Using slots previously reserved in the calendar for meaningless friendlies and bloated qualification campaigns, and turning them into a simple to understand league system where nations play teams of similar strength and stature, the tournament looks to have gained general approval from players and coaches, not to mention fans and pundits.

An overly complicated connection to the qualification for Euro 2020 can be put aside for now, as the top four teams from League A play-off to become the first side to get their hands on the 71 centimetre tall sterling silver spiral shaped trophy.

Portugal take on Switzerland tomorrow at Estádio do Dragão in Porto, before Netherland and England face off at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães the following day.

Sunday (June 9) sees the third and fourth placed playoff in Guimarães earlier in the afternoon, before the final kicks-off in the evening in Porto. 

All four teams appear to be fairly evenly matched, although the side who on paper look to have the strongest all-round squad are The Netherlands.

Following the double humiliation of missing out on the newly-expanded Euro 2016, then the 2018 World Cup, Ronald Koeman's side seem to be on the road to recovery.

They reached the finals tournament in dramatic fashion from Group A – trailing 2-0 after 85 minutes away to already relegated Germany, two late goals saw them pull back to 2-2 and pip world champions France to top spot.

Netherlands appear to have strong talent all the way through the squad, starting with the centre back pairing of Virgil Van Dijk and Matthijs De Ligt, 

Van Dijk is fresh from an extraordinary season where he won Premier League player of the year and the Champions League trophy with Liverpool, while teenager De Ligt has a good claim to be the most in-demand player on the planet.

With soon-to-be Barcelona play maker Frenkie De Jong in midfield and revitalised Memphis Depay up front, Netherlands are bursting with natural ability - although their recent qualificaion failures mean they are untested together at tournament level.

That is not an accusation which can be levelled at Portugal, who forced their way to European champion status in 2016 seemingly by sheer force of Cristiano Ronaldo's will.

Ronaldo remains the talisman, but is now 34 and cannot carry this ageing team forever.

Fortunately for Portugal, a younger generation of flair attackers look to be blossoming, not least Bernardo Silva, who was instrumental in Manchester City retaining the English Premier League title.

One to watch is Benfica teenager João Félix who, despite being uncapped at international level, could use this stage to fling himself into the international spotlight.

Having earned the right to host the tournament after finishing above Italy and Poland in Group C, Portugal will look to use home advantage to fire themselves one further than when they last hosted a senior international tournament, Euro 2004.

Of the four finalists, Switzerland have less individual star power than other three nations but more than capable of causing an upset.

They picked up some thumping wins in Group B, starting by thrashing Iceland 6-0 in group and ending as they stunned Belgium 5-2 - having been 2-0 down after 17 minutes - to qualify; this is a side with huge goals potential.

Another Champions League winner, Xherdan Shaqiri, provides the main creative force, while Benfica striker Haris Seferovic is the attacking figurehead.

The main Swiss weakness appears to be defensive naivety – they drew 3-3 in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier with Denmark, despite leading 3-0 in the 84th minute – and a propensity to freeze on the big stage, as they did in their limp World Cup round of 16 loss to Sweden.

England, by contrast, remain invigorated by their encouraging World Cup campaign and surprise run to the semi-finals, which they built on with an impressive win in Spain and a victory comeback for revenge against Croatia - who beat them in the final four in Russia - to top Group D.

Manager Gareth Southgate's dedication to attacking football and promoting youth has largely won over skeptical media and jaded supporters, however, there is concern over the depth of top level talent available.

That could be exposed as many key players were involved in the Champions League final in Madrid just five days prior to facing Netherlands, including Harry Kane - who was neutralised by Van Dijk in that match - Dele Alli, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson.

However, Southgate can also call on skilful and pacy talents such as Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, making England as strong as any of the other three nations set to face off this week.