We Go On...

After two horrible, soul-destroying days without football the European Championship is back as Poland face Portugal in the first of the quarter finals.

Most people would probably have predicted Poland getting out of their group but to qualify unbeaten and then follow that up with a win on penalties over Switzerland is a real achievement.

When you consider that their star man - Robert Lewandowski - has not had a very good tournament then it shows that the whole squad has really come through to get them this far. This togetherness has been a common theme in this competition and they will need it tonight against the more fancied Portugal.

Arkadiusz Milik has also been fairly woeful up front for Poland but he has at least been getting into good positions - he just needs to start putting some of his chances away.

Portugal limped through to the second round without a single victory against Iceland, Hungary or Austria. Although they have a good squad, much has been put on the shoulders of Ronaldo and his frustration in not being able to deliver has been there for all to see.

Ricardo Quaresma scored the late late winner against a much lauded Croatia team in the second round and it should be worrying for Poland that Portugal seem to be finally getting into gear. The introduction of Bayern Munich new boy Renato Sanches bolsters an already impressive midfield and the whole squad will be confident going into this game.

Although Poland have strength at the back and Kapustka back from suspension I think Portugal are starting to play just at the right time. If Ronaldo can stop getting so angry and play football instead of sulking his team should go through. It may well be a tight affair so I'm going for Portugal 1 Poland 0.

Day 18 in France

Another tournament ends in embarrassment for England as they lose to a country of 330,000. Iceland deservedly march on to the quarter finals as the post mortem begins for England.

We've seen it all before. English players, fans and media arrogantly presuming they have a right to win trophies when they are just simply not good enough. The difference this time that it wasn't a Germany or an Argentina or a Brazil - it was Iceland. But it was an Iceland who had shown more teamwork, passion and determination (and let's not forget about skill) than the representatives of supposedly the best league in the world.

England had actually got the best possible start with Rooney scoring a penalty in the fourth minute after Raheem Sterling has been upended by Halldorsson. This should have been exactly what England needed and a body blow for Iceland but just 34 seconds later they were level.

If England had bothered to study Iceland's tactics they would have known that a long throw into the box was one of their many strengths. But Gunnarsson's throw was flicked on easily while Walker lost Sigurdsson in the box where he calmly side footed it past Hart in goal.

England carried on as before and played with confidence if not much drive and found themselves behind just 12 minutes later. Some nice interplay on the edge of the box was not closed down by a static English defence and Sigthorsson took a couple of touches to work some space before shooting. Joe Hart made yet another crucial error and it was 2-1. Nothing more than Iceland deserved and the beginning of the end for England.

Maybe England thought that Iceland would sit back and defend their lead but they were mistaken if they believed their opponents would show the same lack of imagination. England got worse and worse and it quickly became obvious that if anyone was to score again it would be Iceland.

Roy Hodgson had made some strange selections and his belief in Sterling and Kane, in particular, was left wanting. Rooney continued his amazing loss of form and it was not a surprise when he was subbed off - only a surprise that it took until the 86th minute for it to happen.

England looked totally devoid of ideas while the Icelandic team showed time and time again how much more they were willing to put in to get the result they craved. Even towards the end of the match Iceland were pushing forward - with two strikers - trying to get that third goal.

It is not surprising that England went out. It is surprising that their fans were duped once again into thinking that they had a chance of going far in a major competition.

The first game of the day was a match up between two of the sides that had really performed in the group stages. Italy had shocked everyone by beating Belgium in their first match and then topped the group with some more convincing displays.

Spain had looked good against the Czech Republic and Turkey before losing to Croatia. But even that late winner from Perisic hadn't seemed to take the shine of what looked like a very accomplished side with Alvaro Morata looking to come to the fore up front.

But one of the first rules of international football is to not rule out Italy. Supposedly their worst squad for 50 years, this group of players seem to thrive on the insults thrown their way and totally dominated the first half and deservedly went ahead just after the half hour. A free kick from Eder was only parried into the path of Giaccherini, and the captain Chiellini finally poked the ball home to put the Azzurri one up.

