Bulgaria

Bulgarian coach Plamen Markov is preaching caution as he prepares his players for their appearance on one of the biggest stages in sport for the first time in eight years.

Although Bulgaria beat Cameroon 3-0 in a friendly in Sofia at the end of April, a 0-2 defeat in their first warm-up against fellow-Euro 2004 finalists Greece in February poured cold water on the euphoria that greeted their qualification for Euro 2004 as group winners.

The draw, where Bulgaria were placed in Group C with Sweden, Italy and Denmark, has not helped.

Bulgaria's weakness is their defence and Markov will be hoping he has solved that problem by the time Bulgaria open their tournament with a match against Sweden on June 14.

Two years later, following a dominant Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, his team are being compared with the most talented generation of players the country has produced -- the 1994 World Cup semi-finalists.

Quiet and modest, Markov has introduced a new style of play to the team based on a flat back four with a lone striker and most players functioning in the same roles as they have at their clubs.

Midfielders Marian Hristov and Milen Petkov along with striker Zoran Jankovic are again expected to form the backbone of the team in Portugal.

Reuters

Best performance: Quarter-finals in 1968

Recent performances:
1980 Did not qualify
1984 Did not qualify
1988 Did not qualify
1992 Did not qualify
1996 Round one
2000 Did not qualify

SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: 1-Zdravko Zdravkov (Litex Lovech), 23-Dimitar Ivankov (Levski Sofia), 12-Stoyan Kolev (CSKA Sofia)

Defenders: 2-Vladimir Ivanov (Lokomotiv Plovdiv), 3-Rosen Kirilov (Litex Lovech), 6-Kiril Kotev (Lokomotiv Plovdiv), 18-Predrag Pazhin (Shakhtar Donetsk), 5-Zlatomir Zagorcic (Litex Lovech), 4-Ivailo Petkov (Fenerbahce), 22-Ilian Stoyanov (Levski Sofia)

Midfielders: 15-Marian Hristov (Kaiserslautern), 7-Daniel Borimirov (Levski Sofia), 19-Stilian Petrov (Celtic), 8-Milen Petkov (AEK Athens), 13-Georgi Peev (Dynamo Kiev), 10-Velizar Dimitrov (CSKA Sofia)

Forwards: 21-Zoran Jankovic (Dalian Shide), 11-Zdravko Lazarov (Gaziantepspor), 17-Martin Petrov (VfL Wolfsburg), 16-Vladimir Manchev (Lille), 14-Georgi Chilikov (Levski Sofia), 20-Valeri Bojinov (Lecce), 9-Dimitar Berbatov (Bayer Leverkusen)