EURO 2008 Final watch : Germany vs Spain : Review

After a long 22 day tournament we were down to the final.The stage which decides who will life the Trophy and get their name added in history books or part of Wikipedia.
Ballack was doubtful for the final with a calf strain but didn't show any traces of it once the game started.
When the team formations were laid out,I thought this game would have a cramped midfield but I was proven wrong when there was open play for major parts of the 90minutes.In the beginning 10minutes,Germany looked the more favourable to score first when Sergio Ramos' weak ball back to Puyol found Klose who didn't have the clinical finish or touch to create anything,although it was a good defensive challenge by Puyol.
Spain on the other hand weren't the team they were against Russia when Villa was substituted.That team had a flow and smoothness about it but here they were attempting to make chances with a lone striker up front in the form of Torres who was using his strength and pace excellently.
Iniesta drew the first save from Lehmann when his low cross deflected through Metzelder and needed quick reflex save from former Arsenal man.
In a few minutes,Torres leaped and connected with a cross from Ramos only to be denied by the post.
He wasn't going to miss in the 33rd minute when he took cheetah type strides to cut across a covering Lahm and an approaching Lehmann and chipped the ball over the keeper in the left side of the goal to put Spain 1 Germany 0.In my view,Lehmann didn't need to come out that far for the ball anyway.
[Torres goal video]
Germany had a bit of a bother when Ballack collided with Senna and needed treatment near his eye as blood gashed out.
David Silva missed a fantastic opportunity when his volley went wildly over the top after Iniesta's cross which found the Valencia man open in the box.
Even an attacking change at half time by Germany wasn't able to stop Spain's dominance.They had bit of a scare when Ballack's volley went a few inches wide of the Spanish goal with Casillas stretching as much as he could.
Spain were still dominant even with vast majority of the possession falling to Germany as the shots weren't on target,if there were any shots for that matter.
David Silva was lucky to be still on the pitch when he head butted Podolski in the eye when both players came face to face over a speculative bad challenge.
Ramos should have doubled the Spanish lead when his header was saved fabulously by Lehmann from point blank range when he beat the offside trap on a Xavi free kick.
This 2-3minute period created many chances for Spain where a Iniesta effort was cleared off the line and then another saved by Lehmann.
In the 80th minute a golden opportunity was presented to Spain but once again they couldn't kill the game once and for all when a Guiza header down in the path of Senna wasn't connected with as the chance went waste.
Spain weren't made to pay for the wasted chances in front of goal as they didn't have anything to defend in the back of goal as Kuranyi and Gomez were brought on as substitutes but couldn't provide an equaliser.
Spain were the champions of Europe.The underdogs had finally delivered and after a wait of 44years they had clinched the European Championship.The young side showed how they could be put down on the squad for 2010 world cup as well.Spain were the second team after France in 1984 to win the tournament without losing a single game.Casillas was the first keeper captain to lift the trophy.
Spain deserved the victory and they deserved the "Euro Champions" accolade.

Euro 2008 Final in Pictures

These are a few pictures I found.
Enjoy :D

Euro 2008 Final Watch : Germany vs Spain : Preview

So there are around 8 hours left for the big finale.
Germany and Spain go head to head for the coveted European Championship 2008 in Vienna,Austria.
Germany have been the biggest achievers in international football with 3 titles and 2 runners up finishes whereas Spain have been the biggest underachievers with only a single Euro cup to boast of in 1964.
Germany haven't been convincing enough in this tournament with no back to back great performances but they got the results eventually,which is what matters in the end.
Spain on the other hand have been remarkable with possession of the ball and attacking play,only team to not have lost a game and conceded only three goals.
Germany might play without influential figure of Michael Ballack and Spain do not have their top scorer David Villa who suffered an injury in the game against Russia and would only watch the game from the bench.
Frings has also returned to the German team after an injury worry.
Spain are believed to be bookies choice and the favourites but then again in football you can't write someone off(read Greece beat Portugal,Euro 2004).
Hope the game is open and interesting.