Italy were looking very good and Eder in particular was having a field day making Gerard Pique look like a pedestrian. Italy were on top in all areas of the pitch and it was only thanks to De Gea that they didn't go further ahead.

The second goal eventually did come in injury time as Pelle once again volleyed in from close range. Italy showed what has been a common theme in this tournament - teamwork and togetherness - and that is what took them through to the quart finals where they will meet Germany.

Other things I noticed yesterday...

• ITV are terrible at the best of times but their patronising attitude towards Iceland was beyond belief. Mark Pougatch even asked his fellow 'pundits' at half time whether Joe Hart should be dropped for the quarter final. England were 2-1 down at the time
• It's hard to single out any England player but Harry Kane was especially poor and it will be interesting to see how he comes back after this next season
• Watching the highlights show it was refreshing to see Alan Shearer actually ripping into England's abject performance. I wonder whether he'll do the same to Premier League sides on Match of the Day next season?
• For an Italian defender Chiellini loves getting forward
• There was a lovely range of managerial cagoules on show in the Spain v Italy match
• Why couldn't Spain wear their red kit? (as much as I did like their second strip)
• Before the tournament many Italians didn't like the idea of Brazilian-born Eder being in the squad. Wonder what they think now?

No more games until Thursday now when the quarter finals start. If you're very lucky I might have something for you before then though. You have been warned.

Day 17 in France

After three matches that were good for catching up on some sleep on Saturday, yesterday's games had a little bit more to be excited about.

France would have been very confident going into their game against the Republic of Ireland in Lyon but went behind after only two minutes. Robbie Brady scored from the penalty spot after Pogba had become entangled with Shane Long to give away the foul.

That was about it from Ireland who noticeably tired in the second half especially. France did have a couple more days rest between their group games and this match but they always looked in control after the early penalty wake up call and deservedly equalised just before the hour mark.

Bacary Sagna put in a good cross which Antoine Griezmann finished expertly. The strength he got into his header was incredible and too much for the Irish keeper. Giroud, who had played forcefully all game, muscled his way between two defenders to flick on a header for Griezmann to get his second a few minutes later.

As with most of the top sides in this tournament, France played well and were in complete control without ever looking outstanding. They now face either England or Iceland in the quarter finals.

Germany easily overcame Slovakia in the second game of the day in Lille. The Slovakians were always going to find it tough but were rocked by an early goal from defender Jerome Boateng. It came from a corner that was only cleared to the edge of the box where the Bayern Munich man met it perfectly on the volley. It was reminiscent of Modric's goal against Turkey - although this one did benefit from a slight deflection to make sure it got past the Slovakian keeper.

The early goal forced Slovakia not to wholly rely on parking the bus but they never had enough insight to break through Germany with Hamsik having a very quiet game when his side needed him most.

Some excellent play down the left hand side from Draxler gave Mario Gomez the opportunity to cement his place in the starting eleven and score Germany's second just before half time and - as a competition - it was all over.

Julian Draxler added a third himself in the second half, finding himself completely unmarked at the far post from a corner. He volleyed the ball into the roof of the net from about five yards out and completely deserved some personal glory after a fine display.

Shock group winners Hungary met Belgium in the last game of the day and were unlucky to find the golden generation - and Eden Hazard in particular - finally discovering their very best form.

Belgium were simply outstanding with Hazard orchestrating much of their many, many attacks. Kevin De Bruyne also found a lot of space to conduct the play and it was a surprise that it was only 1-0 at half time. De Bruyne had floated in a lovely free kick right onto the head of Alderweireld to head past Kiraly to open the scoring. Both the Spurs man and Lukaku had easily brushed aside the 'marking' of the Hungarian defenders to create far too much space for themseleves.

Although Belgium were well on top, Hungary did play a lot of very good football but their attacking play was never rewarded with a goal and their defending looked, at times, woeful.

Belgium finally made their superiority tell towards the end. Michy Batshuayi scored with his very first touch after coming on for Lukaku. Hazard had breezed past the defender to slide a very inviting cross for the Marseille striker to side foot into the net with no Hungarian defenders anywhere near him.

