Portugeezers

A lifeless, uninspiring performance from the Dutch this evening has sent them packing with their tale between their legs. From the very beginning of the tournament Holland played with a death wish in the group of death and they got what they deserved.

Portugal meanwhile with Ronaldo finally showing as much panache as hair gel ran the show scoring twice and hitting the woodwork twice. So dominant was Ronaldo that he could’ve, should’ve become top tournament goalscorer tonight after just one 90-minute performance.

The Dutch divas started well with Van der Vaart, in for van Bommel, scoring a nice curling goal. Yet, this just pushed the L’Oranje into their shells as the Portuguese exploited a woeful Dutch defence.

I was confused as to the permutations of who qualifies but it became easy in the 2nd half as the Germans shifted a gear in Lviv and the Portuguese got their deserved winner. While the Dutch were a shambles, Denmark can leave the tournament with their heads held high with Nicklas Bendtner easily outperforming his team mate Robin van Persie. Who would have thought it?

Germany and Portugal may have escaped the group of death but their reward is a hall pass into the semi-finals as in the quarters they meet Greece and the Czech Republic respectively, who made it through from what was the easiest group of the 1st Round.

It is exactly 18-years ago that Ray Houghton’s goal gave Ireland that famous victory over Italy. Despite the Irish being Italy’s bogey team a repeat is very unlikely tomorrow as the Azzurri need a win to progress. Meanwhile the conspiracy theorists are out in Gdansk as a high scoring draw (2-2 or more) would see both Spain and Croatia through.