Euro 2012: Russia are finding form at the right time

Moscow, October 2007. A chilly night at the Luzhniki. There had been something hugely impressive about the pre-match atmosphere as a 100m-long banner was unfurled to reveal a ferocious Russian bear pouncing. This, clearly, was a football nation that believed that, after years of underachievement, everything was finally coming together.

Yet England led 1-0 at half-time and, had Steven Gerrard not fluffed a back-post volley just after half-time, they might have won. As it was, Russia were given a penalty for a Wayne Rooney push that took place just outside the box, allowing Roman Pavlyuchenko to level after 69 minutes. What followed was four of the most astonishing minutes of football I've ever seen.

Russia came in red waves, attack after attack crashing on the England defence, the ball rattling between their players at astonishing pace. When Pavlyuchenko finally scored his second, it came almost as a relief - the inevitable had happened at last and everybody could catch their breath. When I checked the time I initially thought the stadium clock was wrong because it seemed inconceivable the assault had lasted only four minutes. This, I realised, was something like the shock - and the thrill - English fans must have experienced when Dinamo Moscow unleashed their passovotchka style on their tour of Britain in 1945.

Russia, of course, went on to produce similarly brilliant football in two games in the final, against Sweden and against the Netherlands, as they reached the semi-final. Had they at last, we wondered, overcome their perpetual self-doubt? If anything, the opposite seemed to be true, overconfidence costing them in a play-off to qualify for the 2010 World Cup as they squandered a 2-0 lead against Slovenia to lose on away goals. That spelt the end for Guus Hiddink, who was replaced by his fellow Dutchman Dick Advocaat.

Having led Zenit St Petersburg to the Uefa Cup in 2008, Advocaat knew many of the players and he has carried on selecting them. Up to a point, that is understandable, but it has added to the sense of staleness about this Russia side, particularly given the real dearth of emerging young talent. It's easy to understand why Dave Farrar was so downbeat about their chances in his preview for this site.

They may have topped their qualifying group - for the first time ever - losing only one game, scoring 17 and conceding four in their 10 games, but only once did they really start to produce anything approaching the form of 2008 - in the first hour away to Ireland in Dublin when they romped into a 3-0 lead. Even that performance, though, was undermined by the last 20 minutes in which they wilted under a barrage of long balls and conceded twice.

Still, put that first hour together with Friday's impressive performance against an admittedly self-destructive Italy and there might just be reasons for optimism. Russia won 3-0, with Roman Shirokov scoring twice. Italy had chances too, it should be said, but, still, there was an encouraging cohesiveness about Russia's play.

Shirokov - 140.00139/1 to be top scorer - will be key. He played at centre-back in Russia's opener against Spain four years ago and, after a shocker, he was omitted for the rest of the tournament. He was always, though, a more attack-minded player and had only taken up being a defender a few months earlier to help Zenit out of a crisis.

This season he scored five times in the Champions League, specialising in the runs from deep that can be so crucial if Russia start - like Zenit - with a mobile centre-forward who can drop deep like Alexander Kerzhakov 36.035/1.

Advocaat could yet go with either Pavlyuchenko or Pavel Pogrebnyak with Kerzhakov on one flank and Andrey Arshavin the other, but a bolder choice would be Kerzhakov central, Arshavin to the left, and Alan Dzagoev to the right. With attacking full-backs in Yury Zhirkov and Alexander Anyukov, that could become a superbly fluid potential front six at times and, with Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov natural holders, the midfield platform is there to do it.

Russia, who are 22.021/1 to win the tournament and 2.56/4 to claim top spot in Group A, might be as dull as they were in qualifying, but the possibility for something greater is there.