 England might not have turned on the style against Ecuador yesterday, but credit to David Beckham for doing the business when it was most needed.
I’m sure Becks himself would admit he hasn’t been on top of his game in these Championships, but the skipper rose to the occasion to hit the all-important goal - and what a strike it was.
With Portugal next up in the quarter-finals Sven-Goran Eriksson will have to work overtime if he is to get one over on Luis Felipe Scolari.
Big Phil’s had the Indian sign over England in recent times and, having turned down the chance to take over from Sven, he’ll need no more incentive to book a semi-final place.
Perhaps the best thing to come out of Sunday for England was a bizarre refereeing display in that Portugal-Holland game.
Red cards for Costinha and Deco have ruled out two big players for Portugal; certainly Deco has been a key player for them.
Let’s not forget though the Portuguese still have plenty of quality, and with Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo around it certainly won’t be easy for England.
The action switches to Kaiserslautern this afternoon, with Italy taking on Australia for a place in the last eight.
Guus Hiddink has done wonders for the Aussies and proved, if it were needed, that he is one of the best coaches in this tournament. The UK-based players such as Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell have lead by example and I am delighted to see them in the knock-out stages.
Unlike the Aussies, Italy have the pedigree of a heavyweight on the World Cup stage and continue to prove their class in every tournament.
That experience could prove the difference against Australia and I’m backing Luca Toni to grab the goal in a 1-0 win.
Full credit to Switzerland for getting this far, they too are fully deserving of a place in the knock-out stages after boasting one of the meanest defences in the tournament.
Philippe Senderos has been outstanding for them and his loss through injury is a major advantage for Ukraine ahead of this evening’s encounter in Cologne.
As he showed against Tunisia last time out, Andriy Shevchenko is getting closer and closer to hitting top form and there will be a few Premiership defenders having sleepless nights about him before the start of the season.
Bank on Shevchenko to give them more to worry about today by hitting the first as Ukraine end Swiss hopes by a two-goal margin.
That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow.
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