Denmark and the Netherlands have all their opening round games in northern Portugal, yet picked their training base in the southern Algarve, almost 600km away.
Germany too has two games in Porto, but it prefers to stay at a luxury hotel close to the golden beaches of southern Portugal.
Media have figured the total travel distance for the three games the Flying Dutchmen are playing between June 15 and 23 comes to 3,964km, or close to 13 hours of buses and planes. Had they picked a hotel close to Porto instead of Albufeira, that would have been reduced to a fraction.
Only if the Netherlands finishes second in its Group D, will it be able to play at the nearby Loule-Faro stadium.
Denmark will also be forced to take a plane from its base in Alvor to its three opening games which are in Guimaraes, Braga and Porto. It will need to win its Group C to earn the right to play close by in Loule-Faro.
Only Russia took an obvious decision. It is staying in the Algarve because two of its games are at Loule-Faro, including Saturday's opener against Spain.
POSH SECLUSION
The wife of England captain David Beckham is spurning the hotel where the other players' wives, girlfriends and children are staying, according to the British tabloids.
Victoria Beckham, formerly known as Posh Spice in the Spice Girls pop group, is instead staying in a private villa near Lisbon with her sons Brooklyn and Romeo.
"Too Posh for England" screamed the front page of Britain's best-selling tabloid The Sun. "Posh snubs footy wives" read the inside headline.
The partners of England's soccer squad are staying separately to the players at a spa resort outside Lisbon where they will be pampered with beauty treatments and taken shopping.
NO RACISM
A hotline for fans to report racist and xenophobic incidents will be available throughout Euro 2004, a network fighting racism in soccer said.
The phone calls will be handled by a multilingual staff of Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) and referred for action by relevant authorities, FARE spokesman Leon Mann said Wednesday.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH
A group of England soccer fans claim to have set a new record by chanting for 90 minutes without a break.
The 25 supporters took turns to maintain the chant, which has no words but uses the theme tune to the classic film The Great Escape.
UNDER 21
Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni was encouraged by his country's record fifth victory in the Under-21 European championship Tuesday.
In the final, Italy defeated Serbia-Montenegro 3-0.
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