Hazard topped off a perfect performance by scoring a trademark goal a minute later as Hungarian players wilted. A fourth goal in injury time was probably cruel on Hungary but Yarrasco, another sub, finished well after being put through by Nainggolan.

Other things I noticed yesterday...

• There was bright sunshine for the France v Ireland game - exactly how it should be in a major international tournament. It took me back to Italy v Brazil in Spain in 1982
• Skrtel is a dick
• Although they have a lot to make up for by inflicting Sam Matterface and Clive Tyldesley on us, it was good to see an actual football journalist on ITV's pundit panel. A nice change from the usual ex-player 'insight' and 'analysis'
• How lovely is that Belgium kit?
• Ireland once again "defended heroically". This may be good at getting the crowd going but if that is what a team resort to it means that they are being bettered on the pitch. By the way, England do it a lot

The second round finishes today with two intriguing matches. Italy play Spain the early evening match. Hopefully both sides will stop grumbling about how unfair it is that they have to play each other so early and provide us with a treat of a game. Italy looked immense against Belgium in their first game but have looked a little shaky since so I think Spain will play their way to victory - 1-0.

David and Goliath in the second match of the day as Iceland face England. England, as usual, have looked far from convincing but surely Iceland can't repeat the heroics of the last few weeks? They do possess greater teamwork and do have a couple of players that could trouble the English defence but the talent should show in the end. I can see a nervy 1-0 England win (although I have consistently prematurely predicted the end of Iceland's involvement in this tournament so who knows!)

Day 16 in France

Back to business with three second round matches consisting of, well, not that much really.

Poland beat Switzerland on penalties in the first match with a tempo of play that dictated how the rest of the day went. The Poles started much brighter but both sides looked over cautious with some terrible finishing on show.

Poland took the lead just before half time through Blaszczykowski who finished off a swift counter attack. The midfielder had scored against Ukraine in their final group match and gave his side a deserved lead.

The two Polish forwards - Lewandowski and Milik - looked very poor once again and it was Switzerland who finally perked up in the second half and looked the more likely to score. And their equaliser was a thing of pure beauty.

A speculative cross from Lichsteiner was only half cleared by the Polish defence and, as the ball bobbled up, Xherdan Shaqiri executed a sublime scissor kick volley from the edge of the area that dropped perfectly into the Polish net.

It was a goal that deserved to send Switzerland through but with no more goals added in the ten minutes remaining - or the extra time period - it was penalties in the first knock out match of Euro 2016.

Both sides scored their first attempts before new Arsenal man Granit Xhaka hit his effort wide of the post. The rest of the spot kicks were all successful giving Grzegorz Krychowiak the honour of sending his side through to the quarter finals.

The second match of the day was another tense affair with both Wales and Northern Ireland looking nervous in what was a largely uneventful match. Northern Ireland got control of the game in the first half, nullifying Gareth Bale and looking the better side without really looking like they might score.

Aaron Ramsey was nowhere near as effective as he had been against Russia and Joe Allen looked frustrated at his limited chances to get things going in the middle of the pitch.

Northern Ireland's tactics stopped Gunter and Taylor being able to push forward for the Welsh so their was no chance to pull out the defence splitting diagonal balls that worked so well for them in their final group game.

The game finally opened up a little as time went on and Bale was able to get a few runs going but with little effect until the 75th minute. After beating his man, Bale whipped in a low cross into the six yard box and Gareth McAuley, a hero for Northern Ireland against Ukraine, could only poke it in to his own net in an attempt to stop Hal Robson-Kanu connecting.

Wales are now through to the quarter finals where they will play either Hungary or Belgium on Friday night.

The final match of the day pitted the skillful Croatian side against Ronaldo's Portugal. If we thought that the two previous games had lacked excitement we hadn't seen anything yet. For a match with Modric, Rakitic, Ronaldo and Sanches - plus all the other highly talented players on show - we were presented a turgid match with absolutely no spark or innovation.

