And Then There Were Two...

Three of the biggest teams in international football arrived in Krakow just two weeks ago for the European Championships; now, on the eve of the quarter-finals, just two remain. Holland, one of the hotly-fancied favourites before the tournament began, made a shock early departure in the first round after a performance that saw them lose 1-0 in the opening game to Denmark, then 2-1 to both Germany and Portugal. The Dutch team flew home after finishing at the foot of their group, leaving England and Italy as the remaining international representatives in Krakow. But, come Sunday evening, one of these sides will be packing their bags, as they face each other in the last quarter-final - from which there must emerge a winner. Italy left their qualification status until practically the last minute. They drew 1-1 with both Spain and Croatia, before beating the Republic of Ireland 2-0. For England, the path was smoother, but they still needed a goal from Wayne Rooney to secure victory over Ukraine in the final group game, and to progress as group winners. Their previous results were a 1-1 draw with France, and a 3-2 victory over Sweden. The first quarter-final, on Thursday, will see Poland's destroyers the Czech Republic take on Portugal. On Friday, it's Germany against Greece, then Spain against France on Saturday. All matches kick off at 8.45pm.

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