Like most major tournaments, the expectation before a ball is kicked usually far outweighs the actual business of the football in many of the early group games and last night's opener between co-hosts Switzerland and the Czech Republic certainly fit the stereotype. Preceded by a truly shocking opening ceremony of of arty, conceptual nonsense that bore no relation to the sport or the majority of it's fans, surely it's time to cut this rubbish out of our national tournaments, light a few fireworks and go straight to the kickoff. When you strip it all back, all we want to see is the football. The mind boggles at the amount of money spent on it for starters.

Once the football started in Basel though some might have been wishing the opening ceremony had been extended. Switzerland looked a tighter unit than I had been expecting but when their only real goal threat in captain Alexander Frei went off injured and in tears just before half-time their slim chances of success in Group A faded. Opponents the Czech Republic played in a well organised, disciplined professional manner but gone are the days of midfield mastery from the retired Nedved and Poborsky and without a recognised partner for Jan Koller up front they appeared lacking in ideas in the final third. Only when Czech substitute Sverkos outran the ponderous Swiss centrebacks on 70 minutes to slot home the only goal of the game did they look capable of breaking the deadlock. First blood to the Czech Republic.