (Rubin Kazan), 21-Alexei Bugayev (Torpedo Moscow), 14-Alexander Anyukov (Krylya Sovietov Samara)

Midfielders: 10-Alexander Mostovoi (Celta Vigo), 4-Alexei Smertin (Portsmouth), 15-Dmitry Alenichev (Porto), 20-Dmitry Loskov, 7-Marat Izmailov (both Lokomotiv Moscow), 8-Rolan Gusev, 22-Yevgeny Aldonin (both CSKA Moscow), 5-Andrei Karayka (Krylya Sovietov Samara), 2-Vladislav Radimov, 19-Vladimir Bystrov (both Zenit St Petersburg), 6-Igor Semshov (Torpedo Moscow)