Living the dream finals

WITH the volatile group stages having already achieved knock-out status and the quarter-finals proper hoving into view, we find ourselves with just about enough time to pause, take a deep breath, and declare that, all in all, Euro 2008 has been a bit of a cracker — so far.

That little two word proviso is important because, as the stakes get ever higher, the business end of big tournament football doesn’t always live up to what has gone before. But, at this stage of proceedings in Austria and Switzerland, we can say with confidence that, if the quarters, semis and final give us anything like the superior quality and entertainment value of the group stages, then it’s destined to be remembered as a classic. A big if, maybe, but right now there are good grounds for optimism.

The word from Ireland, however, suggests that the tournament hasn’t really captured the popular imagination. If so, that’s a pity but also understandable up to a point, and not only because of the absence, yet again, of the green shirt on the big European stage. The deeper problem is that, as in Germany two years ago, there are really two tournaments taking place here.