Phew. After two positively scintillating days of Super Euro fußball (long may it continue), it's time to catch up, take stock and get the show back on the road.

Due to a farcical concatenation of circumstances (involving a new mobile phone and some deep bewilderment) I ended up missing Croatia giving Germany what the tabloids might describe as a "kick in the Ballacks". However, from the highlights I've seen and the information I've gleaned (online & elsewhere), the victory seems to have confirmed what many of us suspected when Steve McLaren was reduced to a wretched figure huddled under a complimentary FA umbrella last November - Slaven Bilić's men are real contenders.

At their best they have a sprightly elegance that tends (as it did against England) to make supposedly superior teams look leaden and heavy-footed in comparison. The chief sprite in this bewitching ballet of nimbleness is, of course, the magnificent Luka Modric. For those concerned about prevailing football philosophies that favour muscularity and athleticism in midfield, Modric offers an emphatic riposte. Physically he's barely there. In terms of influence he's more there than most players will ever be. I hear the sound of licked lips emanating from White Hart Lane.

Though nobody would seriously describe the current Romania team as being possessed of much "sprightly elegance", they are ferocious and impressive competitors who came within a whisker (or a strip of boot leather) of eliminating the world champions yesterday. After the stupefying tedium of their 0-0 draw with the French, those misty-eyed nostalgic types (like myself) who remember the thrills that Dumitrescu, Răducioiu and Hagi (et al) gave us during the 1990s were left tut-tutting unhappily - wondering how this previously delightful national side could revert to "doing a Greece". Thankfully however, they seem to be growing into the competition - tempering their pragmatism with at least half a nod to their noble traditions.

Where, then, does that leave the 2006 World Cup winners? Up a creek of shit, that's where. Even if they beat France on Tuesday (which I think they will) a Romanian victory over an already qualified Dutch team will see both Italy and France eliminated (no matter what happens in their match).

Romania, of course, beat a full-strength Dutch team 1-0 in Constanţa during the qualifiers - so this feat is by no means beyond them. Add to that the fact that the Dutch team they face will most likely not be the one that has so thrillingly demolished (with the odd slice of luck) two of European football's aristocrats, and the task begins to seem more & more doable. Conspiracy theorists (from Paris to Rome) will no doubt be sharpening their knives in anticipation of a "convenient" Dutch capitulation, but if I were Van Basten I'd be resting players left, right and centre. They've topped the group and there will be tougher (more exhausting) challenges ahead.

Whatever way it pans out, let's all kneel before the (enlarged) Henri Delaunay trophy and give thanks. A tournament that was simmering and bubbling satisfactorily has exploded into glorious life. The future (or present) may indeed be orange, but right now the football is golden.

Croatia 2 -1 Germany

Austria 1 -1 Poland

Italy 1 - 1 Romania

Holland 4 - 1 France