They Finished 8th: CZECH REP

Few, including me, thought they'd get as far as they did, so this tournament can't be seen as a failure. But they could have gone for it a bit more in the quarter-final against Portunaldo or Ronaltugal, I can't decide which is the best, probably the former.

Rosicky out injured for the QF won't have helped, him being captain and their most creative player. But as I said at the start of all this, any team that has Baros as their striker is going to struggle and ain't gonna win diddly.

And so it proved.

QUARTER-FINAL: Portugal 1-0 Czech Rep

This game had very little going for it, and was settled by a bouncing header from the best player on the pitch, the ubiquitous Ronaldo, whom people are beginning to refer to as CR7, which sounds more like a postcode to me.

For me, the Russians would have give the Portuguese a better game and a tougher test. The Czech's never really threatened and looked ready to settle for penalties from about the 50th minute.

Take Ronaldo out of Portugal's team, and they'll be pretty average too, and with Spain or France awaiting in the semi-final it's hard to make a case for them progressing.

One of the dullest games of the tournament, but if you're Portuguese that won't bother you in the slightest. You're through to another semi-final, and you have CR7 in your T E A M.

GROUP A FINALE: Poland 0-1 Czech Rep; Russia 0-1 Greece

Has a tournament group ever been turned on its head so savagely by the final group games?
Russia were by far the best team in the group, thrashing the Czechs 4-1 in the second game of the tournament, and yet it is they who go home and the Czechs who progress. And the host Poles are on their way home (not far to travel at least) after being frozen by fear of failure in all three of their games.
HOW THEY FINISHED: 1: CZECH REP  2: GREECE  3: Russia  4: Poland.

As you'll see from this, it didn't quite pan out the way I predicted. Although it really should have.

Czech Rep 2-1 Greece

Highlights are all I saw of this one, so that means the goals and not much besides. So I could waffle on about the early Czech goals, or about how this result keeps the group wide open, but I can't be arsed.

Russia 4-1 Czech Rep

Four! Quatro! Whatever 4 is in Russian! What a start to the tournament. All four teams that have played have scored, and the Russians have slammed home a quartet of goals and should have had more.

They'll be in pole position to win a group that contains the Poles, and yes, I am feeling a little smug tonight, having tipped the Russians to reach the semis.

I'm even liking the Russian strip, a thin blue and white sash on a striking red background. The More Sashes In Football Kits Campaign starts here.