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Russia and Spain will open the group D competition; two national squads that have in the past reached the European crown, but still, they mostly remember disappointments and too high expectations in this competition. That is why this duel in Innsbruck is very important; the opening game will definitely affect the further course of the competition.

And we are not only talking about points, but also about the self-confidence of the squads that are famous for hardly holding the spirit up when there are no results. Russians entered the competition thanks to Croatia win at Wembley, but regardless of that, the very name of Guus Hiddink is a guarantee enough that this squad won’t be sitting ducks.

In recent history, that is to say, since the fall of USSR, Russians didn’t mark good results in big competitions due to the lack of team spirit but also because of weak preparations. Usually the disagreements about the prize money as well as disputes between the players impair the chance for marking a success even before the start of the competition.

There are no such issues now, vanity is a taboo word and great investments in Russian football have strengthened the league so players in domestic clubs in no way fall behind neither in quality nor in incomes in comparison to their colleagues that work abroad..

Spain again arrive as favourites, but they have disappointed so many times that even the biggest optimists are skeptical about their announcements of winning the title. 

Red Fury had problems in the past because the leading players didn’t have the leading role in their clubs. This is not the case now; some players like Fabregas and Torres have imposed their skills in the foreign clubs and gained much more experience.

That is why Spain shouldn’t be underestimated; they have the individual quality that can handle the best squads but they lack winning mentality. If they deal with their ghosts of the past, we can count on them in the finish.

Head-to-heads

Spain and Russia/Soviet Union have met each other on eight previous occasions with Spain winning four times and losing just once.

The sole defeat for Spain came in a European Championship qualifier in 1971 with the Soviets winning 2-1.

Spain have won both encounters at the European Championship - 2-1 in 1964 and 1-0 in 2004.

Team facts - Spain

The five members of the Spanish squad playing their club football abroad are all doing so in England - four at Liverpool and one at Arsenal.

Spain have one of the most inexperienced squads at Euro 2008 - only Austria and Russia have fewer caps in the squad than the Spanish.

The next card shown to a Spain player will be their 50th at the European Championship. Spain's players have been shown a total of 48 yellow cards and one red in previous European Championships.

Won all four of their friendly matches in 2008.

Unbeaten in their last 16 matches and their last nine competitive matches.

Never won a European Championship match by more than one goal.

Team facts - Russia

Russia's coach Guus Hiddink is in charge at his fifth European Championship or World Cup. Only West Germany head coach Helmut Schon was present at more European Championships and World Cups.

Hiddink also becomes the first head coach to lead two different countries at the European Championship. He was the head coach of the Netherlands in 1996.

Player facts - Spain

Fernando Torres will win his 50th cap if he plays in this match. He made his international debut for Spain in a 3-0 friendly win in Portugal in September 2003.

David Villa was Spain's top scorer in qualification with six goals.

Player facts - Russia

Andrei Arshavin is suspended for this match after being sent off in Russia's final qualification match, a 1-0 win against Andorra. Arshavin will also miss Russia's second match at Euro 2008, against Greece on 14 June. Arshavin was the only ever-present in qualification.

Pogrebnyak has been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

Alexander Kerzhakov was Russia's top scorer in qualification with six goals but was not included in the Euro 2008 squad.

Russia have only one player in their squad who plays outside the country's domestic league - 1. FC Nurnberg striker Ivan Saenko. No other country at Euro 2008 has so many players from their own domestic competition.

The current Russian league leaders Rubin Kazan provide just one player for the squad - midfielder Sergei Semak.

The Berezutsky twins (Vasily and Aleksey) are the only twins present at Euro 2008. The Altintop twins (Turkey) and Degen twins (Switzerland) were in the preliminary squads for their respective countries but one of each failed to make the final line-up.

Player to watch :

Fernando Torres  :  Who else? After a stunning debut season with Liverpool, Torres heads into the tournament with a reputation for being the most clinical striker in Europe.

Igor Akinfeev   : The rock on which any Russian success will be built, Akinfeev is an integral part of Guus Hiddink's operation.

Probable Line Up :

Spain : Cassilas, Capdevilla, Marchena, Ramos, Puyol, Silva, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Torres

Subs : Palop, Reina, Alonso, Navarro, Juanito, Guiza, Senna, Garcia, Albiol, Cazorla, Arbeola, De la Red.

Manager: Luis Aragonés

Russia : Akinfeev, Anyukov, Shirokov, Kolodin, Zhirkov, Zyrianov, Semak, Semshov, Bystrov, Bilyaletdinov, Pavluchenko

Subs : Adamov, Ignashevitch, Berezutskiy, Malafeev, Sychev, Saenko, Berezutskiy, Yanbaev, Gabulov, Torbinskiy

Suspended : Arshavin

Manager: Guus Hiddink

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