WHEN abroad and surrounded by different nationalities, you soon get to know who your friends are; and in terms of football, we don't have many.

Throughout the Euro 2004 tournament so far, many of our fellow Brits, the Scots, the Welsh and our Celtic neighbours across the sea, have all been awaiting our demise and living in the hope we will slip up in the usual manner (and so it came to pass).

Our nation's hopes may have been pinned on the shoulders of an 18-year-old from Liverpool and the name "Rooney", which name was chanted by English fans across the world. But the Irish friends I have met while on holiday keep reminding me of Rooney's Celtic origins; can we not claim credit for anything?

I have opted to watch all the games so far in the English-run Banana Bar on the Costa Del Sol's Calahonda beach. As hosts John and Steve position the TV screen, you can watch the game while looking out across the Mediterranean.

The England v Croatia game featured on the BBC and saw commentator John Motson at his usual anorak best. Elated ex-England footballers Gary Lineker, Ian Wright and Peter Reid jumped for joy as each goal was slotted past the Croatian keeper. The only fly in the ointment was the depressing, dour Alan Hansen, whose negativity shines through every comment and clich he utters. Why oh why do they insist on employing this pundit to comment on England performances when he is secretly willing for us to lose every challenge and miss every free kick and penalty awarded our way.

The football world seems to have learned its lesson following the fiasco surrounding the Leicester City players in Spain earlier this year.

Instead of our boys travelling alone to Portugal, they have been accompanied by their wives, partners and families, a sure way to avoid any potential PR disasters. This is a good thing for the image of football and for the England team as it surely brings some normality to these players' surreal lives during the competition.

It was interesting to see the reports claiming Victoria Beckham embarked on a diet of only strawberries while in Portugal and is apparently wasting away as we speak.

The female obsession with weight loss, which we are all guilty of at some point, is no doubt at its height during the summer when we are required to bare more flesh than we would sometimes like.

The pressure felt when sunbathing on the beach or by the pool can be immense and there is nothing more intimidating than stripping down to your swimsuit or bikini for the first time on holiday. It should be a happy, relaxing time, but negative body image can put a downer on our holiday as we compare the cellulite on our hips and bottoms with the thinner more beautiful specimens around the poolside.

While we yearn to shed the pounds, we also yearn to rid ourselves of our pale skin in favour of a bronzed new look. Until the 1920s women of stature stayed out of the sun as a tan was considered to be a sign of belonging to the manual working classes.

It was not until the mid-1920s when Coco Chanel was pictured stepping off a yacht in the South of France sporting a healthy glow that tans became fashionable and a symbol of health, wealth and style.

Due to fears of skin cancer and premature ageing, we have become more sensible and aware of the benefits of high factor sun creams. Gone are the days when sunbathers would smother themselves in baby oil and bake on a reflective mat.

Looking good isn't just a girlie pre-occupation as recent figures have shown men today are spending more money than ever on grooming products. Indeed the UK grooming industry is soon expected to be worth £600 million, with male products now forming a sizeable portion of this figure.

A wet shave and a splash of Blue Stratos will no longer do for the men of today. Instead, they are opting for exfoliating scrubs, moisturisers and soothing after-shave balms.

This trend reflects the emergence of a new breed of Hollywood stars such as Jude Law and Orlando Bloom who are, dare I say, much "prettier" than the rugged Harrison Ford-types and the John Waynes of the past.

It looks as though society is trading in the Marlboro man for the well-groomed Adonis of today. But if male grooming products mean our men look better, then surely we can sacrifice some of our vanity unit shelf-space and the full length mirror once in a while.

Sophie McGill is communications director of York City Football Club and one of the youngest boardroom executives in football. She has donated her fee for this column to York City FC Youth Development.

Updated: 16:13 Friday, June 25, 2004