SO England not only qualified from a group many felt we would struggle to get out of, we actually finished three points clear of France at the top.
But the euphoria of England's success has been overshadowed somewhat by the latest goal-line controversy. Having been the victims of a poor decision against Germany at the last World Cup in South Africa, England benefited from one against Ukraine this time.
Of course it is easy for Sepp Blatter to say the need for goal-line technology is now a 'necessity,' but with a fifth official standing on the goal-line, shouldn't they be spotting these things anyway? Plus, of course, he is conveniently over-looking the offside decision that was not given in the build up to the 'goal' in the first place. So perhaps Blatter would be better advised to improve the standard of his officials before he looks elsewhere?
I do not, however, agree that he is only calling for technology now it has benefited England. It has been unfortunate that two big decisions in the last two tournaments have involved our nation, but UEFA have been talking about goal-line technology for years. The more high-profile mistakes, the more likely they are to want to do something about it, whoever is on the right or wrong end of them. So lets forget any conspiracy theories.
But is technology the answer anyway? Personally I am opposed to it. Football has always been about human error, be it by players, managers, or officials. Take that away and you lose something important from the game.
The fact mistakes are made adds to the drama and makes the sport what it is. If every decision was correct then what would managers have to blame poor results on? Their own short-comings, or those of their players? Heaven forbid.
Of course it is easy to over-react when your team has suffered, but it is rarely a poor decision by the officials that proves decisive in the end. It is usually good play or a defensive mistake. Plus these things usually even themselves out eventually, as we have seen for ourselves.
The fact remains that most of these decisions are called right anyway. The first Italian goal against Ireland on Monday night, for example, was correctly given, and for every bad call there are 4 or 5 good ones.
But we should not let the controversy of John Terry's goal-line acrobatics overshadow what has been a great tournament for England thus far. A group that looked tricky on paper has been negotiated with the minimum of fuss.
We have looked solid, shown resilience and produced enough quality in the final third to suggest we could go all the way.
Winning the group has of course given us the extra bonus of avoiding World and European Champions Spain. Italy, however, will provide difficult quarter final opposition. They have a history of rising to the occasion in the big tournaments and have been solid and well organised throughout the group stage.
Without wanting to dampen your enthusiasm, it is likely to be a dour game. Both sides will sit back, looking to play on the counter attack, and Italy are past masters at that. The first goal will therefore hold the key, but I am confident it will be us going through, even it takes extra time and penalties. Yes, the Italians are even worse from 12 yards than us.
Should we get past The Azzurri we will then face the winners of the Germany Vs. Greece tie in the last four. Of course you would image that will the Germans, the only side with a 100% record in the group stage, but Greece showed they are no mugs with victory to knock out a very good Russian side last weekend.
All that, however, is for the future. So far we have achieved the minimum requirement for England at a major Championship, we have got through the group stage - only the second time we have managed it at the Euros - so we now need to show exactly what we are capable of.
But if we are to go all the way, we are going to have to make sure the ball hits the back of the net, as the next goal-line controversy will not go our way. Not if Blatter and his cronies have anything to do with it anyway.
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