I have been impressed by the two hosts, Poland and Ukraine, but Ireland were a big disappointment and my tip, Holland, might be on their way home soon
The first week of Euro 2012 has been very watchable and no side has caught my attention more than the two hosts. Neither Poland nor Ukraine are renowned footballing nations, and they have both ridden their luck to some extent, but each deserves credit for the positive manner in which they have begun the tournament.
Ukraine's performance against Sweden was particularly impressive. I could not believe how much running the team as a whole put in – it was like they were all super-fit 25-year-olds. Their right-back, Oleg Gusev, reminds me of my old Arsenal team-mate Oleg Luzhny, or "the Horse" as we used to call him, with his galloping runs down the line. He was excellent.
The real star of the show was, of course, Andriy Shevchenko and his two goals against Sweden have been my moments of Euro 2012 so far. His first goal in particular was unbelievable; the way in which he timed his leap so he could out-jump the defender, the power in the header past the goalkeeper. It took me back to how Shevchenko was in his pomp and showed how he has recaptured some of his form since returning to Dynamo Kyiv.
I faced Shevchenko when he was at Chelsea, and also once when he was played for Ukraine against England, and found him to be a clever, skilful striker. His display last Monday was his way of reminding those who thought he was finished that he's not. Like all great players, Shevchenko has the ability to silence his critics effectively.
My biggest disappointment so far has to be the Republic of Ireland. They had a strong qualifying campaign and despite the tough nature of their group, I thought they would give Croatia, Spain and Italy a real challenge.
Instead they have suffered two heavy defeats and both because of tiny mistakes you would not have imagined them making before Euro 2012 started. Ireland have one more game to go, against Italy, but they can no longer qualify and what will frustrate them most of all is that they have not done themselves justice, which is a real shame. The entire squad seem like a great bunch of lads and I was hoping they would do much better.
I also expected better from Holland. They were my tip but after two defeats they are in real danger of not making it out of the group. They had the chances to kill off both Denmark and Germany but didn't take them, with Robin van Persie particularly wasteful.
The early chance he missed against Germany, when the ball dropped over his shoulder in the penalty area, was one he would have buried without thinking in an Arsenal shirt. In the orange of Holland it was a different story.
They should have gone 4-4-2 from the start and put Klaas-Jan Huntelaar alongside Van Persie. They're both great, in-form strikers and sometimes teams just need to put their necks on the block and go full out at a competition. With those two guys in their line-up Holland would have been on the front foot from the opening whistle and really frightened Denmark and Germany.
I would not be at all surprised if that is how they line-up for the game against Portugalon Sunday, a match they must win to stand any chance of making the next round. Holland need a small miracle to progress and I cannot see them achieving it.
Overall, I have not been as blown away with the standard of football as some others have been. Most of the teams still seem to be figuring themselves out and making it a priority not to lose, rather than going full out for the win. In that sense, I disagree with Jamie Carragher's assessment that the European Championship is a better competition than the World Cup because of the strength of all the sides involved.
Against that I would point out that Greece won Euro 2004 and they were not a fantastic team and then at the World Cup in Germany two years later Trinidad & Tobago, a supposed minnow, ran England very close in the group and would most probably have won had Kenwyne Jones been more at it.
I played in a few European Championships and World Cups and my favourite tournament of the lot was the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. It was an amazingly unique experience, representing your nation so far from home and in such an exotic environment. It was tough dealing with the intense climate as well as the challenge of trying to perform at your best at a major competition, but that was something I relished.
Euro 2012 has its own challenges and it will be fascinating to see how the teams still involved cope with those once we get to the real make-or-break games.
Sol Campbell has donated his fee for this column to his foundation Kids Go Live, www.kidsgolive.com Read More
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