Euro 2008 Recap--Day 3

It's fair to say that the third day of Euro 2008 didn't necessarily provide us with entertaining soccer for the duration of both games (certainly not in the first one), but the results of those games were perhaps the most unexpected of the tournament so far. The favorites had won each of the previous four games in the competition, a trend that didn't continue today.

You could've slept through the Romania-France game, which ended 0-0, and not missed anything. France had two decent chances all game, both to Karim Benzema from outside the 18-yard box, and the Lyon striker missed well wide on one and sent a weak dribbler to Romanian goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonţ on the other. Those poor efforts capped a very mediocre (at best) game for Benzema, and his strike partner, Nicholas Anelka, was invisible for large chunks of the match before being taken off in the 72nd minute, six minutes before Benzema was also replaced. France clearly missed Thierry Henry up front, a player with plenty of pace and creativity to stretch the stout Romanian defense, but also someone who would undoubtedly bury one of the half-chances mucked up by Benzema.

Florent Malouda and Franck Ribery looked lively at times, but those times were few and far between. Too often they looked content to play the ball back into the middle instead of running at the Romanian full-backs one-on-one and trying to get to the endline.

Malouda and Ribery's play was a microcosm of France's performance -- too conservative, too afraid to send numbers forward, and too willing to play not to lose instead of playing to win. If the object of the game was to see how many short, square passes a team could complete, France certainly would've won, but that isn't the case.

To be fair, Romania weren't exactly world-beaters on the attacking end either, but they did at least make a concerted effort to test the aging French defenders. The problem with that from Romania's point of view is that they don't have enough team speed to dribble by anyone, and the French back line are as solid as it comes in terms of their spacing and positioning to help one another out when necessary. They are also good at winning balls in the air, and that took away from the effectiveness of Romania's set pieces, their strength.

After about the 70th minute, Romania began to sit 9 and 10 men behind the ball in an effort to get out of there with a draw. The game ground to a standstill at that point, with Romania throwing up a wall 35 yards from their goal while letting France have all the possession they wanted outside of that range. When France lost control of the ball, Romania was happy to blast it back up the field and let a lone striker chase it down. They didn't record a single shot on goal (although they had three shots blocked), but France only put one shot on target so Romania accomplished what they set out to do -- take a positive result into their second game.

In the second match of the day, won 3-0 by Holland, Italy just didn't show up. Period. Italy didn't show up. Holland completely outclassed their opponent and deserved their victory beyond any shadow of a doubt.

It was the Oranje's first win over Italy in 30 years, and it marked an emphatic end to the Italian dominance over the low-lying nation. Ruud van Nistelrooy's cool one touch finish from close range put the Dutch ahead in the 26th minute (no, Andy Gray, he was not offside), and his teammate at Real Madrid, Wesley Snejider, finished off a brilliant counter-attack five minutes later with a high, side-footed tap-in past Gianluigi Buffon. Italy was fortunate to make it to halftime only down 2-0.

In the second half, Holland continued to put on the pressure and that allowed Italy to stay in the game. The Italians were able to generate a few chances when they caught Holland out on an attack, as they weren't content with their two-goal lead. Holland put the game away for good a little more than ten minutes before full time just after Andrea Pirlo's freekick was saved by Edwin van der Sar. The ensuing counter-attack led to a 3-on-3 for Holland. Dirk Kuyt, who also had a very good game, wound up with the ball in a dangerous position on the right side of the box. His perfectly weighted cross was slammed home by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, one of the last people you'd expect to score with his head.

Italy's age showed against the faster, more dynamic Dutch side, which Roberto Donadoni may have underestimated a little bit. He didn't make any adjustments at halftime, either tactically or personnel-wise. He continued to use three central midfielders against a team that employed five midfielders and was geared around wing play. Italy had no answer for Kuyt and Snejider, and the previously little-known Orlando Engelaar had an excellent game from his holding role. Holland's back line, which had been criticized by many coming into this tournament (myself included) and labeled as the team's weakness, stifled Luca Toni all game long and Alessandro del Piero when he came in.

Holland is now in a great position atop the group, and conversely Italy is at the bottom and looking up. The Italians do have one positive to take out of today's action -- France drew with Romania, leaving Italy with just a point to make up to advance.

Group C Standings (after one game):
1. Holland (3 points, +3 goal differential)
2. Romania (1 pt, 0)
3. France (1 pt, 0)
4. Italy (0 pts, -3)

Group D finally opens up play tomorrow, with Spain taking on Russia in the early game, followed by defending champion Greece against Sweden. Look for Spain to try and make a statement to the other three teams that they are the side to beat in this group, and that those other teams will be fighting it out for second place at best.

Euro 2008 Preview--Group C (Part 1)

As I said yesterday, today's plan goes like this: this preview (France and Holland), the final rosters for the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Turkey (Group A) all in one post, the final rosters for Austria, Germany, and Poland (Group B) in another post, the final rosters for France, Italy, and Romania (Group C) in another post, and then lastly, the second part of the Group C preview (Italy and Romania). Remember, Portugal, Croatia, Holland, Greece, Russia, Sweden, and Spain already announced their squads, so you can scroll down the homepage to find those.

Let's get started by taking a look at the match schedule for Group C (all times Eastern):

June 9:
Romania vs. France (Noon; Letzigrund Stadion, Zürich)
Holland vs. Italy (2:45; Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Berne)

June 13:
Italy vs. Romania (Noon; Letzigrund Stadion, Zürich)
Holland vs. France (2:45; Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Berne)

June 17:
Holland vs. Romania (2:45; Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Berne)
France vs. Italy (2:45; Letzigrund Stadion, Zürich)

France:

Defeated by Italy on PK's in the 2006 World Cup final, France will be hungrier than ever to get some payback for that disappointment by beating the Azzurri in the final game of the group stage.

