Brückner seeks shade

'Stifling' conditions
Brückner gave his hard-working squad the afternoon off today, for the first time since they arrived in Portugal, with the strict instruction that no one should leave the confines of their air-conditioned hotel. "The heat is stifling and we must save our energy for the long tournament," the 64-year-old said. "We will probably move our practices to the early morning too."

Small niggles
Pavel Nedved and Tomáš Rosický were especially grateful for the break. Nedved had complained of a bad headache, while the BV Borussia Dortmund playmaker has a slight groin strain. The same problem meant that defender Marek Jankulovski had to sit out the end of this morning's session, but neither injury is regarded as serious.