LONDON -- George Orwell once called soccer a substitute for war. Looking at the recently finished European Championship held in Lisbon, one might well call it a political metaphor. What happened on the pitch during the monthlong tournament was an uncanny reflection of what is happening on a wider and deeper scale across the Continent. The lessons to be drawn from the sporting results have some definite applications to the search for Europe's future.

The final victory of the unfancied Greek team was enough of a shock. Even more telling was the identity of the four sides that made it to the semifinals -- Greece, Holland, the Czech Republic and Portugal, the host nation. The traditional footballing giants of France, England, Germany, Italy and Spain were eliminated.

The rise of smaller nations and the challenge they present to the old guard of bigger countries is also being felt within the European Union as it is enlarged by the addition of states from formerly communist Central and Eastern Europe. Just as the old balance of power on the sports field has been upset, so Paris, Berlin and London must adapt to the altered shape of the community that began with just six members in 1957 and is now set to grow to two dozen in the coming decade.