The long wait for Euro 2008 is just about over as we're roughly 17 hours away from kickoff in the tournament opener between Switzerland, the co-host, and the Czech Republic.
The group stage will end on June 18, with two games played every day until that date. Starting Sunday, June 15, both games will kick off at 2:45 PM here on the East Coast so as to prevent the possibility of any sort of outside shenanigans that could unsportingly influence the outcome of the final group standings.
ABC and ESPN have the exclusive television rights in this country, and each of the tournament's 31 games will be broadcasted on the "family of networks" -- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, and ABC. They've brought an expert group of commentators to work these matches, with the familiar pairing of Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth on the call for the first game of the day, and Adrian Healey and Sky Sports' Andy Gray for the second, until June 15 when both games begin at the same time as I mentioned earlier.
With these things in mind, here's the complete TV schedule for the group stage of Euro 2008 (all times Eastern):
Saturday, June 7:
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic (ESPN Classic, Noon)
Portugal vs. Turkey (ESPN Classic, 2:45)
Sunday, June 8:
Austria vs. Croatia (ESPN2, Noon)
Germany vs. Poland (ESPN2, 2:45)
Monday, June 9:
Romania vs. France (ESPN2, Noon)
Holland vs. Italy (ESPN2, 2:45)
Tuesday, June 10:
Spain vs. Russia (ESPN2, Noon)
Greece vs. Sweden (ESPN2, 2:45)
Wednesday, June 11:
Czech Republic vs. Portugal (ESPN2, Noon)
Switzerland vs. Turkey (ESPN2, 2:45)
Thursday, June 12:
Croatia vs. Germany (ESPN2, Noon)
Austria vs. Poland (ESPN2, 2:45)
Friday, June 13:
Italy vs. Romania (ESPN2, Noon)
Holland vs. France (ESPN2, 2:45)
Saturday, June 14:
Sweden vs. Spain (ESPN2, Noon)
Greece vs. Russia (ESPN2, 2:45)
Sunday, June 15:
Turkey vs. Czech Republic (ESPN Classic, 2:45)
Switzerland vs. Portugal (ESPN2, 2:45)
Monday, June 16:
Poland vs. Croatia (ESPN Classic, 2:45)
Austria vs. Germany (ESPN, 2:45)
Tuesday, June 17:
France vs. Italy (ESPN, 2:45)
Holland vs. Romania (ESPN Classic, 2:45)
Wednesday, June 18:
Russia vs. Sweden (ESPN2, 2:45)
Greece vs. Spain (ESPN, 2:45)
I'll post the TV schedule for the knockout rounds immediately following the Greece-Spain game on the 18th.
Remember, starting Sunday, you can find daily recaps of the previous day's action and brief looks ahead to the two games that day here at English Soccer Talk.
Friday, June 6, 2008
TV Schedule for Euro 2008 Group Stage
Friday, May 16, 2008
Derek Rae Interviews Clarence Seedorf
This obviously doesn't have anything to do with soccer in England, but it's still an interesting interview. I was surprised that Seedorf pulled out of Holland's team for Euro 2008 as it looks to be the best Dutch team in recent years, but there is clearly a conflict between Seedorf and Marco van Basten, the outgoing coach of the Oranje.
Seedorf believes he still can bring something valuable to the table and can contribute, which is true, and van Basten has shown in recent years that he favors the younger generation -- guys like Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart -- over the "old guard" -- Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mark van Bommel, Edgar Davids, etc. Instead of coming to camp to train hard and probably not get selected, Seedorf has opted to withdraw his name from the squad to perhaps avoid causing any unnecessary controversy and drama within the team.
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