Italy among favourites again

Naturally, after Michael Ballack's free kick, I, as a German, breathed a sigh of relief that Austria had not eliminated us from the tournament. In Group B, Austria was anything but a footballing dwarf.

And naturally I tip my hat to Croatia who beat Germany to emerge as the winner of this group.

In particular I congratulate Ivan Klasnic, who has become the first scorer in the history of the Euros to play after undergoing a kidney transplant.

Naturally, I have thought a lot about Portugal - winners of Group A - and whether it made any sense for them to rest almost their entire starting eleven in their final group match against Switzerland.

The 2-0 loss did not harm anyone except possibly the Portuguese, because it might disrupt their rhythm.

I felt sorry for Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech whose slip allowed Turkey to qualify.

But I was pleased to see the Turks showing great strength, coming back from two down to win 3-2. Above all, it did wonders for the tournament's atmosphere.

However, now we come to the most important matters.

In Group C - the so-called 'group of death' - it was the speed and self-assurance by which the Dutch vanquished world champions Italy and runner-up world champs France that surprised me. I was also surprised by the complaints form both the Italians and the French that the Dutch fielded a so-called reserve side against Romania in their final match.

What's a reserve in this Dutch team? It cannot be held against Holland that they spared their superstars, just the same way the Portuguese rested Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco, or Croatia took the field without Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar.

Dutch depth

Since Uefa only wipes out yellow cards after the quarterfinals, it almost comes as a duty for coaches not to risk players to suspensions. In Holland's case this applied to Nigel de Jong and Andre Ooijer.

Every coach at the Euros would be thrilled if they could put the likes of Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben up front like Holland. The same applies to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

That it was goals from Huntelaar and van Persie which beat the Romanians only underscores Holland's status as favourites.

It also shows great strength of character. Thanks to Holland, World Cup champions Italy are through to the quarterfinals, and deservedly so.

They are through because the French lost Franck Ribery. Against Romania, he was completely frustrated in having to start in what for him was an unpopular right-side position. He was then posted in the centre against Holland and finally on his preferred left side against Italy. But this unfortunately lasted only a few minutes until his injury.

The French had too many players who were injured.

Italy, by contrast, showed that despite all their problems, they have once again found their form.

From this point on, Italy must be counted among the favourites.