Group A has come to a close, and many people's predictions have been flip turned upside down, with the Hosts, and the Favourites heading home, in a result not many would have picked going into the last day, let alone prior to the tournament kicking off.

The Winners
At 10:45, Polish time, on June 8, the Czech Republic would have felt crushed. The cautious optimism they would have felt before their game against the group favourites was ripped to shreds by, quite simply, a pathetically inept performance. Fast Forward to today, and they are gearing up to kick off the Knock Out stages in the opening Quarter Final against Portugal. Solid wins over Greece and Poland has brought back that optimism, and continuing that form will see them put up a strong challenge against the Portuguese.

The Stand Out(s): Wolfsburg pair Petr Jiráček and Václav Pilař. With regular stars Tomáš Rosický and Milan Baroš failing to impress, Jiráček and Pilař have stepped to the fore, contributing all of the Czech Republic's goals in the group stage.

The Greek football ethos has always seemed to be built on the idea of solid defence, unspectacular football, and this tournament has proven no different. Early signs showed this may not have been the case, their first halves against Poland and the Czech Republic in fact often the complete opposite. But things turned around on the last match day, when they were definitely needed. The solid defence the Greeks showed at Euro 04 returned, and saw them through in second place, having started the match last. If they have truly hit their stride, it is just in time, as they will need to be at the peak of their game to hold off the Germans.

The Stand Out: Georgios Samaras. The lanky wing forward has played his role extremely well, exemplifying the consistency that is an important part of the Greek tactical mindset.

The Losers
Without a doubt, the biggest failure of Group A was that of the Russian side. Favourites to progress from the outset, this was only strengthened on the back of their 4-1 demolition of the Czech Republic. But even then, the warning signs were there, albeit all the more noticeable in hindsight. Tense matches against the hosts and Greece yielded just the one point, and the Russian attack went from being impressive, to wasteful, in just under a week - 49 shots for 20 on target, and only three goals is a telling figure.

The Let Down: The aforementioned statistic, can be attributed mostly, to lead striker Alexander Kerzhakov - 12 shots for just one on target, including an incredible (and record breaking) seven wayward shots against the Czech Republic.

Overall, it would be harsh to refer to Poland's tournament as a 'failure'. At times, in all three of their matches, they would have considered themselves in the ascendency. But a lack of control and inability to maintain that pressure, would be their undoing on all three occasions. Arguably the weakest team in the group, the hosts can be proud that they were never truly outplayed by any of their opponents, but ultimately were unable to make the most of their home town support, and will be disappointed with their final result.

The Let Down: Wojciech Szczesny would have been considered by the hosts as probably their strongest point on the field, after an impressive season as Number 1 for Arsenal. Instead, he was ultimately at fault for the goal conceded to Greece, and then found himself sent off after just 68 minutes. He didn't play again for the rest of the Group Stage.

Before the tournament, I stated that this was a group of dark horses, and this still proves true. Both Greece and the Czech Republic are capable of progressing past the quarter final stage, but will need to be at their very best to do so. With both sides hitting form at the right time, this is more likely than some may think.