Euro 2008 Final watch : Run up to the final

GERMANY
Group B
Poland : 2-0
Croatia: 1-2
Austria: 1-0

Quarter Finals
Portugal:3-2

Semi Finals
Turkey:3-2

Total goals scored : 10

Total goals conceded : 6

Top goalscorer : Lukas Podolski(3)

Fact : Germany have conceded 2 goals apiece in the 16-30th minute and 75th-90th minute,which is either conceding a quick goal or conceding in the closing stages.

Discipline : First player to have been sent off in the championship in the form of Bastian Schweinsteiger.


Spain
Group D
Russia:4-1
Sweden:2-1
Greece:2-1

Quarter Finals
Italy:0-0(4-2 on penalties)

Semi Finals
Russia:3-0

Total Goals scored: 11

Total Goals conceded: 3

Fact : They haven't lost a single game in the championship and have a fabulous 82% passes completed.

Top goalscorer: David Villa(4)

Discipline: 6 yellow cards but no red card.

Euro 2008 Final Watch : Referee

Italian referee Roberto Rosetti will be the man in the middle for the final game of the Euro 2008.

This 40year old hospital director will have the whistle in his mouth and would most certainly have to take tough decisions when the play starts in a few hours from now.
Refereeing since 1983 and for professional football in Serie A since 1996.Received the FIFA badge in 2002.
Most famously,he refereed the semi-final game between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge thus earning the praise of several UK tabloids.
He has previously refereed the World Cup in 2006 where he had given out an average of 3.75 yellow cards a game but never has he given a red card.
In the current Euro 2008 he has been part of controversy only when he allowed two additional minutes in extra time in the game between Turkey and Croatia after Croatia had scored in the 119th minute for Turkey to score in the 122nd minute,thus going to penalties which Croatia lost in.
Hope the play goes on smoothly as he has always done.

Euro 2008 - Review Compilation

This is the review compilation by ITV which I found thanks to friends at Soccerpulse.
Enjoy!

Euro 2008 Review Compilation

UEFA EURO 2008 Final : Stadium

As we build up and look forward to the final which is to start in around 8hours time.Let's have a look at the stadium,the venue of the final.


Name : Ernst Happel Stadion

Where : Vienna,Austria

Date : 29 July, 2008

Time : 19:45(GMT)




Ernst Happel Stadion lies in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna,Austria.It was constructed between 1929 and 1931 by a design from a German.Named after an Austrian player and coach,Ernst Happel following his death in 1922.
It is the largest football stadium in Austria with a seating capacity of nearly 53,000.Used only for UEFA Champions League finals and UEFA Cup and also for major domestic finals.It is rated as 5 star stadium as per UEFA's listing which puts it amongst the elite stadiums like Nou Camp and Old Trafford.The record for attendance is for a national game against USSR in 1960 with 92,706 fans.
Notable games include,1995 Champions League final and 1990 European Championship(now Champions League)final.



In Euro 2008,it has so far staged 6 games(3 group games,2 quarter finals and 1 semi final).Attendance so far has been 3,05,140 and there have been only 9 goals scored,along with the very boring Spain vs Italy "clash".


Hope there are goals scored in Vienna tomorrow.

UEFA fines Croatia

UEFA has fined Croatia for racism.

UEFA has fined Croatian Football Federation 10,000 pounds following racist banners and showing racist conduct in their game against Turkey.
The federation had 3 days to appeal but they didn't make any and have been fined following it.Croatia lost that game 1-1 and then 3-1 on penalties.

Euro 2008 : Best Goals

These are the best goals as per UEFA's Euro 2008 website.
Pick your favorite!

