The opening match of Euro 2012 between co-hosts Poland and former champions Greece was a great advert for the rest of the competition, with the two sides earning a share of the spoils in an entertaining 1-1 draw that swung like a pendulum during different periods of the encounter. The Poles, who started much the better side, took the lead through their star striker Robert Lewandowski in the 17th minute. Greece were then reduced to 10-men in the first half itself when defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos was given his marching orders for two bookable offences.

The Greeks however fought back bravely and found a leveller through substitute Dimitris Salpigidis, before Poland keeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off for denying Salpagidis a clear goal-scoring opportunity. The subsequent penalty however was parried away by substitute keeper Premyslaw Tyton, and another Greece goal was disallowed for offside, as Poland, who were expected to take maximum points, ended the game happy to leave the stadium with one.

England defender Gary Cahill has been ruled out of the Euro 2012 tournament after he suffered a double fractured jaw in the friendly against Belgium. Cahill ran into keeper Joe Hart after a needless push from Belgium winger Dries Mertens, and as a result will miss his first major tournament in an England shirt. Cahill is the fourth English player to drop out of the squad after midfielders Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard dropped out with stomach and thigh injuries respectively, while goalkeeper John Ruddy broke his finger in training.

Liverpool defender Martin Kelly will be called into the squad, after approval from UEFA's medical team. It is interesting that Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was not considered, considering that England would be short of experience with Lampard and Barry backing out. The English Manager Roy Hodgson believes that Kelly, who trained with the squad for their match in Norway, would take less time to be match-sharp.

Roy Hodgson's first tournament in-charge of the Three Lions is turning into a nightmare for the Englishman. Having already been forced to replace Manchester City stalwart Gareth Barry due to injury just a few days ago, Hodgson's England squad was rocked further with the news that Chelsea superstar Frank Lampard has been ruled out of the Euros as well.

Lampard pulled his thigh while training with the team on Wednesday and has since undergone a scan and medical examination by the club's medical staff. Doctors have revealed that the 34-year old Champions League winner will be unable to feature in the competition and Hodgson has had to call up Liverpool's Jordan Henderson to replace the Chelsea veteran in midfield.

The English team will be without Manchester City star Gareth Barry in next month's European Championship after the midfielder picked up an injury in the 1-0 friendly win against Norway on Saturday. Manager Roy Hodgson has called up Everton's Phil Jagielka to join the side for training before the competition kicks off.

The 31 year-old limped off the field in the second half after playing for just under half an hour, after replacing Steven Gerrard at half-time. Hodgson did not rule out the player immediately but scans on today revealed that the player had suffered from a torn muscle in his lower abdomen.

The Roy Hodgson era began with a victory yesterday as England earned a narrow 1-0 win over Norway in Oslo to gear up for their Euro challenge. The game had an International Friendly written all over it and the one clinical moment arrived on 9 minutes when Ashley Young scored the only goal of the game. The game was more or less used by Hodgson to give the fringe players a chance to stake their claim and although Gareth Barry’s 2^nd half injury scare is a concern, it was a satisfying performance from the Three Lions.

Andy Carroll was the huge presence up front for England and he dovetailed well with Young who played behind him in the free-role. The pair combined to great effect in the 9^th minute when Carroll played the ball to the Manchester United winger’s feet and he turned Brede Hangeland before firing a left-footed shot into the far corner. It was a fine finish from the winger, who grabbed his 4^th goal in 4 games.

Germany were rocked in their build-up to the European Championships in Ukraine/Poland as they suffered a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Switzerland in a friendly at Basel. Despite not being involved in the Euros, the Otmar Hitzfeld-led Swiss outfit gave the Germans a run around to earn their first victory over their opponents in over 50 years. Eren Derdiyok was the hero as he scored a hat-trick and although Germany did get three goals on the day, they were always trailing their neighbours.

The combination of Derdiyok and Tranquillo Barnetta proved to be deadly as the pair combined for the first three goals. Barnetta dissected the entire German defence with a pass from the left on 21 minutes and Derdiyok beat Marc-Andre Stegen in the German goal with a first time shot. The young keeper again picked the ball out of the net two minutes later as Derdiyok planted a header from Barnetta’s deep cross.

A second string Spanish outfit got past Serbia 2-0 in an International Friendly at St.Gallen, Switzerland thanks to goals in the 2^nd half as the reigning World and European Champions continued their preparations for Euro 2012. Goals from debutant Adrian and a penalty from Santi Carzola were enough to see off the Serbians, who don’t have a tournament to look forward to in the summer.

With the Spanish season only ending on Friday as Barcelona played Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey final, Vicente Del Bosque gave his squad players a chance to shine. The first half was a quiet affair, with Spain dominating the possession but lacking their usual rhythm. Alvaro Negredo and Xabi Alonso went close in the opening period, which also saw Dejan Lekic being disallowed a goal for a marginal offside decision.