Nistelrooy is an asset

The great thing about this tournament is the attacking initiative being shown by the best teams. Adventurous play is being rewarded, but nothing more than the explosive counter-attacking play of this enthralling Dutch side.

You have to admire and praise the courage of Marco van Basten, the Holland coach. His goals won Euro 88 for the Dutch and he has brought that attacking philosophy into his managerial style.

At half time of the 4-1 win over France, the game was poised at 1-0. Yet Van Basten decided to make an attacking change, taking off a defensive midfielder, in Orlando Engelaar, and bringing on a left winger in Arjen Robben.

That meant pulling Rafael van der Vaart back from his forward position to play in midfield and having five attacking players on the pitch.

Robben’s pace duly caused Willy Sagnol a lot of problems on the left wing, setting up Robin van Persie — another bold move that replacing Dirk Kuyt with the Arsenal forward for the second goal and scoring the third himself. That second goal, especially, was an example of how lethal this team can be.

Having seen practically every team play here in Austria and Switzerland, I think the Dutch and the Spanish are best equipped for this tournament.

There are three factors that, combined, set them apart.

First, you need a great team spirit, a real desire across the whole squad, to go right to the end and win it. And the Dutch and Spanish certainly have that— interesting, when you consider that these are two teams that have been beset by problems in the dressing room in the past. There needs to be a unity there, both tactically and mentally, and both these teams have that.

Just look at the way David Villa celebrated his third goal against Russia, rushing to the bench to find Fernando Torres, who had been substituted.

Secondly, you need a broad array of offensive skills. The Dutch have that in abundance: Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart, Sneijder and Kuyt started. Robben and Van Persie came off the bench. And they still have the talented Huntelaar in reserve.

The third factor is physical — being sharp and competitive. Where other teams have looked jaded at times, the Dutch and the Spanish have been full of energy. Having the rest game this week will really help the Dutch, just as it will the Croats.

I think only the first halves of France versus Romania and Greece versus Sweden were disappointing. Otherwise, this is now shaping up to be a classic tournament, with the Dutch leading from the front.