Both sides were so desperate not to lose that they simply forgot about trying to win. As the match crept towards the end of extra time, with penalties seemingly on the cards, Croatia finally pushed forward. Unfortunately for them it was their undoing. Perisic hit the base of the post with a header and with the ensuing counter attack Portugal scored.

Nani ultimately crossed from the edge of the area to Ronaldo whose shot was only parried onto the head of the incoming Quaresma. The Croatian players were distraught as the final whistle blew just minutes later and it is a shame that a side that looked so good in their group matches (apart from the capitulation to the Czech Republic) are now on their way home.

Other things I noticed...

• Wolfsburg's Swiss defender Ricardo Rodriguez has been hyped up throughout the tournament but didn't impress in any of the games I saw. Does he play in a different role for his club?
• As much as I admire the unique kit of Croatia, chequered socks are a step too far
• Speaking of kits, the Portugal second strip is an insult to the eyes
• Perisic's hair. We will say no more

Sunday sees three more matches to enjoy/endure with France taking on Ireland in the early game. Although it would be nice to think that the football gods will wreak revenge for Thierry Henry's cheating hand, the hosts will be far too strong and I can see them getting a few goals against a creaky Irish defence. I'm going for 3-0.

Hopefully these games will have a little bit more excitement than Saturday's but Slovakia will be looking to stop Germany play and nick a win so it will be up to the World champions to break their opponents down. I think they eventually will but don't expect a classic. Germany to win 1-0.

Hungary v Belgium in the final game of the day. I fear this will be the last outing for Gabor Kiraly's tracksuit bottoms, as although Belgium have looked far from being the 'golden generation' they should win here. Hungary have showed that they are no pushovers though and kept on coming back against Portugal in the final group game. I think Belgium will win in extra time - 1-0.

Two Days Off in France

Another day off today before we get down to the important business of knock out international football tomorrow. Saturday sees Switzerland v Poland, Wales v Northern Ireland and Croatia v Portugal. The middle game of the three has obviously attracted most of the attention but each match up is intriguing and we could be in for a treat.

There is the prospect of defensive football taking over as sides try everything they can not to lose rather than win games but hopefully some of the real superstars in these teams will choose tomorrow to put on a show.

Switzerland looked out of sorts against Albania in their first match but still managed to get the crucial win before drawing against both Romania and France. Their star players are yet to perform and they may feel that attrition is the way to go against Poland.

The Poles are in a similar position having not played that well yet still going into the second round unbeaten. Robert Lewandowski has looked particularly out of sorts with Milik picking up the slack. The Ajax striker has found good positions in all three matches without actually finding his finishing form.

These two sides are pretty evenly matched but I fancy Switzerland to go through if their players can rise to the occasion. It might go to penalties though!

Wales and Northern Ireland both qualified much to the surprise to most neutrals. Northern Ireland have looked a very cohesive unit and it will be this team strength that they will be hoping will be too much for the Welsh. Unfortunately for them Wales have just about trademarked 'teamwork' - even their slogan is 'Together Stronger'.

Gareth Bale finally clicked into gear against a very poor Russian side but his presence alone puts fear into opponents. Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey have been superb, running the show in the middle with the rest of the side playing as a team to see them qualify top of their group.

Wales should be too strong for Northern Ireland tomorrow and their superior class will show. Northern Ireland's fans will no doubt make it a great occasion but I see them going home after this one - 2-0 to Wales.

The final match of the day could be a real cracker. Croatia have come past the incidents of their second match with the Czech Republic to look like real contenders for the title. The speed and skill on show has been a delight to watch, even with Modric injured for the last game.

Portugal just about limped through to the second round thanks to Ronaldo finally scoring some goals. I've said before that they are more than a one man team but they really need the Real Madrid ace to perform if they are to beat Croatia tomorrow. I think they will play better than they have in the group stage - they couldn't get much worse - but to lose out to the better team in the end. Croatia to win 2-1.

Day Thirteen in France

After 13 days and 36 games the group stage of Euro 2016 is over. We have said goodbye to a grand total of 8 countries from the original 24. Now the real football starts.

