England146;s Butt bows out

POVOA de VARZIM

: Bulgaria8217;s stony-faced coach Plamen Markov tried hard to take positives from his team8217;s 5-0 defeat by Sweden in their Euro 2004 opener but failed to convince anyone there were any. 8216;8216;It is very difficult now for us to say we can qualify after such a defeat, but while we were only 1-0 down, we were still playing well and made chances to equalise,8217;8217; Marvov told equally deflated Bulgarian journalists on Tuesday. 8216;8216;We made many individual mistakes and the players are verydepressed about the size of the defeat but we still have two matches to play and the players still have their ability and their pride. 8216;8216;I am not angry with them. We lost because we made mistakesagainst a better team and the punished us.8217;8217;

Sweden8217;s Lucic out of Italy match

: Sweden defender Teddy Lucic has been ruled out of their second Euro 2004 Group C match against Italy with a rib injury, the team doctor said on Tuesday. Lucic sustained the injury, which could be a fracture, in the Swedes8217; 5-0 thrashing of Bulgaria on Monday. Sweden face Italy, who drew their opening match againstDenmark, in Porto on Friday.

Croatia to rest big names vs France

: France8217;s comeback winover England has altered Croatia8217;s approach to their Euro 2004 game against the champions and several players are likely to be rested. Assistant coach Drazen Ladic said on Tuesday that France8217;s 2-1 Group B victory put a different complexion on the point Croatia earned from a 0-0 draw with 10-man Switzerland. 8216;8216;Our point looks okay now,8217;8217; Ladic told a news conference at the team8217;s base deep in the Portuguese countryside. 8216;8216;It is not now so imperative to win against France, it is more important not to lose. We always felt the last match against England would be decisive and that is still true.8217;8217;

8216;Crack8217; Joaquin injured

: Spanish winger Joaquin is admired for his skill throughout Europe but an amateur mistake in training could rule him out of Wednesday8217;s Group A game against Greece. 8216;8216;Joaquin is a 8216;crack8217; but at the end of training on Monday he kicked the ground instead of the ball and he8217;s managed to sprain his ankle,8217;8217; Spain coach Inaki Saez said on Tuesday. 8216;8216;It8217;s bandaged up and thankfully it isn8217;t too swollen. I think he8217;ll be alright but we8217;ll decide this afternoon.8217;8217; Joaquin did not play in the opening 1-0 defeat of Russia on Saturday.

Change triple penalty for keepers: UEFA

: UEFA has hinted that it could seek changes in the laws of soccer to prevent teams being punished too heavily when goalkeepers bring down an opponent in the penalty area. William Gaillard, communications director for European soccer8217;s governing body, said on Tuesday that concerns about the so-called 8216;triple8217; penalty for keepers8217; offences had been discussed within UEFA. Gaillard said teams were effectively punished three times when the goalkeeper brought down an opponent 8212; conceding a penalty, having the offender dismissed on a red card and having to substitute an outfield player to bring on a reserve keeper. He omitted to mention a fourth penalty 8212; the suspension ofthe goalkeeper for the next match. Gaillard said UEFA hoped to elaborate later this week afterfurther discussions.Reuters