Group of Life

The Group of Death was expected to be the tightest and cagiest of groups and in that sense it has disappointed. Last night's matches were superb entertainment. I was cursing local free-to-air TV for not showing Holland vs France. In the end I was cursing them for not showing both games.

Italy vs Romania was one of the most thrilling games I have watched in recent times and the lack of goals did not take anything away from the spectacle of the game. Romania may not have created as much as Italy but as soon as Mirel Radoi was substituted for Nicolae Dica, the game opened up. Adrian Mutu showed great predatory instincts when he latched onto Gianluca Zambrotta's poor headed backpass and finished superbly into the roof of the net. Romania's joy was shortlived however as poor defending at a corner gave Christian Panucci the easiest task of tapping in from 2 yards out. The rest of the game was thrilling end to end stuff, with Romania committing men forward to knock out the Italians and them doing the same to stay in the tournament. Luca Toni was unplayable at times, the giant striker using his strength to create openings for himself and his goal was unfortunately ruled out on the stroke of half time. The penalty Italy conceded was a bit dubious, but as a neutral, anything goes for the underdog. However, Mutu's penalty was poor and Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a save that kept Italy in Euro 08. His world came crashing down on him and you could clearly see that he couldn't continue playing as he was mentally crushed. As Romania's talisman he should have been stronger than that. Who else would lead the line for Romania once he left the field? Certainly not his replacement. He must show greater character on the pitch in the next game against the Dutch. Although his character may be suspect, his attitude certainly isn't. He stepped onto the field after the game to congratulate Buffon on saving his penalty which was a great show of sportsmanship, an acknowledgement of a great save. Romania will need no motivation in their final game as they know victory will send them through. With the Dutch likely to rest some of their top stars, Romania progressing to the last 8 is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Holland vs France was another fabulous game of attacking football. Mostly from the Dutch. Yet again the French were disappointing. Their run to the final of the last World Cup only highlighted the importance of Zinedine Zidane. Since he retired, the team has struggled without him, and there is no doubt that if Zidane did not come out of retirement for the World Cup, France would not have got as far as they did. Holland linked up effortlessly and the scoreline did not flatter them, with Wesley Sneijder's goal the pick of the bunch for the Dutch again. They were a class apart from the French. Apart from Thierry Henry's cute finish they did not pose much of a threat to the Dutch defense. Experience counted for little in this match and the Dutch underlined their credentials as serious tournament contenders. Then again the Czechs were favourites for Euro 04, having played some similarly scintillating football, only to be knocked out by a Greek suckerpunch. They will have to guard against complacency but they can bask in glory of having handed both World Cup finalists their worst defeats in European Championship history. Having qualified for the quarterfinals, topping their group in the process, expect them to rest a few regulars and give some of the fringe players a run out in their final game. That can only be good news for Romania and neutrals such as myself. Every tournament needs a shock result and I'm hoping that this will be it. Certainly this would rank as Romania's greatest footballing achievement. They managed to qualify from a group containing Portugal, England and Germany at Euro 2000 and this will certainly give them hope in their attempt to emulate their achievements of 8 years ago. Even if they lose against the Dutch, they could still go through if Italy draw against France, as long as they don't concede more goals than Italy and France did against the Dutch. One thing is for sure, the conclusion to the Group of Death is not one to be missed. Come on Romania!

Wesley Sneijder putting victory in perspective - "This is just superb – six points after two games. Italy and France are not the smallest teams."

Victor Piţurcă on Mutu's crap penalty - "He didn't miss – it was Buffon who made a great save."
And another philosophical gem from Piţurcă - "Penalties have been missed, are missed, and always will be missed."

Raymond Domenech suspecting a conspiracy theory - "The Dutch have six points and I am convinced they won't play the same players."

Marco van Basten playing down his teams strengths - "We can defend quite well and we have an excellent goalkeeper and, one way or the other, we stopped their attackers. We have astute, intelligent players in midfield and excellent players in attack."