Holland light up Euros

After the relative disappointments of yesterday - Croatia beat plucky Austria by the only goal after a fourth minute penalty and Germany's predictable 2-0 win over Poland, the tournament needed a spectacle of a match to get things going and we got just that this evening as Holland crushed the World Champions, Italy, by three goals to nil.

Earlier in the day, France and Romania played out a boring 0-0, so the pressure was on. What we got was an intriguing game from two technically superb sides with contrasting styles. Italy played the combative, probing midfield game that you get in Serie A and looked throughout to play in their front men. Holland on the other hand defended superbly and relied on raking counter-attacks to stretch the Italians and ensure they couldn't impose themselves on the game. I'll take some stick for this, but it was the perfect example of why none of the home nations have qualified for this tournament and I am confident any of us would have struggled against either of these teams tonight.

Ruud Van Nistleroy netted the opener by deflecting a cross shot passed Buffon from close range from an offside position. If there was any doubt about the opener, there was none about the second as Holland countered across the pitch and Sneijder finished a fine move from Dirk Kuyt's header. Two-nil at half-time and I expected the Italians to come out in the second-half and force the game. That's precisely what they did and they were unlucky not to get back into it. More superb zonal defending thwarted them and when they did find their man or free-kick range, Edwin Van Der Saar was there to save smartly. The game was summed up for me in the 80th minute when Holland cleared off their line under heavy Italian pressure and broke quickly. A flowing five man move saw the ball go left, right and left again before Van Bronckhorst headed home another Kuyt cross. The Italians were broken and Holland could have nicked another as they pressed forward in the last ten minutes.

Boulahrouz and Engelaar caught the eye as did Sneider on his 24th birthday. What's more, the Dutch side looked happy and even their players exiting for fresh legs did so with smiles and hugs - not something the touchy Dutch are known for. Marco van Basten might just have a team for the long haul here.

Italy deserve a lot of credit for the way they played despite being carved open for two of the goals. Expect Romania to feel the Azurri backlash on Friday when they meet.

Back home, I read with interest from the Newshopper a supposed quote from Pards to the effect that he will only be buying players he expects to play next season. That supports my view of four players in, but not the much-rumoured signing of Stuart Fleetwood?