If music is your passion, tune in just before kick-off to tomorrow evening's Final of Euro 2000. If you want a last fix of football before the summer recess, don't switch off for at least 90 minutes.

Not to be missed is the extravaganza in Rotterdam, starting as it will do with those stirring anthems which make Flower of Scotland sound still more of a dirge.

France's is so evocative of revolutionary times, you can almost see the peasants marching in revolt. Italy's makes you think, well, if this is the overture, please can the curtain rise for the soprano and the tenor.

The teams need only be half as good for this festival of football, which began on an agreeable enough note three weeks ago with Belgium playing Sweden, to end on the sporting equivalent of a high C.

Who better to strike it than Zinedine Zidane, a virtuoso if ever there was one? He was France's greatest source of inspiration when they won the World Cup two years ago and can be so again.

Yet anybody who dares dismiss Italy must have a problem with their short-term memory. Have they forgotten so soon what an heroic effort was required by Dino Zoff's players on Thursday evening when, with only ten men, they hung on through extra time to win their semi-final against

Holland in a shoot-out?

Here's a wee aside which might interest Scottish fans. Craig Brown actually confessed to Soccernet an hour or so beforehand his fancy for an Italian victory, albeit without forecasting the circumstances in which they would attain it.

Hardly surprising is the fact that he favours the French this time. They are the side with the greater flair, after all. But, as the Scotland manager acknowledged, they may have some job indulging it.

'France are the better team and since beating Portugal on Wednesday night, will have had the benefit of an extra day's rest,' he asserted yesterday. 'In saying that, though, Italy could frustrate them. They have the best defenders in the world in Fabio Cannavarro and Alessandro Nesto. Their goalkeeper, Francesco Toldo, has done a great job.'

The demise of Frank Rijkaard's side means that neither Holland's orange or Portugal's red are the in-colours. Take your pick from the shades of blue and relish the styles of France and Italy.

Roger Lemerre's side, at their best, play fantasy football while Zoff's, though laden with skill, are so regimented they could turn out in battle dress.

'If anybody could have beaten Holland with only ten men, it was them,' Brown remarked. 'They were so disciplined. Holland should have won - they had two penalties - but Italy deserved it because of the way they stuck to their task.'

France didn't have quite the same stresses to endure in the other semi-final, against Portugal, although it took them until three minutes from the end of extra time to get the contentious penalty which both assured their progress and provoked an outrageously embittered response by their opponents.

Indiscipline has no place in the tournament's showpiece. Referee Anders Frisk deserves to enjoy tomorrow's occasion as much as the winning set of players.

'Italy, their strength in defence apart, are good from middle to front,' Brown mused. 'Stefano Fiore has been a revelation and Francesco Totti has done brilliantly. France are a team without a failing.

'Zidane has been magnificent. They have these lightning strikers in Thierry Henry, Nicholas Anelka and David Trezeguet, not to mention Sylvain Wiltord, who does well.'

But what hope the Italians allowing Zidane, whom they know so well from club football, to play in peace? Scotland's manager said: 'They didn't mark Dennis Bergkamp that closely last night and mightn't do so with him, either.

'It could be a case of a couple of their midfielders, Demetrio Albertini and possibly Luigi Di Biagio, sharing the responsibility of looking after him.'

Holland and Portugal might contest the opinion that the two best teams are in opposition. What is unarguable, at least to this set of ears, is that the nations with the best anthems are in the Final.

So let the music commence. Then sit back and marvel at the quality of the football, as orchestrated by Zidane and others.