MATCH REPORT
PORTUGAL 2 - 0 TURKEY
Gomes 44, 56
The quarter-finals kicked off with a whimper rather than a bang, as an extremely poor Turkish side succumbed to Portugal without even first having the decency to play a bit, as England did...(!) Anyway, Nuno Gomes scored his second and third international goals, the first a well-directed diving header after Figo's cross from the right had taken a deflection off some Turk and fallen nicely for him, and the second after Figo had skipped around some (the same?) Turk on the right and squared for the simplest of tap-ins, while said Turk was on the floor trying to convince all and sundry that Figo had fouled him, and fooling nobody....all this after a Turk had been sent off after aiming a punch at a horizontal Portuguese defender...the phrase, I believe, is u-hun-lucky...!!
MATCH REPORT
ITALY 2 - 0 ROMANIA
Totti 33
Inzaghi 43
The quarter-finals continued in their disappointing vain (football-wise, that is) with this match, which saw Totti fire Italy ahead after the Romanians had failed to regroup following a swift Italian attack, and then put Inzaghi through for the decisive second a couple of minutes before half-time....I'd like to focus on the international swansong of one G. Hagi though....his sum total contribution was hitting the post in the first-half just after Totti's goal, seemingly breaking Antonio Conte's leg with a quite disgraceful 'tackle,' falling over like a sack of spuds in an attempt to try to con the ref into giving a penalty, and then when he didn't buy it, screaming in his face, thereby earning himself a second yellow card and being sent off....Goodbye....and good riddance....