Wales go home but Italy soldier on.

 Wales go home but Italy soldier on.

Welsh football has seen more peaks than troughs in recent years but sadly Euro 2020 didn't quite  prove to be their triumphant destination. Five years ago Wales conquered mountains to reach the semi final of  Euro 2016 but yesterday, in the middle of their very personal European expedition, they found there were far too many rocks and boulders to overcome. So they simply settled for an early departure from Euro 2020 although they'll always keep a welcome on the hillside for those who just love football's underdogs. 

After making it through to the last 16 of this tournament, Wales must have thought they'd seen everything. They brushed aside Turkey contemptuously in their final group game but suddenly realised that Switzerland were hardly the most testing opposition and then saw Denmark in their headlights. This was one match too far for the Welsh and for the romantics among us there were no candle lights in restaurants. Wales had found more than their match and by the end of this regrettably one sided match, Wales must have thought they were in the wrong place and the wrong time. 

Yesterday Wales revealed all of the battle fatigue and heavy legged lethargy of a team who could no longer re-produce the explosive pyrotechnics that had left most of Europe startled five years ago. Admittedly Gareth Bale's cracking free kick that had opened the scoring against England was no more than some historical afterthought in Euro 2016. Five years on and Bale was back for another worthy attempt at Euro glory but only encountered the harsh reality of life. After winning so much at Real Madrid, this was not to be Bale's crowning glory. 

For older Welsh supporters the World Cup in Sweden of 63 years ago still remains the sweetest reminiscence of them all. When the likes of gentle giant John Charles linked up effectively and beautifully with Ivor Allchurch and company, Wales were in seventh heaven. But the Welsh would have to wait until the mid 1970s before emulating some of the achievements of their predecessors. Wily winger Leighton James, impudent Brian Flynn in midfield  and the mighty John Toshack up front were collectively responsible for waking up the valleys and prompting a mini revival. 

You'd like to think that Wales can still make pleasant noises in world football but then you look at the size of the country, its population and technical infrastructure and then think otherwise. Yesterday afternoon in the Johan Cruyff arena in Holland, Wales were just clutching at straws. For the first 20 minutes or so they did briefly venture into the Danish half and 18 yard area but these were no more than tourist excursions. Denmark were technically superior, studious, cleverer on the ball and far more discerning in their choice of passes than anything Wales could offer. 

True, Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey were always up for the battle, always industrious, frequently willing, always brave hearted and never less than fully committed to the cause but the movements were both stilted and often static. There was none of the fluidity and clarity of thinking that had so marked their football against Turkey. Then Joe Allen, Daniel James, Joe Rondon and Kiefer Moore joined in with the fun and good natured jousting but were never anywhere even remotely close to the Danish finishing school of goal scoring. 

After Kasper Dolberg had deliciously curled the ball home from well planned manoeuvres the Danes  then capitalised on a defensive blunder from Daniel Janes who could only clear the ball to Dolberg again, Wales were out for the count, flat out on the canvas. Dolberg pounced on the ball and drove the ball home. Then a quick throw in found Denmark in acres of space and a ball was chipped diagonally over a sinking Welsh defence, where Joakim Maehle cut back low, checked back with the ball and slammed the ball decisively home for another Danish goal. Even Martin Braithwaite's VAR assisted goal which was only marginally onside, rubbed unnecessary salt into painful Welsh wounds.

And so it was that Wales meekly walked away from a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of a Danish side who may have been still emotionally pre-occupied by their neighbours Finland in the Danes ultimate first game defeat. Thoughts are still with Christian Erikssen, Denmark's midfield orchestrator, who so shockingly collapsed with what has now been diagnosed as a cardiac arrest. But Denmark are through to the quarter finals of Euro 2020 and the footballing community will be utterly relieved.

Meanwhile in some far away corner of England, Italy were doing their utmost to re-create those operatic moments of high drama for which the nation is so rightly proud. Unlike some of their ancestors this is an attacking, forward thinking Italy, a perhaps uncharacteristically gung ho, devil may care Italy, a team full of unexpected surprises, progressive rather than regressive thinking and commendably attack minded.

Maybe we should forget about the skeletons in Italy's cupboard and just be content to see them much more assured in possession rather than dwelling about their negative defensive tactics from the past and the more provocative side to their nature. Perhaps the playground bullies should be wiped from our memories. Besides there are only so many times you can kick your opponents to the point of repetition and then leave bloody stud marks all over their ankles. The Italians were never malicious or bloodthirsty but they did leave you wondering whether there was any hope for their future. It may be just as well to think of them in the here and now.  

At Wembley last night Italy eventually won their last round of 16 match against a confident and undaunted Austria team who were clearly intent on announcing themselves at Euro 2020. And that they did emphatically. When the former West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic began to roll his body and turn his defenders inside out, Austria did come out of their shell. In fact the Austrians thought they'd broken the deadlock when David Alaba pumped the ball towards the far post with his head and Arnautovic, waiting for the ball to drop, pulled away from his defender to head the ball into the net from the tightest angles. Heart-rendingly, VAR intervened and the goal was chalked off for offside. 

Come the last thrilling half an hour for extra time and the Italians had found a second wind. They knew they had something in reserve and the Italians just burst into life. The introspective Italians we had just seen in normal time, now became an extrovert collection of expressionists, foot loose and fancy free, experimental at times without losing their focus on the task in hand. 

Suddenly Leonarda Banucci, Lorenzo Insigne, Chelsea's Jorginho, Marco Verrati and Domenco Berardi and, quite notably, Leonardo Spinazzola who stood out for long periods of the game, all  strolled forward in perfect unison, a team of wit, spontaneity, instinctive passing, subtle changes of position as and when required and the ability to turn defence into attack with guile and cunning. 

And then the Italians, sensing blood in extra time, asserted themselves as the dominant force they'd threatened to be towards the end of  the second half. Federico Chiesa masterfully brought the ball down after the ball had been lobbed over the Austria defence and a diagonal ball was trapped effectively by Chiesa on his thigh. He then he simply stunned the ball before driving the ball firmly into the net for the Italians opener. 

Then minutes later the Italians put the game to bed to quote the popular jargon. Another overwhelming Italian attack led to another breathless through ball where a low cross into the six yard box found. Chiesa, alert to the opening who swivelled in the area before planting the ball past the hapless Austrian keeper. This seemed the final sentence to a gripping novel although Italy, by their own admission,  will probably be thanking their lucky stars. 

With minutes to go Austria did find a small chink in the Italians armour. A driven corner to the near post found Sasa Kalajdzic whose low, stooping header crept under Gianluigi Donnamura for an Austrian consolation goal. You wondered what Dino Zoff, the man who once won a World Cup for Italy, would have made of such clumsiness although maybe the Italian keeper may have had one eye on a foody Italian trattoria in London's West End. Italy are once again in football's good books.