Soccer: Belgium and Italy in France

9:06 p.m. 'The oldest team in the history of the UEFA Euro championships' remarks a German commentator in tones of awe, as we see Italy's team. He alludes to the hoary age of 31.5 as if it were thaumaturgy.

9:18 p.m. An Italian player, defending his half, neatly interrupts a forward rush by two Belgian players by kicking back his heel as if he were posing for a photograph in a skirt, and thereby hitting the ball back toward the Belgian half again. Now that's panache.

9:23 p.m. It's nice to watch Giorgio Chiellini play in an un-bitten state again. The images of the last World Cup and the certain unfortunate event are still so strongly imprinted on my mind.

9:28 p.m. I was thinking of writing, "I think the Belgian players are too polite for this game," when one of them lightly fouled Chiellini by plowing into his legs. But then Chiellini's fouling leads to a free kick, and soon thereafter Italy scores. 1-0.

9:37 p.m. "First corner for Italy." Nothing comes of it.

9:45 p.m. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) nearly kicks the ball backward into the Italian net. But it hops rather gently, once, and Italian goalkeeper Buffon catches it, looking like he feels that he has had a hair's-breadth escape nonetheless.

9:48 p.m. 'Peep!' for half-time.

10:26 p.m. The second half of the game has been running for a long time now. The charming interaction between the Belgian players, selfless and sharing, passing to each other beautifully, edifies the soul; but the aggressive edge is certainly missing. If Italy were to win 2-1, I think it would be well deserved.

10:29 p.m. So far the volume of derisory whistling by the stadium audience — it is particularly displeased whenever the Belgian defense has the temerity to pass amongst itself, or (ever-gracious) whenever an opposing player has the temerity to be switched out — would be enough to rival two aviaries, I think.

10:32 p.m. A novel technique by an Italian player who wants to impede the Belgian player who is racing with all appearance of future success toward the Italian goal: he scissors his legs around the player's middle à la World Wrestling Entertainment, thereby reaping a yellow card.

10:44 p.m. This has altogether been (often — not always) a relatively edge-of-the-seat kind of game, like Germany vs. Ukraine yesterday evening. . . . 56% possession of the ball by Belgium. Hm.

10:47 p.m. Goalkeeper Buffon catches the threatening ball and rescues his goal again. Afterward he affectionately bears the ball in his palms, in wonder, as if it were the fragile Golden Snitch in Harry Potter.

10:50 p.m. Italy 2-0. Les jeux son faits. Alas for Belgium.