WITH six games now played, Euro 2012 is well and truly underway. Chief Sports Writer SCOTT WILSON highlights five things we have learned from the opening half-a-dozen matches

1. The European Championships remain as unpredictable as ever

With just 16 sides competing rather than 32, the European Championships are often more competitive than the World Cup. In turn, that makes them harder to predict.

There are very few easy group games at the Euros, as Holland learned to their cost on Saturday afternoon. Denmark were supposed to be the whipping boys of Group B, yet they now find themselves well-placed to qualify at the expense of either Holland or Portugal.

Similarly, while Greece appeared all at sea in the first half of their opening game against Poland, they roared back in the second half and should probably have won. There are bound to be more surprises before the group stage is finished.

2. Russia could be the most exciting attacking side in the competition

Having threatened to sweep all before them at the last European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, Russia have once again caught the eye in the opening stages of the current competition.

The slickness of Dick Advocaat's side's attacking was the most impressive aspect of their 4-1 demolition of Czech Republic, with Andrei Arshavin seemingly back to his best following a difficult spell at Arsenal and Alan Dzagoev emerging as a potent goalscoring force. If Alexander Kerzakhov had also found his range, Russia would have scored a hatful.

Questions can be asked about the quality of their defending, and much better sides than Czech Republic lie in wait. But few defences will be confident of dousing Russia's attacking threat.

3. Holland's goalscoring threat is not as pronounced as we thought

They scored 37 goals in qualifying and were hotly tipped as potential winners, but Holland looked surprisingly devoid of attacking ideas as they lost to Denmark on Saturday.

With Bert van Marwijk playing with a lone striker, there is a lot of pressure on Robin van Persie to perform, and the Arsenal striker was strangely out of sorts at the weekend, miscontrolling simple passes and failing to find the target with a number of his shots.

Neither Arjen Robben nor Wesley Sneijder looked like scoring either, and van Marwijk must now decide whether to change formation and pair van Persie with Klass-Jan Huntelaar for Wednesday's must-win game against Germany.

4. A strong defence could take a team a long way in the competition

While Holland struggled to convert their plentiful possession into meaningful goalscoring opportunities, there was much to admire in a superb defensive display from Denmark. Similarly, Germany's back four were generally unruffled by Portugal.

It is not the most glamorous side of the game, but as tournaments develop, it is generally the teams with the best defences that come to the fore.

That could be a worry for favourites Spain, who were far from watertight in yesterday's 1-1 draw with Italy. Might it help England, though, as they look to tighten up under Roy Hodgson?

5. Reports of Italy's demise have been greatly exaggerated

Their domestic game is in disarray as a result of further match-fixing allegations, and they lost their last three matches in the build-up to Euro 2012. But once the real business began, Italy found their form.

They deserved to take a point from yesterday's game with Spain and appear to possess a pleasing blend of defensive steel and attacking threat.

Andrea Pirlo remains one of the most incisive midfielders in world football, while Antonio Di Natale took his goal superbly having replaced Mario Balotelli. With Croatia and the Republic of Ireland to play, they will be confident of making the last eight.