Group of Death awaits Italy in Euro Finals

The Azzurri were grouped with rival France along with Netherlands and Romania of Group C in the Euro2008 tournament to be hosted jointly by Switzerland and Austria between June 7 though June 29, 2008.

Italy's schedule is listed below.

match 6	June 09		Netherlands	20:45		in Berne
match 13	June 13		Romania	18:00		in Zurich
match 22	June 17		France	20:45		in Zurich

Roberto Donadoni was cordial in his comments regarding the draw while French coach Raymond Domenech was not pleased at his team's grouping. The Azzurri are scheduled to play France on June 17 in Zurich.










Coach's reactions

The official draw event was held earlier today in Lucerne, Switzerland. Italian great Dino Zoff was on hand to assist with the draw. Switzerland will play in the first game against Czech Republic on June 7 at St. Jakob-Park in Basel.

The other three groups are comprised as follows:
Group A
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Portugal
Turkey

Group B
Austria
Croatia
Germany
Poland

Group D
Greece
Sweden
Spain
Russia
Group D news

Complete match schedule

Brazil named as hosts of World Cup in 2014

This bit of news is about a month old but in October FIFA named Brazil as the host of the World Cup in 2014. Brazilian stars Kaka, Dunga, Ronaldinho and Lucio are shown modeling World Cup 2014 t-shirts.

Interestingly enough, Brazil was the only country to officially bid on this event. Fellow South American countries Columbia and Chile had expressed an interest in the staging the event but later quit their efforts.

Many in the soccer community have expressed concern about the violent crime that is prevalent in Brazil and the lack of adequate infrastructure including many of the stadiums. The Brazilian government has pledged millions of dollars in an effort to improve the situation. They also believe that this event will be the impetus for economic growth in the country.

Brazil named hosts

Seleção to host cup