As befits a tournament being staged in the Alpine nations of Switzerland and Austria, the players appear to be scaling new peaks of excitement and entertainment in almost every match.
With 18 of the 31 scheduled games completed -- and with three first round groups still to be completed and the knockout stage to come, the tournament is shaping up as the best European Championship since the finals were first held in 1960. The opening 18 games have produced 46 goals -- the same number as in Belgium and Netherlands at the same stage in 2000 -- and five more than at this stage in Portugal four years ago.
The first 18 matches in Euro' 96, the first 16-team finals, produced 36 goals -- but even though every tournament is special and every one produces memorable moments, none has quite matched this one in a number of key areas.
These include the type of football being played by almost every team. Apart from one or two exceptions, fans have been treated to fast, open, attacking action. The players are, in general, showing respect for each other and to the officials, and have been concentrating on producing football of the highest technical caliber rather than arguing about this decision or that.
Despite some mixed weather with supporters regularly getting a drenching, the atmosphere surrounding the matches themselves, in the stadiums and in the fan zones has been remarkable.
UEFA President Michel Platini said on Sunday -- even before Turkey's remarkable fightback against the Czechs -- that the tournament had so far been “sizzling,” marked by “dazzling individual performances.” He was spot on.
Turkey captain Nihat Kahveci personified his comments in rainy Geneva on Sunday night by scoring twice in the last four minutes to transform Turkey's fortunes and give them a truly astonishing victory over the Czechs, who, at 2-0 ahead until 75 minutes played, seemed set for the last eight.
Turkey were also involved in one of the other memorable games when they came from behind for the first time to beat co-hosts Switzerland 2-1 in a match played in such a deluge it looked as though it might have to be abandoned at one stage. The Dutch have also dazzled in their opening matches, beating world champions Italy 3-0 and World Cup finalists France 4-1 in successive matches in Group C.
While the Dutch are safely through to the last eight and being spoken of as possible champions, Italy and France meet in Zurich on Tuesday with one, or possibly both going out.
In the 2002 World Cup, France, then the defending world champions and Argentina, failed to survive the group stage and Italy went out in the second round. Their absences were missed in the later stages, but if Italy and France fail to make the quarter-finals here, the quality in this competition is so good, they will not be missed for long.
Portugal have been outstanding in their wins over Turkey (2-0) and the Czech Republic (3-1), while Spain's 4-1 win over Russia and their resilient 2-1 defeat of Sweden has seen them into the last eight. David Villa's four goals, including the tournament's only hat-trick so far against the Russians, have had Spaniards dreaming of a first major title since they were European champions in 1964.
With defending champions Greece eliminated, a vacancy exists at the summit of European soccer.
If the battle to reach it is half as good as the fight to make it out of base-camp, this tournament is going to get even better in the remaining two weeks.
Turkey’s player ratings against Czech Republic
Volkan Demirel: 6. Made some serious saves but was sent off after a clash with Jan Koller in injury time while Turkey was leading 3-2.
Hamit Altintop: 7. Worked well down the right flank and set up the first two goals.
Servet Çetin: 6. Solid. Did his best against Jan Koller, but what he could do was limited against the towering striker.
Emre Güngor: 5. No big mistakes in defense but misjudged long passes under pressure. Was injured and stretchered off the pitch.
Hakan Balta: 6. Did not allow too many threats from his wing but was uncreative in offense.
Mehmet Aurelio: 7. Will miss the next game due to a booking he could have easily escaped but was superb in blocking Czech attempts through the center of the midfield.
Mehmet Topal: 6. Did a good job while trying to mark Marek Matejovsky but misjudged passing options when in offense.
Arda Turan: 7. Another good performance after the Swiss game. Never lost faith in the game and pulled one back for his team.
Tuncay Sanlı: 7. The team's most hardworking player, even helping the linesman change his broken equipment so as not to allow the game to slow down too much.
Nihat Kahveci: 8. Scored twice to hand Turks a brilliant comeback.
Semih Şentürk: 6. The super-sub looked like he was still on the bench. Had no effect on the game.
Sabri Sarıoğlu (for Sentürk in the 46th): 7. Was ery hardworking. Brought energy and strength to the midfield.
Kazim Kazim (for Topal in the 57th): 6. Was passionate but not at the right place at the right time.
Emre Aşık (for injured Gungor in the 63rd): 6. Replaced the injured Gungor and played during the game's most stressful part. No mistakes.
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