How The Last Eight Are Shaping Up
By Gavin Willacy
Until 1996, this was what the European Championship Finals consisted of - the top eight national teams in Europe gathered together for a
feast of football, and right up to and including the 1976 competition, the quarter-finals was knockout football. This tournament we've had a
banquet already, with some of the best games most of us can remember and only two dud games in the 24 group matches - a slap up
serving of high class footy that no-one could have expected after the dour drudgery of Euro 96.
And the last ten days have not been lacking in shocks either - not many one-off giant-kills but who would have predicted that England,
Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic would all have been knocked out before the knockout stages. Well, okay, apart from England?
It is after the group stages that World Cup traditionally ignite, but can there possibly be anything better to come than this tournament? With
no reward for third place in the European champs, you just had to go for it, as Spain showed in the last few seconds against the Yugoslavs.
They have been rewarded with a return to Bruges on Sunday to face the world champions France, who have looked every inch potential
winners, even if their reserve defenders were ragged at times in the defeat by Holland. Thoroughly well-organised, strong in every position,
confident and with strength in depth, Roger Lemerre's side should be too good for everyone other than Holland.
But this is knockout football and minutae decide many games, so Spain will go into the clash with renewed confidence. Having played well only in patches in all of
their games, they appear to be on the verge of clicking into an awesome unit at any time only to lapse into anarchic chaos. They got away with it in the group games
when they could easily have had entirely different results. Raul needs to get back the form he showed against Slovenia while Spain will need Mendieta, Alfonso and
Etxeberria l fit and firing on all cylinders to threaten the French.
Holland's narrow win over France reserves on Wednesday night means they have another home game, against Yugoslavia in Rotterdam at tea time on Sunday.
Roared on by their fans in De Kuip, the Dutch should be too strong for the unpredictable Yugoslavs whose fighting spirit brings them yellow cards, major barnies and
goals galore at either end.
Savo Milosevic's poaching skills have earned him four goals so far and they certainly have talented ball players but their full-backs are weak and so many of their
major players - Mihajlovic, Stojkovic and Mijatovic - are prone to throw the baby out of the pram if things are not going well, that the safe money is on the better
prepared Dutch to progress in another high-scoring contest.
The first quarter-final of the weekend comes at 5pm on Saturday when two of the least likely qualifiers meet in the Amsterdam Arena. On all the evidence so far,
Portugal should wipe the floor with Turkey, but the Turks, while struggling in attack, have developed a dogged and determined defensive game which has seen
them conceded only two goals in their group.
Portugal need to maintain their lethal finishing to avoid any upset. They showed on Tuesday that they have a handful of second choice players equally capable as the
stars who beat England and Romania, and manager Humberto Coelho has to decide whether he can find for both Luis Figo and hat-trick hero Sergio Conceicao in
the starting line-up. They go into the last eight on a huge wave of confidence and their beautiful passing, swift movement and audacious skill will give Turkey all sorts
of problems, probably too many.
On Saturday night, Italy meet Romania in Brussels. This is probably the hardest of the four ties to call, for while Italy have looked professional, settled and hard to
score against, Sweden opened them up enough times in their last game to suggest that, with Hagi back from suspension, Romania could get off to a flier. If Romania
can take the lead before Hagi runs out of steam, Italy are not renowned for handling mounting demands from their fans particularly well. Should be tighter than Italy's
Adam West-style shirts.
QUARTER-FINAL DATES AND VENUES Saturday 24 June - Portugal v Turkey - 17.00, Amsterdam Saturday 24 June - Italy v Romania - 19.45, Brussels
Sunday 25 June - Netherlands v Yugoslavia - 17.00, Rotterdam Sunday 25 June - Spain v France - 19.45, Bruges |
