A week is an awful long time in tournament football.

It has seen all three survivors of the Group of Death well and truly buried.

Lesser mortals – Czech Republic, Denmark, Ukraine and Switzerland – make up half the quarter-finalists.

And England are favourites!

Quite a turnaround, quite a tournament by any standards, and a wonderful distraction in the middle of a pandemic.

Definitely worth the wait (and the risks) with the most doom-laden predictions proving exaggerated.

Indeed, one nation seemed to thrive on a schedule that carrier-pigeons would have struggled to cope with.

But as UEFA won’t be slow to tell us, scattering the venues was a case of “Inconvenience? What inconvenience?

Switzerland, although situated in the very heart of Europe, had to clock the biggest distances – over 15,000 km and still counting.

Yet it was they, unfancied and scarcely knowing what time it was, who brought off the biggest shock in the best match of the best night of tournament football ever.

We thought Spain 5 Croatia 3 was a thriller, but it was just a tasty appetiser for the France-Switzerland epic that followed.

With World No.40 Czech Republic having beaten the Netherlands the previous night, it prised the draw open even wider.

But the Czechs will also be underdogs against 10th ranked Denmark, who have been the favourite team of most neutrals after what happened to Christian Eriksen.

For the eventual winners, it is still hard to look beyond the more fancied four of Italy, Spain, Belgium and England.

Long shots against Germany, England’s sudden elevation to favourite status owes as much to the fixture list as to the removal of that 55-year-old hex.

Should they go all the way, two of their three remaining three games will be at Wembley. In fact, it’s hard not to call them the host nation.

Saturday’s visit to Rome to face Ukraine will be their only venture outside London. Home advantage is huge now that crowds are rising as Covid-19 rules are relaxing.

And Gareth Southgate does have a decent young squad to choose from and a surfeit of talented attackers that can’t all force their way in.

Take Jadon Sancho, second only to Lionel Messi for assists in Europe last season, and about to become Manchester United’s second most expensive player. He has played six minutes so far.

But he’s behind Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden in the pecking order. Jack Grealish, the people’s favourite and widely regarded as the best player in the country, gets on only as a late, game-changing sub.

England are usually the neutrals’ least favourite team – and vying for the “most boring” tag with Sweden.

But if their attackers are ever let off the leash, they could delight – and do serious damage.

As it is, the ever-cautious Southgate will rely on Harry Kane and, man of the moment, Raheem Sterling, to get the goals.

Sterling was rumoured to be a makeweight in Manchester City’s bid for Kane. That may change if Pep Guardiola has been watching.

Yet to concede a goal, they cannot be complacent against Andrei Shevchenko’s side for whom forgotten West Ham striker Andrei Yarmalenko has been outstanding in this tournament.

With either the Danes or the Czechs to face at home next, England will never have a better chance of becoming European champions and are odds-on to reach the final.

But this is where it is going to be tough. Any one of Spain, Italy or Belgium would be a far greater test than England have faced so far.

You feel Spain would pass the socks off England’s midfield and now that they’ve found their shooting boots, must be fancied to beat the Swiss who surely cannot repeat their form against France.

The tournament was a crushing disappointment for Kylian Mbappe who had the misfortune to miss the decisive penalty against the Swiss.

With Erling Braut Haaland sitting it out, the Norwegian probably edged ahead in the race to become the player of the new decade.

On paper, the world champions had the best squad but fell victim to the kind of fairytale comeback that makes the game so great.

Even N’golo Kante was human and when he’s overshadowed by Paul Pogba, you wonder what they’re making of that at Old Trafford.

Topping the bill for the quarter-finals – and a clash that would have made a great final – sees the Italians take on the Belgians in Munich.

For Belgium’s Golden Generation, this could be their last shot at glory.

Having topped the FIFA world rankings for three years, they still haven’t won anything.

And just when they need them, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne are likely to be missing. An aging squad just might miss out yet again.

What this tournament has shown above all else is that a well-crafted team will beat a set of individuals. And Italy, for once devoid of superstars, are a team that doesn’t appear to have a weakness.

Looking ahead, Roberto Mancini’s men may have too much all-round strength for Spain, as well as Belgium, and are likely to meet England in the final.

For that – or any other combination – let’s wait until next time: after all, a week is a long time in a tournament.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.