Yes, I am indeed taking an unusual interest in sport for once. Roll on the Olympics!

I hate to say "I told you so".

Actually, no I don't. I told you so. I said, way back in November 2007, that Euro 2008 would be far more enjoyable sans England, and here we are after five days' play, with a whole bunch of extremely good teams, no clear sign of who's going to win, and absolutely no stress on my part.

OK, so there have been some teams so far who are more of a burden on the tournament than a joy. Greece has been a surprise entry into this category, playing a strategy that appeared to consist largely of passing the ball between their back three and hoping that it would suddenly teleport into their opponent's net. On the other hand, we've witnessed the highly enjoyable spectacle of a match played practically underwater. For those of you not paying attention, that was Switzerland vs. Turkey, a match that looked like being a bit dull until torrential rain sent the players careening all over the pitch as if it was a pinball table (and, ironically, stopping the ball dead every time it travelled more than a couple of yards).

And then, of course, we've had tonight's match, Netherlands vs. France. These two have great histories as footballing nations - it's a rare international tournament when the Dutch don't breeze at least into the quarter-finals, and it's only a few short years since the French were completely unbeatable. What's more, both teams boast incredibly good upfront players (Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry in particular), almost guaranteeing some sparky goalmouth action.

True to form, the match was superb – certainly one of the best I've seen for some time (although that's not saying much). The thing is, had I been rooting for either team it wouldn't have been half as much fun. Of course I'd have been very happy if I was supporting the Dutch, but having the French pull back to within one goal with a superb strike shortly into the second half would have piled on the worry. I'd have been biting my nails every time Henry looked like getting near the ball, despite his obvious rustiness at the moment. And, of course, if I'd been supporting the French I'd have been dashing my string of onions to the ground in disgust and vowing never to wear my stripy jersey and jaunty beret ever again.

In short, Euro 2008, just as I'd hoped, is turning out to be highly enjoyable. Maybe England should make a habit of staying out of these things.