IT was great to see the home nation Portugal deservedly win their Euro 2004 semi-final with Holland ? but the Dutch team was a pale shadow of their great sides of the past.

The Portuguese defended well and were dangerous when they pushed forward and could easily have had three or four goals.

Pauleta, in particular, had two brilliant chances. The first time he was clean through and I though he should have lobbed the goalkeeper. The second time, he had a close range opportunity attacking the near post, but he didn't take it early enough and Van der Sar was able to make a good save.

The second Portuguese goal by Maniche was a peach. He hit it with the sweet spot and if Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks had been in goal, they couldn't have stopped that between them.

In the end 2-1 was a fair result and it's nice to see the home nation go all the way. Portugal have always had good players but this is the first time they reached a major final.

Now I think they have got rid of the "nearly men" tag because their clubs are winning in Europe. Porto won the Champions League this year and the UEFA Cup last year.

The Portuguese people in Bermuda have been enjoying it, with their flags and beeping horns. If it makes them happy ? and makes us look like a better community ? then that's great.

It makes you wonder what will happen if they win the trophy on Sunday! It should be a good knees-up at the Vasco club.

To be crowned European champions however, the Portuguese will have to beat Greece.

It's been a fairytale tournament for the Greeks who actually beat Portugal in the opening match of the event.

They beat the Czech Republic yesterday to earn their thoroughly deserved place in the final. The Greeks have proved that by working hard, marking people well and not giving your opponents space, you can get remarkable results.

It's no fluke that Greece are in the final. They've had a tough draw and have already beaten the host nation and the tournament favourites, France.

Their German coach has turned them into a very difficult side to beat. In the final, anything could happen. If Greece can close down people like Deco and Ronaldo, they've got a great chance.

Greece can teach us in Bermuda something ? that in international football the result is all that counts. It doesn't matter how well the coach organises things. The result is all people care about.

In their semi-final defeat by Portugal, the Dutch were disappointing. They played at a slow pace and they were very methodical and predictable. They were lacking the flair of the era of Johann Cruyff and company.

Dick Advocaat did the best he could as coach, but as in previous tournaments, the squad argued among themselves. And if your mentality's not right, then it's impossible to perform well. They have to sort out that problem. England also fell victim to Portugal, in the quarter-finals. It was a cracking game and anyone could have won it.

I know a lot of the English are saying that Sol Campbell's disallowed goal in the last minute of normal time should have won it for them. I disagree. John Terry was impeding the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo and so the goal could not be allowed to stand.

I don't understand why England, time and again, get in front and then go on the defensive. Why not continue to play the way that got you in front in the first place?

I've seen them use the same tactic against France in this championship and against Brazil in the last World Cup. Every time they were winning but ended up losing.

The England coach Eriksson probably unsettled the side by making unnecessary substitutions. I was really surprised when he brought on Phil Neville, who has a history of getting the team in trouble by making silly tackles.

Of course, the England fans would be gutted to lose on penalties, just as the Swedes were against Holland. In modern football you need ten or 11 people who can confidently take penalties and they need to practise them regularly.

Good players don't have a problem with penalties. Look at the Brazilians. They have the class and composure to consistently win shoot-outs.

David Beckham was pilloried in the press for his penalty miss. He has to expect that. He makes millions as an athlete and he had to at least hit the target from 12 yards.