Italy on the march, says Dublin

Italy celebrate their victory in Brussels

Match of the Day pundit and Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin tells BBC Sport Online why he thinks Italy are the team to watch in the Euro 2000 semi-finals.

Italy were in full control against Romania.

It was solid, compact performance - they clearly realised that this is the way to progress beyond the quarter-final stage.

It might not be fantastic to watch, but it is very effective.

I thought Francesco Totti did very well. It was a lovely piece of skill for his goal, to bring the ball down so quickly and get the shot in. He was very impressive for Italy.

Italy now won't fear anyone - they've got a good amount of momentum building

Dion Dublin

Filippo Inzaghi had a much better game too. His goal was an excellent piece of finishing. Great control and a very calm finsh.

Personally, I'd be tempted to play Alessandro Del Piero. It seems crazy not to play him somewhere, a man with his talents, but exactly where I don't know.

I can't see Zoff changing his front two when they've both scored in the last game.

Romania were slightly unfortunate. I thought they worked hard, and Viorel Moldovan was a threat to the back four throughout the first half.

Hagi for me was disappointing. I didn't think he showed enough. It was a bad note to go out on, and I don't think he'll feel particularly good about it. His sending-off looked like a fair decision.

Mutu

Adrian Mutu was the Romanian who impressed me most.

He was on the ball throughout, always looking to do something with it. He was a bit like Ryan Giggs - when he got hold of it, the crowd took a deep breath in expectation. He's got an aura about him.

I felt sorry for their keeper Bogdan Stelea. He's been excellent for them throughout the tournament.

And that save he made from Inzaghi, tipping the ball against the post - I reckon we might be looking at the save of Euro 2000 so far.

Gheorghi Hagi is sent off in disgrace

Italy won't fear anyone now. They've got a good amount of momentum building. I think it'll be Holland they come up against in the semi on Wednesday, and that one's too tight to call.

They have a very solid spine running right through the team. Toldo in goal is looking very solid. At 6'5" he's going to come for most balls into the box and win them, and that's a huge bonus for his defence.

Most of their play went through Albertini tonight. Italy are sometimes criticised for having too many defensive players in midfield, and you'd usually include Albertini in that bracket, but he was excellent.

You expect him to sit deep and not do a lot, but everything they did went through him. Even when he passed it short and kept it simple, he kept things ticking along nicely.