Philipp Lahm(Germany vs Turkey ; 3-2)

Philipp Lahm scores the winner for Germany and they seal their place in the finals.This great build up goal which split the Turkish defense and the finish was excellent.After this Lahm could play as a midfielder or a forward for that matter!
[VIDEO]

Roman Pavlyuchenko(Russia vs Netherlands ; 1-0)
Pavlyuchenko opens the scoring for the Russian's with a very vital goal which puts the pressure on a dutch side which was in a dominant mood as per their group stage performance but all that was shattered by Russia as this youngsters first time volley goes in the back of the net beating Edwin Van der Sar.
[VIDEO]

Bastian Schweinsteiger(Germany vs Portugal ; 1-0)

Schweinsteiger received a red card in the previous game against Croatia which they lost and he had a debt to pay as per their manager,Joachim Low.He repaid in a glorious fashion with a run in the box to slide in to Podolski's great one touch play cross and score the first against Portugal.
[VIDEO]

Michael Ballack(Germany vs Austria ; 1-0)
Germany needed a single point to secure qualification in this last encounter of Group B,although Germany were out with a point to prove after their loss to Croatia.This thunderbolt was the only goal of the game and got the 3 points that Germany deserved.Unstoppable this!
[VIDEO]

Nihat Kahveci(Turkey vs Czech Republic ; 3-2)
Last game of the group stages,2-0 down and then you somehow recover and reach 2-2 but the game is not over yet,the comeback isn't complete.Step up,Nihat Kahveci.Turkey needed to win this game to progress to the quarter finals and they did so in an astonishing fashion.With a nicely slid pass to the forward who curls the ball on the right hand corner of the goal which wasn't stoppable even by Cech's standards.
[VIDEO]

Wesley Sneijder(Netherlands vs France ; 4-1)
Netherlands had a great game against Italy where they were fabulous and deserved their 3-0 victory.This was against France.Sneijder picks up the ball around the box and cooly on the top right hand side which needed help from the crossbar but a great goal,none the less.
[VIDEO]

Robin Van Persie(Netherlands vs France ; 2-0)
Another great counter attack move which was helped by Ruud Van Nistelrooy's great skill to prevent the ball from going out which sent Robben down the left whose cross found an open Van Persie in the box,finish wasn't as great but the shot was far too hard for Coupet to hold on to.
[VIDEO]

Zlatan Ibrahimovich(Sweden vs Greece ; 1-0)
The first game of the group and you were expecting more from Sweden(am not so sure about your expectations from Greece) but there was no score until the 67th minute when Ibrahimovich cracked this "whip" from outside the box.Unstoppable!
[VIDEO]

David Villa(Spain vs Russia ; 3-0)
Spain were cruising 2-0 in their first game of the tournament.They had outclassed the Gus Hiddink side and Villa had got two goals so far.After a quick break from their penalty box,Barcelona's Iniesta released Villa who slid the ball low in the back of the net.
[VIDEO]

Wesley Sneijder(Netherlands vs Italy ; 2-0)
After a quick counter attack movement,initiated by Van Bronkhorst who cleared the ball from his goal line and then ran across from a Van der Vaart ball and sent a long cross to Dirk Kuyt who played a cushion header for Wesley Sneijder who completed a great move by tucking the ball in behind Buffon in a narrow gap.
[VIDEO]



In my view,some goals are missing from this list.Like David Villa's goal against Sweden which wasn't an easy finish or Robben's little strike in a little space against France.Any other that come to your mind?Have your say!

Aragones new Fenerbahce coach?NO?

Spain's national team coach,Luis Aragones has been named as the new Fenerbahce manager.


The confusing part is that the Turkish clubs' official website claims the appointment but the man himself denied having signed any new deal.However,he looks set to join the club after Zico left his post as a new contract couldn't be agreed to.The contract is expected to be of two years.

Spain are currently preparing for their semi final clash with Russia.

Austria coach resigns

Austria's coach at Euro 2008,Josef Hickersberger has resigned from his post following their early exit.