Before they get to that match, though, France has a lot of work to do to put themselves in a position to advance to the quarterfinals and beyond, as both Holland and Romania will provide stiff competition this summer. Raymond Domenech's team finished three points behind Italy in qualifying for this tournament, although France took four of six points in the two games. There are certainly no easy games in this group, but France's best opportunity to win, at least on paper, seemingly comes in their first game against Romania.

Domenech's 23-man roster looks very similar to what we've seen in recent years, and it really wasn't a surprise when striker David Trézéguet wasn't included. While there is no denying his talent, Trézéguet and Domenech have often bumped heads (and egos) and with the emergence of Lyon's Karim Benzema, Trézéguet was viewed as unnecessary. Also not included was Louis Saha, who had an injury-plagued season at Manchester United.

In goal, Grégory Coupet will finally get a chance to prove himself on a big stage as Fabien Barthez stepped aside after the World Cup. Directly ahead of Coupet, William Gallas and Lilian Thuram headline a great back line, with either Éric Abidal or the hard-charging Patrice Evra at left back and Willy Sagnol on the right. The two stalwart defensive midfielders, Claude Makélélé and Patrick Vieira, will take up their longstanding roles and could be playing their last truly meaningful games for France. Franck Ribéry has become an automatic first choice for Domenech on the wing, and opposite him will be Chelsea's Florent Malouda. Up front, Thierry Henry should partner Karim Benzema, though Nicholas Anelka can never be counted out. My guess is we'll see a 4-2-2-2, with Vieira and Makélélé both sitting back to allow Ribéry and Malouda to really push forward.

Holland:

As the traditional big dogs in their qualifying group, Holland made life exceedingly difficult for themselves by finishing second behind Romania, only one point ahead of third-place Bulgaria. Robin van Persie led the Oranje in goal scoring with 4, but that was good enough for only a sixth-place tie. As a team, they only managed 15 goals in 12 games despite playing in a group that featured several lightweights in Albania, Luxembourg, Belarus, and Slovenia.

Suffice it to say that the Dutch underperformed in qualifying. Coach Marco van Basten, who will be joining Ajax in the same capacity after this tournament, has made it a point to usher in a new era for the national team, choosing younger players over their more experienced, more decorated counterparts. This fresh blood is unproven at this level, and although there are several holdovers in this squad, most of whom will feature, it's hardly a time to experiment with a young group of players, especially in what is by far the toughest group of the competition. With that said, van Basten has a much better relationship with the young players, and there is something to be said for that instead of possible hostility between the coach and guys like Clarence Seedorf and Marc von Bommel.

In goal, the captain, Edwin van der Sar, is at the top of his game right now after winning both the Premiership and Champions League at Manchester United. He'll need to come up large because his back line, the traditional weak link of the Dutch national team, is very uninspiring once again.

Only six defenders were included on the final roster, and as far as quality and ability goes, they are almost a wash. Wilfred Bouma had a great season at Aston Villa, playing a league-high 37 out of 38 league games, and he'll feature either at left back, where Tim de Cler plays, or in the center. John Heitinga also looks certain to start, and he can play in the center or on the right, which is Mario Melchiot's traditional position and he had a solid season at Wigan. André Ooijer has been a fixture in the middle, but Joris Mathijsen also is a natural center back. My guess? Melchiot on the right, Heitinga and Bouma in the center, and de Cler on the left, but the back line definitely is up in the air at this point.

In the midfield, van Basten has said recently that he's considering shifting to a 4-2-3-1 for this tournament instead of the 4-3-3 "total football" system typically employed by the Dutch. The breakdown of this squad by position would indicate a 4-3-3because there simply isn't enough quality in the defensive midfield slots to justify using two of them. If a 4-2-3-1 is used, expect to see Nigel de Jong and Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the holding roles, Rafael van der Vaart in the center, Wesley Snejider on one wing, and Robin van Persie on the other. If van Basten opts to go with the 4-3-3, which would be my pick, van der Vaart, Snejider, and van Bronckhorst would make up the midfield.

Up front, it again depends on the formation. Ruud van Nistelrooy is basically guaranteed the center forward position either way as he is still a few notches above Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. In the 4-2-3-1, van Nistelrooy would be by himself, but in the 4-3-3, Robin van Persie would play on one wing, with either Ryan Babel or more likely Arjen Robben on the other.

Holland's first two games are against France and Italy, so it's very likely that they'll need to beat Romania in the final group match to advance. In qualifying, only one goal was scored between both teams in their two games, with Romania taking four out of the six possible points.

Check back later on this afternoon for the second part of this Group C preview, which will feature Italy and Romania.

Holland's Euro 2008 Squad

Dutch coach Marco van Basten just announced his final 23-man roster, leaving ten nations needing to do the same before tomorrow's deadline. His last cut was former Chelsea and now Sevilla defender Khalid Boulahrouz.

As you'll see, it is loaded with attacking players that fit the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 "total football" system, but this emphasis on going forward has come at the price of not producing many quality defenders (aside from Jaap Stam).

GK (3): Edwin van der Sar* (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord)

DEF (6): Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa), André Ooijer (Blackburn), Mario Melchiot (Wigan), Tim de Cler (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Ajax), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg)

MID (7): Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Orlando Engelaar (FC Twente), Nigel de Jong and Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar)

FWD (7): Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben (Real Madrid), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic)

*Captain