No team has successfully defended soccer's European Championship. France is hot favorite to be the first.
Although the French tossed away their World Cup title by getting knocked out in the first round of group games without scoring a goal, Jacques Santini's team is unlikely to repeat the mistakes of 2002. They have the best players of the 16 Euro 2004 finalists, the most impressive record and a comparatively easy route to the semifinals.
In Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, David Trezeguet and Robert Pires the French will have some of the most influential players in the championship.
"We all hope we won't fail like we did at the World Cup," Henry said. "You need to be fresh. Look at the World Cup 2002. All the great teams went out early -- apart from Brazil, England and Germany -- and they were playing another type of game, all defending. The likes of Italy looked like they couldn't play the ball because they were so tired.
"The team that wins Euro 2004 will be the team with the most fresh players."
With 45 goals for club and country this season, Henry is being hailed ahead of Brazil's Ronaldo as the world's top striker. Not bad for someone who arrived at Arsenal as a winger.
"I could still be a winger. But, thankfully for me, I am playing as a striker for Arsenal. It has changed my life," said Henry who recently passed 150 goals for the Gunners by scoring four in one game against Leeds.
Santini's men go to the finals in Portugal as the only team to win all eight qualifying games. Last month's 0-0 tie in a friendly with the Netherlands in Rotterdam ended a streak of 14 victories.
The Euro 2004 draw in Lisbon also was kind to the French.
Three of its main rivals -- Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic -- are all in the same group. The French can't meet any of them until the semis and that also applies to another of the favorites, Italy.
Once it has got past its opening game against England, France can afford to ease up a little against Croatia and Switzerland who are among the outsiders.
In the quarters, the defending champion probably will face host Portugal or Spain. Although both can be extremely good teams, they don't have great records in major championships.
World Cup quarterfinalist England is another underachiever. Apart from winning the World Cup in 1966 it has never even reached another final at either the World Cup or Euros.
In David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has some standout talent going forward. But there are alarming weaknesses in defense that Henry, who plays in England for Arsenal, is likely to exploit when they meet in Lisbon June 13.
Group D brings together three former champions and a rookie.
The Germans are the only team to win the title three times (1972, 1980 and 1996). The Dutch triumphed in 1988 and the Czechs -- as Czechoslovakia -- in 1976.
Germany meets the Netherlands in Oporto June 15 and the Czech Republic in Lisbon June 23. In between, the Dutch and the Czechs face each other at Aveiro June 19.
While the Germans did well to get to the 2002 World Cup final, losing 2-0 to Brazil, they rely too much on Michael Ballack. If Sebastian Deisler has shaken off the five months of clinical depression he suffered this season, Ballack will have some top quality assistance in the German midfield.
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