By then, rational analysis was out the window as both teams attacked with chaotic abandon. At 3-3, everyone retired wearily, with nerves shot but honour satisfied. So Kevin Keegan did get something right, then. While many of his coaching counterparts here had been predicting that the tournament was going to be marked by defensive, safety-first games, Charleroi's unexpected treat only seemed to confirm our old adventurer's assertion that 'on the contrary, the opposite will happen because almost every team has great attacking potential'. For instance, Euro '96 had only produced 13 goals at the same stage.
Statistics tell only part of the story, though.
The overall quality, lively enterprise and, despite three sendings off, notable spirit of fair play and largely unfussy refereeing in the eight games has been far superior to the dire stuff so often offered up at the start of championships. If the golden rule is not to lose your first game at all costs, then few seemed to be listening. Teams have been setting out from the whistle with positive intent, believing it is anybody's Championship, even if the French, the outstanding performers so far with their first-gear dismissal of Denmark, have done their best to make sure it looks like nobody else's. Look at Slovenia. The underdogs have no inferiority complexes here.