EURO 2008 INFO

The Russian national side is to face Kazakhstan, Serbia and Lithuania in the run up to this summer's European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, the Russian Football Union has confirmed.

Russia have not made it past the group stages of a major tournament since the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, with investment in the Russian game at an all time high, and the sport undergoing something of a revival following the lack of funds, interest and even spectators in the immediate post-perestroika years, the side is hoping to break its run of misfortune in June.

Dutch coach Guus Hiddink took over Russia in 2006 after successful spells at a national level with Holland, South Korea and Australia, and immediately set about rebuilding an ageing team, replacing veterans with little heard of youngsters. The move has largely paid off, and Russia beat England to the second spot in their qualifying group for Euro 2008, albeit with a helping hand from group winners Croatia, who beat Steve McClaren's men 3-2 at Wembley in November to ensure Russia's progress.

Russian domestic soccer is also experiencing something of a boom, with attendances up and 2007 champions Zenit to face Glasgow Rangers on Wednesday in Manchester in the UEFA Cup final. After crushing Bayern Munich 4-0 in St. Petersburg on May 1, and 5-1 on aggregate, Zenit, bankrolled by Russian energy giant Gazprom, are favorites to lift their first major European trophy.

"It's been 20 years since our side last got out of their group," said Zenit and national side striker Pavel Pogrebnyak recently. "It's time to achieve something!"

Russia will face Kazakhstan in Moscow on May 23 in the last match in front of their home fans before flying to Munich for pre-tournament training. They will then take on Serbia in the German town of Burhausen on May 28, wrapping up their friendlies with a match against Lithuania in the same stadium on June 4. The side will then fly to their base in the Austrian resort of Leogang.

Russia are in Group D at Euro 2008. They will face Spain on June 10, Greece on June 14 and Sweden on June 18.

"In 2004, nobody believed in Greece and they wound up champions. There are no favorites in our group. Spain are the strongest side, Greece are defending champions and Sweden always feature at major tournaments. Everything is in our hands, though. We have to give everything we have," Lokomotiv star Dmitri Torbinskiy told UEFA recently.