A quite amazing end to the second semi-final. Level after 90 minutes, the Czech Republic and the Greeks went into extra time. The silver goal rule applied, meaning that the game could finish after the first extra 15 minutes if one team was ahead. The clock ticked up to 15 minutes exactly as the Greeks took a corner - and they scored! Absolutely no time for the Czechs to do anything about it. The TV cameras cut to scenes of delirium in central Athens, where thousands of Greek fans were watching the live game on giant TV screens.

On the one hand, I feel sorry for the Czechs. They started strongly, but suffered the loss of their captain Nedved through injury in the first half, and they never totally recovered. But you have to credit the Greeks for their tactics - close man marking throughout the whole game stifled the normal play of the Czechs, and as the match progressed the Greeks grew in confidence, and started to play a bit themselves. In fact, for a 0-0 match, it was highly watchable and tactically fascinating. Some of the credit for that also goes to referee Pierluigi Collina, making his last appearance at a major international tournament. You can see that Collina enjoys making the game the centre of attention rather than himself.

And just consider this: The Greeks had never won a single match at any international tournament until this year - now they're in the final. And another odd thing - the fixture, Portugal v Greece, is exactly the same pairing as the opening match of the tournament. Greece won that, so they'll be full of confidence. On the other hand, so will the Portuguese, as the host nation. I'm already looking forward to seeing who comes out on top. Either way, it's great to see two of the less fashionable football nations in the final.

11:15:17 PM