Today’s games in Euro 2008 were a stark contrast to each other.
The first game of the day involved Romania vs France. There’s an old saying that watching paint dry is less boring than watching a 0-0 draw. Today was one of those days. France showed no attacking flair while the Romanians were quite prepared to get a point against the former world champions. The French have been hotly tipped to be tournament champions but even the likes of Ribery, Benzema and Gomis could not shake the determined and stalwart Romanian defense.
Final Score: Romania 0 – 0 France
Meanwhile the other game in the group of death involved Holland taking on Italy (World Champions). There are some games that you can show to young soccer players and coaches that they can learn from instantly, this was one of them. The Dutch taught Italy a masterclass in swift counter-attacking soccer, dominating the Italians from start to finish. Goals from Van Nistelrooy and Sneijder in the first half saw the Dutch go in to half-time two goals up. Many thought Italy would come out and put in a spirited performance, aside from a wonderful save from Van der Saar they never really got going and Van Bronckhorst put the game beyond doubt with a goal in the 80th minute. A fully deserved victory for Holland.
Final Score: Holland 3 – 0 Italy
