hope and expectation. like waking up on your birthday, you still have to open your presents. there might be disappointing one5 open your presents. there might be disappointing ones in there, but you have them to open. the men s european championship, which kicks off this evening, will be different. notjust because it s a year late, but the tournament is being played at venues across europe. wales are in azerbaijan to take on switzerland in their opening game tomorrow, with england playing croatia at wembley on sunday, whilst scotland also have home advantage as they get their campaign under way against the czech republic on monday. adam wild looks ahead. amongst the home nations, there are those who can hardly wait. those who have had to wait far too long, and those carrying, as always, the weight of expectation. the tournament that kept football waiting is finally here. for scotland, arriving at their training base in darlington this week, the significance of their presence is not los
the wait is finally over. the delayed euro 2020 tournament kicks off in rome, before wales are the first home nation in action tomorrow, with england and scotland following on sunday and monday. a month of football lies ahead across 11 different countries. adam wild looks ahead. amongst the home nations, there are those who can hardly wait, those who have had to wait far too long and those carrying, as always, the weight of expectation. and the tournament that kept football waiting is finally here. for scotland, arriving at their training base in darlington this week, the significance of their presence is not lost on anyone. their first major tournament this century, evoking memories of campaigns past and igniting hopes for the future. we ve got a great group here. we are unbeaten a good few games now so i think we are going into the tournament in very high spirits and looking to progress. the world cup back in 1998 was the last time scotland s men made one of football s big stages.
the weight of expectation. the tournament that kept football waiting is finally here. for scotland, arriving at their training base in darlington this week, the significance of their presence is not lost on anyone, their first major tournament this century evoking memories of campaigns past igniting hopes for the future. we ve got a great group here. we ve been unbeaten for a few games now, so i think we ll go to the tournament in high spirits and wanting to progress. the world cup back in 1998 was the last time scotland s men made one of football s big stages. since then, more than two decades of disappointment. they begin against czech republic on monday. if scotland s recent past is there to be overcome, for wales, it s there to be recreated. what a turn, what a goal! their adventures of the last euros was one of welsh football s greatest summers, carrying on all the way to the semifinals. 2021 s group of players know there s a lot to live up to.
when we were watching the match exactly what this would be like. it would be like having the two best nfl teams show up, everybody that loves nfl football waiting for the game expecting what the great showdowns and then having the score be 63-0 at half-time. it happened so quickly, four goals scored. this happened against brazil. gene robinson, richard haass would usually be laughed out of the council on foreign relations if he said a sporting event could have political implications. in brazil, the national identity is so closely attached to football that this will actually have an impact on a nation who has believed that they were going to win the world cup since they were awarded this, and they have not lost at home since 1975