Euro 2008: Man of the matches, June 16
IVAN KLASNIC, CROATIA. The kidney-transplant recipient proved he is not merely in the Croatia squad, as some have unkindly suggested, for morale-boosting purposes or a feel-good factor. Klasnic looked good all night against Poland as the Croatians won their third match in a row thanks to his decisive goal.
WHAT WE LEARNED MONDAY
1. That Germany's Mario Gomez, many people's tip to be one of the stars of the tournament, has gone from hero to zero in the space of little more than a week. The Stuttgart wunderkind is a quality player but appears to have lost all his confidence.
2. That Italy and France have differing methods of trying to persuade Holland coach Marco van Basten to field a full strength side against Romania. Roberto Donadoni claims he "has faith" in van Basten's integrity, while France coach Raymond Domenech took a pessimistic view, admitting he already fears matters being taken out of his hands.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE TUESDAY
1. For van Basten to keep his big stars in the lineup against Romania. It won't happen as he will sensibly rest key players. But we can't get enough of seeing this rampant and super-talented Dutch team in action.
2. For Italy and France to fight for their lives in a repeat of the 2006 World Cup finals. Both teams are not at the peak of their powers as they were two years ago, but it would be sad to see either of these powerful nations bow out of the tournament with a whimper.
