THIS may not be immediately obvious but both Scotland and Ireland have left their mark on the European Championships, even if everyone will have to wait four years before it will be clear whether their influence should be celebrated or a cause for regret.

Uefa's executive committee is entitled to feel pleased with itself about how Euro 2012 is unfolding but that body – never exactly known for self-doubt or rushing to acknowledging its mistakes – may also be watching with a growing sense of unease.

So far Euro 2012 has been a triumph. There has not been a single goalless match, only two teams had been eliminated after the second round of group matches and qualification was still alive in all eight of the final round of games. Why might Uefa feel unease about all of this? Because this compact, thrilling, format – a group phase immediately followed by an exciting set of quarter-finals – has been abandoned for the next European Championship finals in France.

The proposal to expand the competition was submitted by the SFA (then under chief executive Gordon Smith) and the Football Association of Ireland and approved in 2008. It will give countries of Scotland's size and standing an improved chance of qualifying, but there will be many around European football anxious about what could be lost to this event and thinking 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Too late now.

Euro 2012 has been a compelling advertisement for sweet 16. The tournament has sprinted flat out for 12 days and now – having taken its first breather with a day without any fixture yesterday – it is ready to go again. The finals are more than three-quarters done, 24 games down and only seven to go, and the first non-game day became a natural time to take stock. The competition has been vibrant and refreshing so far and it has vindicated Uefa's decision to award the games to Poland and Ukraine.

The talking points have been about the football. That is not the foregone conclusion it might seem. When the Netherlands' black players were jeered by several hundred Polish supporters at a training sessions in Krakow two days before the finals began, Uefa and the co-hosts held their breath. There have been other incidents – Russian hooligans attacked stewards in Wroclaw, Croatian fans were charged with racist chants towards Mario Balotelli, Russian and Polish fans fought in Warsaw – but not enough to jeopardise the overall perception of an enjoyable spectacle. Mercifully there has been nothing to justify the widespread pre-tournament fear that a player or players may have enough of being abused from the stands and decide to walk off the pitch in protest.

People are chatting about Spain, Germany, goalline technology and the high number of headed goals, not fighting or racism. Some empty seats at group games in Ukraine, and transport problems within that country and around its borders, have not coloured the impression of a vivid and well-attended event.

"It is very, very difficult to do better in this tournament than what we have done," said Michel Platini, the Uefa president. "It has not been perfect – nothing ever is – but I am very, very happy. The atmosphere in the stadiums has been 99.9% fantastic, Poland and Ukraine have delivered and the people have shown their thanks. They have said thanks for having the confidence and trust in us, that we could do it. It's been wonderful so far and I hope it continues."

There was embarrassment for Platini, though, when the extra assistant referees failed to spot that Marko Devic's shot had crossed the goalline for Ukraine before being hooked out of England's net by John Terry. Platini has resisted the use of goalline technology and preferred the addition of two additional assistants behind the goals, but the Devic incident instantly undermined him.

Curiously there has been only one penalty awarded so far – it was saved by Poland's goalkeeper against Greece on day one – and more than 30% of the 60 goals have come from headers. That figure is way above the usual average at major tournaments and is a credit to the finishers given that there has been the lowest number of crosses and corners per game in European Championship history. Teams have rebelled against playing "the Spanish way": they rarely cross or prioritise headers. The formation of choice has been 4-2-3-1, although England have been closer to 4-4-2 and Spain began the competition with no out-and-out forwards at all against Italy.

The quarter-finals begin with the Czech Republic against Portugal in Warsaw tonight. If they all go according to the world rankings, the four winners will be Portugal and Spain – who would then meet in the first semi-final – and Germany and England, who would clash 24 hours later. But Italy will feel they can outwit Roy Hodgson's team in Kiev on Sunday and similarly the French will not be overawed against Spain in Donetsk the previous evening. Greece look to be out of their depth against the Germans in Gdansk tomorrow night.

There is a bubbling renewal of self-belief for England, but after two effective wins against moderate opponents they will have to reach another level to outwit Italy on Sunday. A probable semi-final against Germany and potential final against the Spanish – bearing in mind that Hodgson's side began the tournament against the highly-rated French – means England look to have an ominously difficult path to navigate if they are to win the Kiev final on July 1.

The disappointments have been plentiful. The co-hosts both had their moments and have since gone home. The Dutch were awful – missing chance after chance and looking hopelessly disorganised in defence – while Russia were a firework, exploding into life against the Czechs on day one only to quickly fizzle out despite the contribution of the exciting Alan Dzagoev. Similarly Croatia, for whom Mario Mandzukic was deeply impressive but a group containing Italy and Spain was too much to survive. The Republic of Ireland were out of their depth, conceding more goals, nine, and scoring fewer, only one, than any of the other 15.

Now almost all of the chaff has been removed. There will be surprises to come but as Euro 2012 begins phase two it can still deliver the final most neutrals want. The same as the last one: Spain against Germany.