The 24-team format has meant a big gulf between the top teams and the outsiders, then you have a seeding system that led to Group F being stacked with three potential winners in France, Germany and Portugal, so there is definitely room for improvement in terms of the format.
Julien Laurens: As much as I have loved every game, even the boring ones, I can’t help but feeling a bit underwhelmed by the quality that we have seen so far.
The tournament is worse overall for the bloated format, but despite that the group stage still had plenty of intrigue, most obviously in Group F as Portugal occupied all four positions during the final 90 minutes on Wednesday.
The only drawback has been the lack of jeopardy in the group stages, with teams being able to qualify from third surely something UEFA needs to revise.
Rob Dawson: The danger of having a major tournament after such a long season was that teams would focus on being hard to beat in an effort to grind out results, but there has been plenty of attacking intent in the group stages.
If Gareth Southgate can finally find the right formula, this super-talented team has so much more to give than the three average performances that we have seen so far.
In their first two group games, they dominated the ball but did little with it and striker Alvaro Morata needs to somehow shake himself from the introspection which is seemingly affecting his performances.
For the brilliance of their 4-2 win over Portugal, there was also their limp performance against France and the 2-2 draw against Hungary showcased them at their best and worst.
They’ve been solid and organised with midfielders Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips sat in front of a back four and haven’t conceded a goal in the group stages, but going forward they’ve been largely pedestrian.
It is a different story with England, who have scored just two goals in three games and shown none of the attacking flair you would expect from a team with so many top-class forwards.
Italy’s Manuel Locatelli has had a great tournament in midfield, while Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard, Switzerland’s Breel Embolo, Wales’ Kieffer Moore and Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick have done well up front.
Frank de Boer has taken a lot of criticism in the Netherlands for his decision to play with a back three rather than go 4-3-3 but the system has worked largely because of the attacking threat offered by Dumfries from right wing-back.
Ogden: In terms of attacking players, it really has been a case of the usual suspects with Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Luka Modric creating headlines, but some lesser-known players at the back have also had good tournaments.
Both had great seasons with their clubs — Real Sociedad and Sassuolo respectively — but to step up the way they did in this competition and shine is something else.
Olley: Billy Gilmour was not under the radar to anyone who has seen Chelsea on the few occasions he has been given a chance but nevertheless the 20-year-old excelled in the biggest game of his life as Scotland held England at Wembley.
Despite winning just one of their Group F games, France still emerged top of the toughest section and they’ve still not hit top gear.
They will be strong, physically and mentally, with their experience in finals after lifting the 2018 World Cup in Russia and their runners-up performance as hosts at Euro 2016.
Olley: France may have only won one match but they still topped the toughest group and have an inviting draw against Switzerland in the round of 16.
Hamilton: It’s still hard to look past France, but Italy, Belgium, Germany and England could all yet gatecrash the party.