Most of the attention seemed to be on who was going to be the best third placed sides but there was a lot still to determine in both Groups E and F.

The early games saw Iceland play supposed dark horses Austria while Ronaldo battled to keep Portugal in the competition against surprise group leaders Hungary. The matches ended up being two of the best we have seen so far.

Hungary and Portugal traded goals like two over the hill heavyweight boxers slugging it out in the final round. Zoltan Gera struck first for Hungary before Nani brought Portugal back into the match just before half time.

Dzsudzsak twice put Hungary back in the lead only to be pegged back by Ronaldo who at last found some real form. One of the Portuguese captain's goals was a wonderful flick, the other a commanding glancing header. But the two sides couldn't be separated meaning that Hungary won the group they were expected to prop up. Portugal had to make do with scraping through as one of the best third place sides. And that was down to the amazing story that is Iceland.

Once again Iceland were not fancied to take anything from a match and once again they defied expectations. If Austria thought that their opponents would sit back and try to grind out the draw they needed they were sadly mistaken. It took Jon Dadi Bodvarsson under 20 minutes to open the scoring and Iceland had already hit the woodwork before then.

Dragovic missed a first half penalty for Austria befoe they finally drew level on the hour mark. Alessandro Schopf scored a great goal after a Ricky Villa-esque dribble but as much as they tried they couldn't get the second goal that would have put them through to the next round.

But Iceland were not finished. As the seconds ticked away in injury time they sprinted into one last counter attack culminating in Traustason sliding in at the far post to squeeze it past Almer in the Austrian goal to seal the win. Apart from a moment of intense drama it showed the spirit of the Iceland team that should act as a warning to England that they won't be a push over in the second round.

Group E was a little bit more straight forward but no less dramatic. Belgium finally overcame Sweden in a drab game with Chelsea target Radja Nainggolan benefiting from a wicked deflection to score past the Swedish keeper and cement their second place finish.

Italy had already won the group and knowing that they would be facing Spain in the next round rested a number of players. The Azzurri definitely looked a weakened side but Ireland, although performing much better than in their previous two matches, still didn't seem to have the quality that they needed to get the three points that would put them through.

In a last roll of the dice Martin O'Neill put on Wes Hoolahan with just over ten minutes to go. Ireland's most creative player had been dropped in a bid to muscle the Italians out of the match but almost as soon as he came on he was given the perfect chance to score. The pressure got to the Norwich midfielder who could only shoot straight at Sirigu - Buffon's woeful replacement in the Italy goal.

Everyone thought that the one chance Ireland had needed had been and gone but with just five minutes left Hoolahan crossed perfectly onto the head of the very impressive Robbie Brady who expertly found the net and gave Ireland a dramatic victory.

The result was tough on Turkey who would have squeaked into the second round if Ireland hadn't scored but for sheer guts and determination Ireland deserved their win. They now face France on Sunday where I'm sure the fans will remind Thierry Henry of the last time they played each other in an important match.

Other things I have noticed...

• I'm very jealous of Icelandic captain Aron Gunnarsson's beard but his long throws are not really that long (although they do seem to be effective)
• It was only a matter of time before Ronaldo started scoring and the two he got against Hungary were fantastic
• Some of the Ireland players look like they had stepped off the local park to play - although the extra levels of sweating were probably down to the closed roof in Lille
• Such a sad way for Zlatan to finish his international career but he was really left to carry the Swedish side - and he didn't really do that well anyway

Obviously no games today - an absolute outrage - and we will have to wait until Saturday to get back into the swing of things with three second round matches. But never fear, I will still serve you my Euro 2016 ramblings tomorrow with a look ahead to the weekend's games.

Day Twelve in France

The shape of the second round is slowly - very slowly - starting to take shape with a few surprises served up along the way.

Two more groups were decided yesterday but because of the expanded format of the competition we don't know if some of the teams involved are through or not. What we do know is that Northern Ireland are through even after losing 1-0 to Germany.

