It has taken a
fortnight and more but UEFA can finally, and gleefully, sink their teeth into
their Euro 2012 Holy Grail, namely by charging the English FA for the apparent
poor behaviour of England fans during their match against Sweden on Friday
night and drooling over the potential sanctions. But before UEFA and Michel
Platini gorge too heartily on Les Rosbifs
they perhaps ought to at least acknowledge and duly consider the teeny tiny complication
that their own UEFA Match Delegate reported no such disturbance from the
English contingent; in fact he described the behaviour of Club In-Ger-Lund as “entirely
satisfactory”….an assessment fully supported by the police in attendance as
well.

What cannot be ignored is the disturbing and disappointing
development of an increased prevalence of racial connotations within certain
groups of supporters; Croatian Head
Coach Slaven Bilic so disgusted with
his own national supporters that he has publicly urged UEFA to take the
strongest possible action against any fan found to have targeted striker Mario Balotelli during their encounter
with Italy. 

On the pitch the final round of group stage fixtures have
determined the fixtures for the first knockout phase, sending home half the
original sixteen competitors with some shock departures on those early flights
of shame…..

Group A perhaps threw up one of the biggest shocks in seeing
the previously dominant Russians
capitulate to a steady and determined Greece
side. Dick Advocaat’s Russia
had topped the group going into the final round of fixtures and their cohesive,
well-organised and creative attack had persuaded many observers to install them
as genuine dark horses for the trophy itself! But where the Czech Republic and Poland
had previously failed, step forward the EOTF Dreamteam FC! My cunning
promotion of Russian wonderkid Alan
Dzagoev to my midfield predictably paralysed the free-scoring youngster,
Arsenal’s version of Andrei Arshavin
finally showed his face and Russia
duly crashed to a humiliating exit. Perhaps that unfairly diminishes the
achievements of the unfancied Greeks, who have recovered from the most
appalling refereeing decision of the tournament thus far in being reduced to
ten-men during their opening fixture and, in veteran captain Giorgos Karagounis, have one of the
most committed and inspirational players in the competition. That Karagounis
faces a one-match suspension is the second travesty befallen upon the plucky
Greeks – he ought to have been awarded a certain penalty rather than seeing a
yellow card for a non-existent dive – and he will be badly missed against the
German machine in the knockout phase.

Greece
secured a runners-up spot behind the Czech Republic, who shattered the dreams of
joint-host nation Poland. Petr Cech recovered from the shattering blow of being dropped from
the EOTF
Dreamteam FC to, with a certain inevitability, keep his first
clean-sheet of Euro 2012. They say a week can be a long time in politics; well
that adage has perhaps never been more applicable to the World of Football in
explaining the progress of the Czech’s. It is a mystery how they have
eliminated their opening day conquerors Russia – the bedraggled Czech’s were
stuffed 4-1 in that
particular demolition –  but their dogged
determination has prevailed over a devastated Poland, who seemed to wilt under
the pressure and expectation of a home triumph. Whether the sluggish Czech
defence can cope with a reborn Cristiano
Ronaldo in their quarter-final encounter will be crucial to their hopes of
creating further shockwaves.

Germany resisted the temptation
to rest some of their more established stars in their ominously efficient
defeat of Group B surprise package Denmark.
There has always been a begrudging admiration of the German’s stoicism in
tournament mode, their refusal to accept defeat and their traditional qualities
of organisation, power and that annoyingly effective ability to get the job
done. But this incarnation of Germany
has developed and progressed from the early promise of their FIFA World Cup
2010 displays. Bastien Schweinsteiger
showcases those traditional strengths in his dominant midfield performances but
those qualities have been beautifully merged with Phillip Lahm’s endless stamina and determination and the youthful
exuberance, the technical skill and the wonderful creativity of Thomas Muller in supporting the
outstanding Mesut Ozil. Can the
Greek version of ‘The Chelsea’, namely the ‘Parking of the Chariot’, repel the rampant German invasion? The
Germans are rightly favoured but, with two of their number in the EOTF
Dreamteam FC, Greece
will be spurred on by my unparalleled ability to inspire shockers from even the
most established stars…

Holland
wrapped up their utter humiliation with a pathetically limp display in their
must-win contest with Portugal. I say ‘must win’; the Dutch actually had to
prevail by a two-goal margin to have any chance of progression into the
knockout stages but you certainly wouldn’t have known it from their abject
efforts. Rafael van der Vaart did
instil false hope within the Dutch supporters with a wonderfully executed
opening goal but rest of the match showcased all the traditional qualities
associated with Dutch football….in-fighting, ego, individual agendas and an
embarrassing lack of unity. Arjen Robben
at least partially redeemed himself for his petulant midweek antics with a
half-decent performance while Rafael
Van der Vaart was desperately
unfortunate to see his stoppage time effort hit the post – what he did between
his opening goal and that late strike though remains a mystery. As a genuine
football fan though it was sad to witness the drastic decline in Wesley Sneijder’s form since his FIFA
World Cup heroics in South Africa and is there a more limited defensive
midfield player than the woefully inadequate Nigel de Jong? And Arsenal must be disappointed with the
contribution of Robin van Persie;
their financially-focused board no doubt hoping that an inspired tournament
from their talismanic striker would boost his transfer value as they prepare
for his inevitable departure. But instead RVP has been virtually anonymous
throughout the tournament, with the notable exception of some truly abysmal
misses, and Arsenal’s anticipated jackpot fee has evaporated alongside his
form.

Cristiano Ronaldo
finally found his feet and looked in imperious form ahead of their meeting with
the Czech Republic.
Ronaldo netted twice and was desperately unfortunate not to bag the first
hat-trick of Euro 2012, striking the post twice and forcing Maarten Stekelenburg into a string of
fine saves. But for all their midfield and attacking talent – with Pepe and Bruno Alves providing solidity in defence – Portugal are
handicapped by the continued presence of alleged striker Helder Postiga in their starting-XI. When Emile Heskey rivals your technique in front of goal then you are
not good enough at this level; Postiga’s horrendous misses during the group
stage will cost Portugal dearly against stronger opposition and there must
surely be better alternatives available to coach Paulo Bento?!?

The first half of the knockout phase has now been
decided….will there be more shocks to come in the remaining group games?