Karel Bruckner of the Czech Republic must have one hand on the `Coach of Euro 2004' mantle with the tournament scarcely a week old.

The veteran boss has not only guided his side into the tournament quarter-finals after two group matches, he has accomplished the unmatched feat with the most entertaining team in Portugal.

Italy fans must hope Giovanni Trapattoni was watching the exhilarating 3-2 defeat of Holland, a second successive win born out of audacity, while England's Sven-Goran Eriksson will hopefully develop an admiration for Bruckner's tactical flexibility.

The Czechs might have been two goals up when Wilfred Bouma headed Holland into a fourth-minute lead and could easily have folded after Ruud van Nistelrooy claimed a farcical second goal.

But after the Manchester United striker exploited the absurd new offside law to convert Arjen Robben's cross, Bruckner took decisive action.

He spared Zdenek Grygera the indignity of having to chase Robben by putting Vladimir Smicer into midfield and dropping winger Karel Poborsky into an unaccustomed wing-back role.

Jan Koller reduced the arrears before Smicer's introduction but Bruckner did not shy away from his bold gamble, prepared during the build-up to the giant's 23rd-minute tap-in.

The Czechs had to ride their luck to reach the break only one goal down but the second period, with the two sides resembling two tired fighters trading attempted knockout blows, suited them much better.

As the pendulum swung from one to the other with neither side able to beat the outstanding goalkeepers Petr Cech and Edwin van der Sar, Bruckner decided to chance his arm further.

He repeated the critical substitution from Tuesday's defeat of Latvia, introducing another attacker, Marek Heinz, at the expense of Thomas Galasek, the base of his midfield diamond.

Minutes earlier Dick Advocaat had withdrawn one of the game's outstanding attackers, Robben, to try and stifle another, Czech captain Pavel Nedved, with a man-marker.

Ten minutes later, Nedved shrugged off the attentions of substitute Paul Bosvelt to create Milan Baros' equaliser before embarking on a run which ended with the sending-off of Johnny Heitinger.

In a match rich in turning points, the Ajax defender's dismissal was particularly significant and unfair on the Dutchman.

The numerical advantage gave the Czech Republic the edge to clinch a winner through, appropriately enough, Smicer though the outcome was hard on Holland.

But Bruckner had again been rewarded for his boldness after Rudi Voller's indifferent approach had put Germany on the brink.

The exclusion of Bastian Schweinsteiger from the starting line-up contributed to Germany's impotence in a dire 0-0 draw with Latvia; only the erratic Mike Riley saved Oliver Kahn from facing two penalties.

That Germany are now favourites to finish runners-up in Group D is extraordinary and unjust but Holland are very much in harm's way.

Latvia will not usher through a Dutch victory on Wednesday while the Czechs may rotate their squad against Voller's side with progress assured.

Dutch football has a long and sorry history of underachievement with this generation particularly prone to self-destruction but neutrals will be left desperate to see more of a team who deserved a draw from the best game of the tournament to date.

Euro 2004 fortune has hitherto favoured the brave; it would be a terrible irony if Bruckner's daring helped eliminate the Oranje and usher through their fiercest and dullest rivals.