Russia: Euro 2012 dark horses?

Roman Pavlyuchenko came off the bench to seal the win for Russia

In 2008, Russia lit up the European Championships with their attractive, attacking football.

They were the surprise package in Austria and Switzerland, and yesterday's terrific 4-1 victory over the Czech Republic suggests they may again be dark horses in 2012.

Apart from a 15 minute spell at the start of the second half, the Russians were dominant and their performance evoked memories of their run to the semi-finals in 2008.

It was a hugely impressive way to open the tournament and their form looks ominous for the other two teams in Group A, Poland and Greece.

The game between the co-hosts and the 2004 champions was enthralling and full of controversy, but as far as performances go, the Russians put them in the shade.

Andrey Arshavin was the inspiration behind the display of Dick Advocaat's side as he pulled the strings and looked back to his best.

Arshavin showed a desire - something severely lacking in his game over the last couple of seasons with Arsenal - and set up a number of fantastic chances for his team.

When he is on form, his performances look almost effortless and he certainly looks more comfortable in this Russia side than he ever did at Arsenal.

Gunners fans must have watched the game last night scratching their heads but perhaps it is his loan spell with Zenit St Petersburg which has given him the confidence to produce displays like this.

Alan Dzagoev scored two of Russia's four goals and looks a real prospect.

He has been widely touted as a star of the future over the last few years and looked dangerous throughout against the Czechs.

Dzagoev scored a brace to help get Russia off to the perfect start in Euro 2012

Dzagoev also showed an unerring finishing ability and looks set to be one of the players of the tournament if he continues in this vein of form.

Former Chelsea player Yuri Zhirkov also had an impressive game with consistent forays forward from left-back, but this was a real team display from a vibrant Russia.

The only real negative for them on the night was the form in front of goal of Aleksandr Kerzhakov.

He failed to record a shot on target from seven attempts despite a good all-round display.

Kerzhakov's movement was thrilling and that created a number of fantastic opportunities for himself, but it goes without saying he needs to sharpen up in front of goal if Russia are to be one of the tournament's dark horses.

Roman Pavlyuchenko came on for Kerzhakov and showed him how it is done with a thumping goal and an assist for Dzagoev, and his cameo may have earned him a starting spot for Russia's next game, against co-hosts Poland.

However, Kerzhakov did a lot of good in the game and shouldn't be judged solely on his poor time in front of goal, as his performance allowed the likes of Arshavin and Dzagoev to prosper and on another day, he could have had a hat-trick himself.

If Kerzhakov's finishing had been better, it is quite possible Russia could have scored seven or eight, but Advocaat won't be complaining.

Advocaat couldn't have wished for a better start to the tournament from his Russia side

The 4-1 win allows Russia to ease their way into the tournament and they should now have very little trouble qualifying from Group A, probably as group winners.

That would give them a likely quarter-final against Germany, Holland or Portugal, but with Russia in this form, they are capable of beating most teams.

They are certainly potential semi-finalists at least and they beat Holland to reach that stage in 2008, so should feel confident of a similar outcome this year.

It will be interesting to see how they cope against better attacking sides though, as the Czechs didn't offer much going forward and struggled to get Tomas Rosicky into the game.

Russia won't be able to afford to switch off for a period of the game like they did yesterday and will certainly need their striker to take the kind of opportunities Kerzhakov passed up, but this is a superb start for them and gives them a great platform to progress in the tournament.

As was earlier mentioned, Russia shouldn't have any problems making it out of the group so they can build up confidence in their three group games before taking on one of the big guns.

The likes of Germany, Holland and Portugal don't have that luxury and will have to play three high intensity games before their quarter-final, whereas Russia should head into that game full of confidence and still with plenty of energy in the tank.

It would be great to see Russia become a contender to win the Championships and on this performance it isn't impossible.

With Arshavin and Dzagoev in this form, Russia will be feared and look set to be one of the dark horses.

Technically, they are excellent. It is going to take a fine team to beat them.