Goalkeeper Michael McGovern was the star of the day as he stopped what could well have been a thrashing at the hands of a German side who still haven't clicked into gear yet. Mario Gomez started for the first time and it was he who scored the only goal of the match after about half an hour.

Northern Ireland will now go on to play either Wales or France in the next round although no-one seems to know how that will be worked out. Germany will play one of the other third place sides.

In the other Group C game Poland beat Ukraine (as expected) 1-0 to set up a second round match against Switzerland. Ukraine had already been eliminated from the tournament and this lack of pressure may have been the reason for their performance. They did have a majority of the ball and looked a better side than they had in their previous two matches but they lacked any real fire power and will be going home having failed to score a solitary goal.

Lewandowski once again looked out of sorts and although Milik was finding himself in some good positions it was left to the substitute Blaszczykowski to score the only goal of the game.

The top two teams in Group D met knowing that whoever lost would probably be facing Italy in the next round. Spain scored early through Morata but Croatia played some really nice football and it was no surprise when Kalinic equalised just before half time.

Spain continued to play their usual fluid, passing style but Croatia were more than a match for them - pressing and containing the skill and talent that is usually given free reign. It was always going to be interesting how Croatia reacted to their capitulation to the Czech Republic in the last match and the absence of Luka Modric, but Croatian fans had nothing to fear as they went on to record a famous victory.

Sergio Ramos had a penalty saved by a keeper who seemed closer to the spot than his goal by the time it was taken but it could be argued that this made up for the weak decision to give the penalty in the first place - David Silva falling over after the slightest of contacts with a Croatian defender.

Jimmy Somerville lookalike Ivan Perisic scored the deserved winner right at the end after another one of his frighteningly quick runs. A slight deflection was enough to put De Gea off balance and beat the Spanish keeper at his near post. Croatia now have a far easier route to the final leaving neutrals salivating at the prospect of Spain v Italy on Monday.

Turkey confounded expectations in the other Group D match and beat the Czechs to keep their faint hopes of going through alive. Young Turkish sensation Emre Mor put over the cross for Yilmaz to score the opener after only ten minutes. Emre Mor has been excitedly talked about during this tournament but hasn't really shown the flair that has persuaded Borussia Dortmund to take a chance on the Danish-born attacker.

Ozan Tufan scored the second to punish the Czech's ageing side and give Turkey a glimmer of hope about going through to the next round. Neither of these sides have impressed in any of the group matches and after less than stellar qualification campaigns to get to France both countries will be hoping that an influx of youth will change their fortunes going into the World Cup qualifiers.

Other things I noticed...

• I'm a big fan of Ukraine striker Roman Zozulya's denial of hair loss (see below)
• In further hair news, Turkish goal scorer was given a really hard time for seemingly fixing his hair rather than block Midric's wonder strike in the first game so it was nice to see him score yesterday
• I never really rated him that much when he played in England but Vedran Corluka has been outstanding in France - even with his many hat changes
• It pains me to say it but I really liked the Spain kit. Even if it was described by some as looking as if someone had dropped a paella on their shirts
• Spanish boss Vincente del Bosque was visibly sweating at the end of the match last night. It may well have been the Bordeaux humidity but the idea of facing Italy in the next round can't have helped

Today's matches finish off the group stage with a lot still to be decided. What will happen in Group F is anyone's guess but surely Ronaldo will be able to find his shooting boots at last to help Portugal beat Hungary. A victory could well put them top of the group where they might face Belgium. I'm going for 2-0.

Iceland play Austria knowing a win will put them through. An Austrian victory would see them progress, so it really is all to play for. I've really enjoyed watching Iceland but think the Austrians will finally live up to a fraction of their pre-tournament hype and get the result they need to qualify for the next round. Austria to squeeze a 2-1 win.

Italy should be far too good for what has been a very ordinary Republic of Ireland side. The Azzurri beat Sweden without looking anywhere near as good as they did in their opener against Belgium but I can't see Ireland troubling them - 2-0 Italy.

Zlatan will be hoping he can lead his side into the next round with a victory against Belgium in Nice. The Belgians have flattered to deceive once again but should take all three points here - 1-0.