Good, Bad & Ugly

Miroslav Klose may not have found his way onto the scoresheet, but the Germany forward was at his mischief-making best as he helped Werder back into the race for a Champions League spot with last weekend's 3-0 dismissal of leaders Bayern.

And Klose's Werder team-mate Johan Micoud may just have an outside sniff of making the France squad after he was watched by Les Bleus coach Raymond Domenech in the win, even though the Bremen playmaker was forced off with an injury just after half time.

Sweden midfielder Kim Kallström showed again this week he could be one of the revelations of the tournament with a brace to give Rennes an eighth successive Ligue 1 win, before adding another to help the Breton side into the semi-finals of the French Cup.

Wayne Rooney will certainly be in the spotlight in Germany, and his inspirational performance in Manchester United's 2-0 win over nemesis Arsenal on Sunday has merely added to the expectation in England.

Ivan de la Pena is set to sneak into the Spain squad after being named in Luis Aragones' 33-man pre-tournament selection and a masterful display in Espanyol's Copa del Rey final demolition of Zaragoza in midweek.

Argentina left-back Gabriel Heinze admitted this week he may not complete his comeback from a serious knee injury in time to play in Germany.

The Manchester United defender - who has not kicked an opponent in anger since September - is making slower-than-expected progress and despite club boss Sir Alex Ferguson's pledge to do all he can to help, Heinze may not make it.

And Argentina coach Jose Pekerman's plans have also been hit by news Barcelona starlet Lionel Messi may only recover from a thigh injury in time to play if the Catalan giants reach the May 17 Champions League final - a game scheduled two days after the FIFA deadline for finalising the 23-man squad - while Valencia playmaker Pablo Aimar has been hospitalised with meningitis.

It has been a bad week for another Man United man with striker Louis Saha seeing his long-term ankle problem rear its nagging head again, leaving the France forward - already a 'possible' rather than 'probable' for Domenech's squad - in limbo.

Arsenal's long-time absent defenders Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole have been guaranteed a place in the England squad by boss Sven-Göran Eriksson - as long as they turn out for the Champions League semi-finalists before the end of the season.

The violence frequently seen in the stands of Serie A games week in, week out in Italy spilled over into a nasty confrontation between Inter ultras and the club's players after last week's 2-1 win over lowly Ascoli.

Arriving at Milan's Malpensa airport after the game, Roberto Mancini's squad were set upon by a group of 50 angry fans still seething over the club's Champions League exit at the hands of Villarreal.

Captain Javier Zanetti and gritty midfield namesake Cristiano were punched and kicked in the airport car park before police intervened, with the remainder of the players subjected to a verbal barrage of insults.

"This was an episode of barbarity, intolerance and stupid violence fuelled by the hysteria that surrounds football in Italy," said the president of the Italian Footballers' Association Sergio Campana.

"We need a cultural revolution - we need to learn to lose gracefully. But I believe it will take a generation."