Austria were the host nation along with Switzerland and didn't make it beyond the group stages.They finished third in the table and failed to win a single game.He has notified the Football Association's president on the issue.
He had this to say,

"I am empty and tired, I need a time off to recharge the batteries. Chapter closed, mission accomplished,"

Van der Sar says Doei!

Following Netherlands' 3-1[AET] loss to Russia goalkeeper Edwin van Der Sar has bid goodbye to international football.


He earned a record 128th cap for the men in Orange.After the game he didn't make excuses on the loss and like a true sportsman acknowledged that the other team was better and they didn't make much of the chances that were presented to them.He has been part of quarter finals and semi finals but has never won a final or reached a final for that matter.He looks set to continue his club career with Manchester United where he played a huge role in their Champions League victory on penalties to Chelsea.He also claimed Netherlands could have won had the game gone into penalties but that wasn't the case.


At the age of 37 and still playing,that's a great achievement for any player but to be as quick and fragile as Van der Sar is,it's just commendable.

Nihat to miss Euro 2008

Villareal player and Turkey's star striker,Nihat Kahveci is set to return home following a thigh injury in the Croatia game.


He scored two goals in the tournament against Czech Republic in a game which they needed to win to progress to the next stage.
The news is a major blow to the Turks who already have a depleted squad which is aggravating from injuries and suspensions.They had 15 players to choose from in the Croatia game but that count has worsened now with 3 more suspensions.
Goalkeeper,Demirel would find out tomorrow on his two match ban red card appeal.
UEFA may be asked to call up more players following Turkey's woes but as of now there has been no appeal,UEFA have confirmed.
One positive news is that Mehmet Aurelio has returned from suspension and is available for the clash against Germany.

Van Basten vs Gus Hiddink

Tonight Russia and Netherlands go head to head in their quarter final clash.It is more the clash of the managers than of the players.


Dutch have been the most promising and "eye candied" team so far in the tournament with 3 wins out of 3 in their group of "death".On the other hand Russia weren't that good enough in their first encounter but have looked solid thereafter especially in the game against Sweden which was must win to progress to the quarter finals.


Let's start with the Dutch coach Marco Van Basten.
Born in Utrecht and started playing at the age of seven.
He has played for dutch club Ajax and AC Milan in Italy.Regarded as one of the best forwards of his time with 277 goals in his career which was cut short by injuries.Awarded the European player of the year in 1988,1989 and 1992 and FIFA Player of the year in 1992.Voted 8th by a French magazine as the Player of the century.Scored 37 goals in 26 matches in 1985-86 in the dutch league winning him the European golden boot in that year.
In the Euro 88 he scored 5 goals with a hat-trick against England,winning goal against West Germany in the semi finals and a spectacular volley against the Soviet Union in finals which won Netherlands the Euro 1988.
In Euro 92,Dutch team reached the semi finals only to lose out to the Danes where Van Basten's penalty was saved by Peter Schmeichel.
He won 3 European titles when with Milan an accolade he shares with Cryuff and Platini.
His career was then plagued by knee injuries which kept him out of action for a long period of time as he announced retirement from playing career in 1995 and he played his last game as a Milan player against Marseille in the Champions league which they ultimately lost.


He had however said he won't take up any management job but he went U-turn on his word and become assistant manager at Ajax's second team in 2003-04.In June 2004 he was named as the Dutch national teams' manager.He showed how the youngsters were the ray of hope as he dropped Seedorf,Kluivert,Davids and Makay amd dropped Van Bommel from the team.
Under him the dutch didn't lose a game in the world cup qualification and lost out in the last 16 to Portugal.He was strongly criticized for not picking Van Nistelrooy and instead opting for Dirk Kuyt who didn't score a goal throughout the tournament.He ended his dispute with Van Nistelrooy in May 2007 as he was included in the dutch squad.He is to take up the manager job at Ajax after this Euro 2008.


Now to the other great manager,Gus Hiddink who is claimed to be the biggest tactician the game has ever seen.


