Wow, quarter finals done, and what a goodie bag of entertainment they provided. From the Swiss showing how not to do a penalty shootout, to England starting to purr like a well oiled machine, its all taking shape very nicely.
One thing that did hit me in this round was how tired some of the teams looked, which when you consider the last couple of disrupted seasons and the impact of several games in very close proximity to each other isn't all that surprising. I mean, I need a day to recover from walking up the stairs, so I can really feel their pain!! This is definitely where having that strength in depth of a good squad, not just a good starting 11, really comes into play, as well as digging deep and finding that character within.
With the real business end of the tournament looming and England still in there its hard not to get too carried away with it all and try and remain a bit objective, so I'm not going to bother even trying! The draw has certainly been kind to England, but that's certainly not their fault - people can moan all they want about the advantage of playing pretty much every game at Wembley but the match isn't won just by where you play, the players still have to perform and do their part, which they certainly have.
Gareth must be losing so much sleep over all the tough decisions he is having to make. Which three from Mount, Sancho, Grealish, Sterling and Saka should I play around Kane? The jammy bugger has great players in abundance and must be delighted that he has that flexibility to rotate and still have a top class forward line regardless of who he picks. Coupled with the defence looking pretty solid (a couple of minor wobbles but still not conceding at this stage is probably something not even the most ardent fan could have realistically hoped for) and I'm starting to get a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling about this tournament.
So 3 games left to go, then its all over, what do I see for the next 7 days of football?
In the first semi final, I think Italy will be too organised for Spain, who have shown themselves to be not the greatest at the back. I can see the Azzuri taking this one without too much of a strain.
The second semi final will be the one to watch. England are hitting form just at the right time, and will be going into this one full of confidence after beating Ukraine so convincingly. Denmark on the other hand, whilst undoubtedly a very good team, are riding on the back of the Eriksen emotional wave, and at some point that has to give. I can see it happening here, and England getting through with a narrow victory, probably by just the odd goal.
That leaves the final, which I see as an Italy - England affair. Unfortunately (and I hope I'm proved wrong) I think this will be a very tight, guarded and ultimately disappointed affair, potentially even going to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes. I still reckon (and hope) England win it, but it wont be the showpiece send-off for what has been a pretty good tournament in my eyes.
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