Portugal v Czech Rep
They were made to work, but Portugal eventually got over the line against the Czech's. Cristiano Ronaldo is alive and buzzing at this tournament, and he'll be hard to stop. He hit the woodwork a further two times in the Quarter's, before scoring the winner for his nation. The Portuguese were extremely impressive against a tired Czech Republic side, however take nothing away from their performance. With Ronaldo on fire, the midfield exceeding expectations and their defence proving strong, they could upset the Spaniard's in the Semi's. The only problem lies in the injury to centre forward Helder Postiga. He'll miss the clash with Spain, with either Hugo Almeida or Nelson Oliveira likely to take his place.
A great effort, but the Czech Republic just couldn't hold on against a Ronaldo-inspired Portugal. Their players seemed tired, and without their skipper Tomas Rosicky, they never stood a chance. David Limbersky was subject to a baptism of fire at left back, with Portugal targeting him. He held on for dear life, but couldn't stop Joao Moutinho crossing for the winner. They can take positives from the performances of Vaclav Pilar and Petr Jiracek, as well as that of Vladimir Darida, who was making just his 3rd international appearance, however it was never meant to be for the Czech's.
Germany v Greece
As efficient as ever, Germany continued their march to Euro 2012 success. The audacity of Joachim Loew to withdraw their front three in Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller ultimately paid dividends, with replacements Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus both getting on the scoresheet, while Andre Schurrle put in a good shift on the left wing. Loew has headaches as to who plays against Italy in the Semi Final, however it's the type of headache he would want to have. The German's are cruising at the moment, and it will take something special to stop them.
Many have suggested that Greece being eliminated is a win for football, however I think that's a little unfair. They exceeded expectations to get this far, and you couldn't blame them for wanting to frustrate a much more talented German side. Without their captain, Giorgos Karagounis, it was always going to be difficult, and in the end they were torn apart. Dimitris Salpingidis can leave the tournament with his head held high. He scored a penalty late in the match to add to an opening day goal against Poland, and was arguably their best player at this Championship.
Spain v France
As defending champions, Spain haven't done anything to excite me yet at Euro 2012. They've played great football at times, but in hindsight they only really created two chances in the Quarter Final's, and scored both of them. I'm not sure that playing Cesc Fabregas as a striker is doing them much good, and Fernando Torres may need to come back into the side if they're to threaten Portugal. They haven't conceded a goal in a knockout phase of a major international tournament since 2006, however I think they'll really be tested against Portugal next time, and may need to watch out for an upset.
It's back to the drawing board for France after a below-par competition. They were 21 games unbeaten heading into Euro 2012, however looked a shadow of that side on the big stage. They were disappointing against England, played three minutes of good football against Ukraine, were comprehensively beaten by Sweden and showed no ambition against Spain. With half an hour or so to go, still only one goal down, it looked as if they were dead and buried. Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery just weren't good enough leading the line, while Samir Nasri's tantrum proved they may not have changed much since the meltdown at the 2010 World Cup. Big changes must be made for the French.
Italy v England
The dark horses in this competition, Italy went through on penalties against England. However don't be fooled, they really should have won it during regular time. Andrea Pirlo is a genius. There's no other way to say it. He gave a midfield masterclass against the English, dominating all facets of the game, before rounding it off with an audacious penalty which broke his opponent's nerve. His ability to control games so easily is what is driving the Italian's forward. Can he take on the resolute German's and come out on top? We'll have to wait and see. Daniele De Rossi is giving him great support, interchanging between a third centre back and a defensive midfielder, while Mario Balotelli gave his best performance in an Italy shirt leading the line up front. It's looking good for the Italian's at the business end of this tournament.
New faces, same England it seems. The loss in a penalty shootout masked what was an extremely average performance from the English. They started brightly, but lacked the attitude and desire to burst forward and create something offensively. This was reflected by them having just 37% possession and having less than half of the number of passes throughout the night. When Steven Gerrard went down with cramp, there was no one there to take over in midfield, and eventually Italy got on top. Ashley Young and James Milner had poor tournament's on either wing, while Wayne Rooney lacked match fitness after serving a two game suspension. In the end, Italy may have saved them from an impending embarrassment against the German's.
Golden Boot
Mario Gomez - Germany - 3
Alan Dzagoev - Russia - 3
Mario Mandzukic - Croatia - 3
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal - 3
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