Hiddink doesn't really have a great playing career to boast of as he played for the dutch club De Graafschap and a one year stint at PSV Eindhoven but failing to win a permanent position he returned to De Graafschap.He then played for North American Soccer League(MLS now) teams such as Washington Diplomats and San Jose Earthquakes.He rejoined De Graafschap in 1981 and retired a year later as a midfielder.


Started his managerial career at the team he still supports and had played for,De Graafschap.He then was the assistant manager at PSV Eindhoven before being appointed as manager in 1987 and won the European Cup(now Champions League) and affirmed the club as one of the "big three" in Holland after Ajax and Feyenoord.He then won three consecutive dutch titles from 1987 till 1990.
He then managed Turkish side Fenerbahce for a year before moving to Spain and having impressed the Spanish league with his attacking style of play.
His biggest challenge seemed to be managing the Dutch nation side in 1995 which was plagued by continual arguments and internal disruptions.He famously sent home Edgar Davids after an argument.The dutch were the most fluent team in the 1998 world cup but lost out on the cruelest form of decision making,penalties to Brazil in the semi finals.
He then was the manager of Real Madrid but was sacked following a league slump and took over the reigns of Real Betis in 2000.
His next appointment is the biggest inspirational decision ever when he agreed to take over the command of the South Korean national team.Although history was against his decision as South Korea had been part of 5 previous world cups and had failed to win even a single match.In the 2002 world cup which was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan they reached the semi finals only to be stopped by Germany who later lost to Brazil in the final.In the lead up they defeated teams such as Poland,Portugal,Italy after a 2-1 extra time victory,Spain on penalties.
He took over at PSV and took them to the semi finals of the Champions league in 2003-04.He also won the dutch title in 2005 and lost in finals of the dutch cup to Ajax in 1996.
He took over the managerial position for the Australian National team("Socceroos") and still remained the manager of PSV which was allowed under his contract.He took Australia to World cup in 32 years when they qualified for the 2006 world cup on penalties against Uruguay.
In the 2002 world cup,Australia beat Japan 3-1 to win their first world cup game ever and score goals too.They then lost to Brazil and managed a draw with Croatia which was marred by controversy following the three yellow card to same player incident.They then lost 1-0 to Italy in another controversial match where Italy scored from a penalty.This saw Australia's exit from the world cup and end of his tenure as Australia's manager.
He then took over for Russia and had a difficult time as they qualified for Euro 2008 only after Croatia defeated England and Russia beating Andorra was the qualification achieved.
He had recently been linked to the Chelsea managerial post which was later filled by Scolari.
He has a 58% win record with all the national teams he has managed so far with 54 wins in 93 games.



Both managers make for great coaches and play attractive football.Let's see who triumphs tonight!

Trio retire from Les Bleus

After the loss to Italy in the final game of Euro 2008,French trio of Sagnol,Thuram and Makelele have said "Au Revoir" to international game.


France went down to Italy 2-0 in Zurich and failed to progress to the next stage in the group of death with a disppointing campaign which saw 1 goal scored and 6 conceded for the French side who lacked the cutting edge to win at the highest level.
Of the three players only Makelele took to the field in the final game with the other two only to find comfortable space on the bench.


Thuram is out of contract after he was released from Barcelona.Sagnol didn't have a great season with German champions,Bayern Munich.Makelele is currently under contract at Chelsea.


Patrick Viera and Gregory Coupet had also considered retirement but have said nothing to confirm the reports,yet.Patrick Viera failed to take to the field in any of the games due to injury.
What next for the Les Bleus would be interesting..

Viera out of crunch game

French influential midfielder Patrick Viera has been ruled out for the final game of the group stages as well.


The game is of great priority to France,currently with 1 point and they have to get all 3 points with Italy on 1 point and Romania with 2 to be sure of succeeding to reach quarter finals only if Romania falter.
Will France be able to get all 3 points and will Netherlands field a full strength side,that still remains to be seen.

