Euro 2012 briefs

Capello, who quit as England boss four months before Euro 2012 over the John Terry affair, will be joined by former France and Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier on a panel that will look at the trends and talking points in Poland and Ukraine.

They will then produce a 72-page technical report on the tournament from a coach’s point of view.

Germany’s Lahm switches to left

Germany captain Philipp Lahm will switch from his favoured right back position to the left for their Euro 2012 Group B match against Portugal on Saturday, said coach Joachim Loew.

It will not be the first time Lahm has changed positions, having played on the left for Germany before and even switching positions halfway through matches at Euro 2008.

Russians free to march in Poland

Warsaw has no plans to reject any request by Russian fans to march through the city when their team play Poland on Tuesday, despite concerns that it could lead to violence because of tension between the nations.

“Of course we will accept the registration when it appears” said Warsaw Mayor Hanna-Gronkiewicz Waltz, adding that the city has not yet received such a request.

Croatia hamstrung by player injuries

Croatia could lose its second player in as many days, with defender Vedran Corluka injuring a hamstring during training on Thursday.

Corluka, who has been on loan at German club Bayer Leverkusen from Tottenham, left training early after complaining of pain. He is due to have a medical test on Friday morning.

Midfielder Ivo Ilicevic pulled a calf muscle on Wednesday.

Kranjcar completes move to Kiev club

Ukrainian Niko Kranjcar has completed his transfer from Tottenham to Dynamo Kiev.

The 27-year-old midfielder revealed this week that Spurs had reached an agreement with Dynamo over a deal, and his new employers confirmed the transfer in a website statement their website: “After successful negotiations, Niko Kranjcar has signed a four-year contract with Dynamo Kiev.”