Alan Pardew: "I've really enjoyed this Euro 2012 tournament and one of the reasons is how open the games have been.
"A key reason has been the ball itself, which the players are clearly finding much better to control than the one used at the World Cup in South Africa.
"Several players told me that was a ball they never wanted to see again.
"It was simply too light, whereas this one seems just right.
"If you give a free-kick away close to goal you risk a strike like the one Andrea Pirlo hit over the wall for Italy against Croatia.
"There's also top delivery coming into the box, which is leading to so many headed goals.
"They're able to hit it with great accuracy and it benefits the attacking players."