Match 17 : Turkey vs Czech Republic : Report

Last game of the group A and the matches to be played simultaneously.Portugal had already qualified for the group stages,Switzerland were out of contention with two defeats in the first two games.It was down to these two teams to battle it out for the second spot and to face Croatia,winners of Group B in the quarter finals in Vienna.
Possibilities of penalties were there upon as if it was all square after 90 minutes.Czech's started without Milan Baros up front.They were also with a better head-to-head record(3 wins in 4 games) against the Turks.
So lets get down to the game.


A game with 7 yellow cards and one red card,you would imagine it was a dirty and sluggish affair with both teams playing anything but a pretty game.Then,you're WRONG!
Yes you would be totally,absolutely,completely wrong to think that about THIS game.
Czech's opened the scoring through the gigantic Koller,who I think is worse than Crouch with his feet.He headed in a perfectly placed ball from the right only to beat a desperate dive by the Demirel.Czech Republic 1 Turkey 0 in the 34th minute.
[VIDEO]
Going into halftime Czech Republic were the dominant force against a defensive Turkey team who had very little if at all any shots on the target.

The second half opened with both teams desperate to get the advantage after some very inspiring talks from the managers.
Although it was Plasil who looked the hungrier of the players when he ran past a defender to slot the ball in after a cross from the right went over the head of Koller and was very hard for the keeper to save.Czech Republic 2 Turkey 0.
[VIDEO]
It was 2-0 and the Czech's had become hungry to get the third to shut the game off once and for all.Also with 75minutes gone and a two goal lead it would only be a miracle to comeback and get at least two goals to go into penalties.This two goal cushion also unsettled the Czech defense who looked shaky now with constant attacks from Turkey coming majorly from the right flank after good build up play amongst the wingers.
Turkey pulled one back through Turan in the 75th minute with a great pull back in the box with a side foot finish past a diving Cech who could have done a better job.Czech Republic 2 Turkey 1.
[VIDEO]
The clock read 87 minutes,the scoreline read Czech Republic 2 Turkey 1,only three more minutes for the Czech's to hang on.It was pouring in Geneva.Pouring but that didn't stop the Turks from another attack and another ball into the box from the right,no one but Nihat in the box.Good enough height for Cech to come out and take control of the situation and maybe dive in and waste a few seconds.But he spills it and it falls into Nihat's right foot.He wasn't going to miss that!Woeful handling by one of the best goalkeepers in the world.Agreed a wet ball but that should have been an easy catch. Czech Republic 2 Turkey 2.
[VIDEO]
Surprise Surprise! The word PENALTY was repeated often now.But that word didn't last long.The 89th minute,defensive lapse from the Czech's and Nihat scores the third for the Turks,fifth of the game and his second of the night.Great finish.Not even close to being offside.This goal is a must see by the way.Czech Republic 2 Turkey 3!!
[VIDEO]
There were some horrible scenes at the end though when the Turkish goalkeeper Demirel was sent off after a push to Koller.This means he would miss the next game and this would be a great blow to Turkey.As of right now,they need to celebrate the entry into the quarterfinals after an astounding comeback.The best game of the tournament so far,only beating the Netherlands' games by a little margin.One of the best games of European Championships,EVER!

Match 15 : Spain vs Sweden : Report

In the previous round of matches in Group D,Spain had a fantastic 4-1 win over Russia with an emphatic hat-trick from David Villa.Sweden on the other hand were 2-0 winners over Greece in a not so convincing fashion.
This was supposed to be the match for the group,of even teams.Although I don't think it lived up to the billing.It wasn't easy going or smooth as was expected from Spain.Sweden weren't as attacking as they should have been.Spain's leaky defense was made visible and also expectations from them to lift the title were reduced considerably with a shaky performance.


