Am I the only one who feels that George "Danger Here" Hamilton has been a pale shadow of his former exuberant self of late? Sunday night's compulsively mental epic between Turkey & the Czech Republic would once have had him foaming at the mouth and saying things like…

"Those Turks! Those irrepressible Turks! Like big, swarthy modern-day pirates, they've somehow sailed into the heart of land-locked Bohemia and pulled off an astonishing act of looting, smashing and grabbing! Karel Brückner's crusade for Euro glory has floundered at the gates of Constantinople!"

Though I can't recall exactly how he did react, as Nihat's emphatic finish smashed home off the underside of the bar, I'm fairly sure he was considerably more restrained than the George of old. Time for Mr. Hamilton to get back on the stimulants. We miss his wild eyes and florid flights of fancy.

My own reaction, involving giddy hand claps and the odd bit of air punching, was more worthy of the denouement. I've enthusiastically supported the Czechs in every major tournament they've been in since 1996 (when, as previously explained, I found myself caught up in their incredible Euro adventure) so this was a strange moment. After all, it was only four years ago that I was left feeling physically ill as the mighty Pavel Nedvěd, and his then delightful team, were crushed 'neath the wheels of the unstoppable (and hard to love) Greek juggernaut.

So what's changed? Well, I think the Czechs have. From the time they lit up Euro '96 to that fateful day in Porto's Estádio do Dragão 8 years later, they had commendably played some of Europe's most consistently attractive football. Their failure 4 years ago (when they were the best team in the competition) to turn this attractiveness into trophy gold felt like something of a last hurrah for a talented generation - and so it has (more or less) proven to be.

Their opponents on Sunday may not be quite as technically proficient as the Czechs were in their recent prime, but their ferocious commitment and willingness to attack, push and probe till the very end, are qualities that are hard to resist. Faced with what appeared an almost impossible task (2-0 down with 15 minutes to go) they showed admirable coolness - patiently trying to create openings rather than simply thumping it and lumping it.

One of the moments of the tournament so far came with time almost up. The English-born Colin Kazim-Richards had been introduced to bolster the attack but twice (in the space of a minute or so) smashed the ball uselessly into the box in an attempt to force a breakthrough. Nihat, realising that CKR was surrendering to his "English football" instincts (as well as his youth), fixed him with a steely glare and mimed the international gesture for "Calm down". A terrific example of intelligent and active captaincy (his superb winner wasn't bad either).

The end of era for Brückner and the Czechs? Perhaps. The beginning of an improbable Turkish fairy-tale? You never know…

Turkey 3 -2 Czech Republic

Switzerland 2 - Portugal 0

Germany 1 - Austria 0

Croatia 1 - Poland 0