Attack the only form of defence

IT began with what the orange t-shirts called ‘Basle – The Invasion’ and ended with something more closely resembling the retreat from Moscow.

Saturday saw 100,000 Dutch supporters converge on the old Swiss border town and, rivalling the dazzling sunshine as high summer finally arrived in Switzerland, they truly were a sight to behold.

Across the main bridge over the Rhine, along the banks of the river and in all the streets and squares, the tide of orange humanity was huge and irrepressible. According to reports, there were also some 10,000 Russians in the city but, if so, they were smothered in the orange crush.