There’s a high chance that at least one of the Quarter Finals will go the distance and end in what some dub the ‘nightmare’ of a penalty shoot-out. We’d like to disagree with this term, as there is no more exciting way of separating two teams who have been locked for 120 minutes than the randomness of 10 spot kicks. Let’s face it, the Silver and Golden Goals just didn’t work did they? And the proposal that the teams should play until a goal is scored or all the players collapse through exhaustion just isn’t reasonable in a tournament format where they may have to play again a few days later. Amusing, but inhumane.

In fact, the Castrol Index tells us that neither team playing tonight has taken part in a penalty shoot out in a major tournament, so if it goes the distance, the nerves will surely be jangling. Not so the Germans, who – had the game last night had gone that far – would have stepped up confident in the knowledge that the last penalty missed by a German player in a major tournament was in the World Cup. In 1982.

Half of me hopes this one goes all the way so both sides get a chance to show that they can convert from 12 yards, half that it finishes in normal time in a thriller like last night.

So I’ll go for a 2-1 victory to Croatia, hard-fought and dirty.

Jack is going for a Nihat brace and a surprise 2-0 victory for Turkey.

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