Spain took lead through Torres in the 15th minute after a training ground worked corner move with Silva's cross finding Torres to footed the ball in.Spain up 1-0.
[VIDEO]

Sweden were able to equalise through Ibrahimovich in the 34th minute after woeful defending from Sergio Ramos,although I think Casillas could have done a tad better too but Ramos should get the major portion of the blame for the goal as he wasn't able to contain the Juventus man.
[VIDEO]
Sweden looked formidable in the defense with former Aston Villa player,now Juventus bound Melberg.The Swedish defense contained the attacking forces of Villa,Torres,Xavi,Iniesta and co.
Fabregas was brought on to change things but the Swedish defense wasn't bothered.Larsson looked innovative and hungry for ball throughout the game.

You know how they say,"Its not over until its over!" or in Swedish "det er icke på över till den er över" Sweden would be very much aware of this phrase after Villa scored in the 93rd minute just as the referee had the whistle in his mouth to blow when the ball becomes dead or not in an attacking position.Villa completed a cool but not so easy finish to win it for Spain and sink hearts for Sweden players,coaches and fans everywhere.
[VIDEO]

Spain are now top with 6points and are through to the quarter finals.The final round of matches will decide the second team from this group.

Match 14 : Netherlands vs France : Report

From round 1,Netherlands had astoundingly beaten Italy and France had a rusty draw with Romania.Two changes for France with Henry coming in instead of Benzema and Anelka and Patrice Evra in the defence.
Netherlands started off with great speed and were up in the 10th minute with a goal from Kuyt who headed the ball in from a corner.
[VIDEO]
Van Basten's attack minded substitution was made visible when he replaced a defensive midfielder Engelaar with Robben who is more of attack minded and dazzling midfielder with immaculate ball control.
The change reflected in the 59th minute when a great skill to save the ball by Van Nistelrooy from going out fell to Robben who ran from the left to square the ball for Van Persie to finish,another fast break from the Dutch and another goal.France,where is the defense?
[VIDEO]
France got a lifeline with Thiery Henry's lightest of touches to get France back in the game.France score the first of the campaign,Netherlands concede their first too.
[VIDEO]
Game kicks off.Holland start after a shaky defensive lapse.2-1 reads the scoreline.France fans wait for another inspirational run from Ribery or a run from Henry beating the offside trap to square the game but that doesn't happen.Holland score from a fantastic one touch play as Robben scores from the smallest of gaps possible,blame the defenders?or the keeper,Coupet?Holland up 3-1.Contender for goal of the tournament too.
[VIDEO]
Icing on the cake was provided by Sneijder's 90th minute goal.Holland win 4-1.
[VIDEO]
Holland advance from the group of death in two games and have sounded the warning alarm to all other teams.3-0 to world champions,Italy.4-1 to 2000winners,France.
Romania,be afraid,be very afraid!

Match 13 : Italy vs Romania : Report

Group C,Round two.
From the previous round,Italy had lost to Netherlands and Romania had a horribly boring game with France which ended in a draw.So both teams were out to get full points to get a lead in the group of "death".
Italy manager,Donadoni was blasted for his starting 11 against Netherlands and had 5changes for the second game with Del Piero starting along with Toni.
Italy looked the better of the two teams going into the game and then at half time with a goal by Toni ruled offside when it clearly wasn't.Poor decision by the referee to deny Italy the goal.
[VIDEO]
In the 55th minute Italy's defensive laps was made visible when Zambrotta tried to head the ball towards Buffon only to be intercepted by Mutu who completed a great finish to give Romania the undeserved lead.
[VIDEO].
Italy looked like they were going to score and they did.Only a minute after Romania's goal,Panucci equalised for Italy with a simple but necessary tap in.
[VIDEO]
In the 81st minute,Panucci did a wrestling tackle which many wrestlers would have been proud of by bringing down Niculae.Mutu stepped up to take the penalty only to be fabulously saved by Buffon.Romania could have sunk the ship for the Italians but have been saved by Mutu's not so great penalty and Buffon's save.
[VIDEO]
Italy,world champions,down and out?possibly?