Martin Tyler takes tea, Sweden-style, and ends up gathering valuable research from his welcoming hosts.
Research and rare relaxation as Tyler takes tea
People often ask me how long it takes to prepare for a commentary, and my reply is always: 'how long do I have?'
Three days have passed since England's game against Germany and, much as Stuart Pearce's players have been training ahead of their semi-final, I have spent my time amassing huge amounts of information. I can't just switch off and then switch back on again when matchday comes.
The task between now and kick-off on Friday is to sift out what is relevant, to decide what are the kind of things people at home want to hear and how best I can deliver them.
There is a huge difference in intensity between a tournament like this and, say, a World Cup finals. In Italy in 1990 I covered 39 of the 52 games played - sometimes two on the same day - and I have to say I rather miss the relentlessness of that.
But I am learning to manage my time, and the obvious plus side is that you have time to really think about your commentary and to talk to more people than you might otherwise have a chance to.
Olsson
I spent Wednesday, for example, watching a training session involving the Sweden players who did not feature in Tuesday's game against Serbia - an essential bit of preparation as suspensions mean two of them will get their opportunity against England.
Among the candidates to come in is Blackburn's Martin Olsson - the only non-English, England-based player remaining in the tournament - and I spoke to him at length at a post-training press conference.
Martin was very understanding about his lack of first-team opportunities when Blackburn were fighting relegation last season, and his regular appearances among the substitutes towards the end of the campaign gave him hope he can go on and make an impact next time around.
I was the only English journalist there, but such is the way of things here that I was given ample access to Sweden's co-coach Jorgen Lennartson and was able to ask him all the questions we commentators ask.
Magic touch
I also bumped into the Swedes' senior coach Lars Lagerback at training. I've met Lars once or twice before, and we had a bit of a chuckle about his country's magic touch against England at senior level - something I know Terry Butcher was also grilling him about on a coaching course last week!
The hosts are based in Bastad - pronounced Boh-stad fortunately! - which is the setting for a famous tennis tournament and the place where the likes of Bjorn Borg really learned their trade. Like most of Sweden in summer the setting - 20 minutes drive south of Halmstad - is beautiful.
Welcome
On the way back I kept my appointment for afternoon tea with the security guard and his wife who had so kindly invited me earlier in the week, and it was a real insight into idyllic Swedish life on a glorious day. Jennie and Nicholas were my hosts along with their children Simon and Sanna, who had baked me some absolutely fantastic cookies.
When you're away on these trips you do miss home life, and to be welcomed into somebody else's for a short time was really very special - it felt as though I was visiting an old family friend. It is such a structured existence here, and to sit there while the kids watched television and ran in and and out of the garden to their waterslides was a rare oasis.
Of course, I wouldn't want my bosses to think it was a totally self-indulgent exercise! And being keen students of the Sweden U21 team, my hosts were able to give me a home fans' perspective on the characteristics of the players which I would never have gleaned from press conferences alone.
Swimming
From today the focus is back on England, and myself and Andy Burton arrived for Thursday's training session to be confronted by what we thought was a car boot sale.
It turned out hundreds of people had descended on the tiny village - as they do on the same day every year - to watch or take part in a national boules tournament in the car park of the training ground. The competition was fierce and we took a few shots before getting back to business over on the football pitches.
No doubt they'll be boules-ing in that car park for years to come, while these England youngsters might never return if Friday's semi-final finishes in defeat.
That outcome is unthinkable for Stuart Pearce and his players, though for me it might provide a very small consolation prize - private swimming. The sea is looking more and more inviting, and while the temperature doesn't frighten me the prospect of stripping off in full view of the England players' hotel balcony is somewhat less appealing.
I'm not sure I could handle the backchat!
Tyler's teaser
As regular readers will know, I usually fill my page with football facts and stats and your questions. Well for the duration of this tournament, we thought we'd turn the tables and ask YOU to do the work and come up with the answers!
Well done to those of you who correctly identified West Brom's Gianni Zuiverloon as Holland's winning penalty-taker from 2007, now let's see how you get on with this one...England come up against tournament top scorer Marcus Berg on Friday. What is the connection between the striker and the England trio of Joe Hart, Nedum Onuoha and Micah Richards?
Send in your answers using the feedback form below...
