Sorting Out Group C

So here we sit, about an hour and a half from the final group stage matches in Group C. All we know is that the Netherlands will be moving on. Who would have thought we could see France and Italy eliminated today? And Romania, the team most overlooked in this group, is in decent position to indeed advance and knock out France and Italy. My opinion is that the way France and Italy have played to date merits their elimination. They are both great teams, but neither has truly shown it to this point. That is why today they will each have one more chance, this time against each other, to show why they deserve to move on. Romania will face a Dutch team that knows it is has secured their place, and will rest several key players. A Romania win will get them in, as would a draw if the France/Italy game also ends in a draw. With a Romania loss and a France/Italy draw, goal differential would come into play. As for France and Italy, either of them are eliminated with a loss, and a win or draw would have them checking the scoreboard to see what Romania does. Who do you think will wind up advancing? I will do my best to maintain updates on both games the best I can. I will be watching the France/Italy game and will offer a running commentary, and will insert updates on the other game as much as I can.

France vs Italy, Running Commentary:


Final: Italy has defeated France 2-0 behind goals from Pirlo and De Rossi to seal their place in the quarterfinals, combined with Romania's 2-0 loss. Italy finally gets a win and can look to build as the competition goes on, and the Netherlands continue to roll even without some starters, going 3-0 in the group stage with an impressive 9 goals for and only 1 against. Share your thoughts on these matches below. We have one day left to finish our quarterfinal brackets.

90th: 3 minutes of stoppage time to seperate us from the inevitable.

88th: GOAL: It's almost a certainty now, the Italians will be joining the Dutch as the top two in the "Group of Death" to move on. Netherlands has now gone ahead 2-0 on a Van Persie goal.

87th: Petre on for Nicolida as Romania makes one last hopeful push.

78th: Chivu has collected a yellow for Romania, the first card of that game.

74th: Buffon's fingertips keep Benzema from scoring.

72nd: Yellow card to Boumsong. Netherlands and Romania have not altered there scoreline, as Romania still stares at a 1-0 defecit. Dica on for Codrea to give Romania some fresh legs.

66th: Wow, Toni appeared to be in on goal and Evra ran him down with ease. Anelka on for Govou to try to spark France. Kuyt on for Arjen Robben in the other match.

62nd: GOAL: Italy goes ahead 2-0. De Rossi's free kick goes off Henry's foot and past Coupet. This may have closed the door on France, I think at this point there is a better chance of Romania scoring twice on the Dutch than France has of scoring two down a man here.

61st: Daniel Niculae in for Marius Niculae for Romania over in that game.

55th: Ambrosini on for Pirlo.

55th: The Netherlands have just scored a goal to take a 1-0 lead on Romania. Huntelaar is the goalscorer, and now things will be difficult for Romania, needing to score a goal and have France score a goal, or score 2 themselves.

54th: Yellow to Gattuso, who also will now have to sit alongside Pirlo if Italy does move on.

50th: We're back underway and Benzema just came close, firing a bit wide on a volley. Moments ago Govou picked up a yellow card.

Halftime: Netherlands and Romania are already into the halftime break, and the game is tied at 0-0. There have been no substitutions or yellow card so there is little to report there. The second may be more interesting as Romania will see Italy leading with a man advantage and realize a goal may be necessary. And we're at halftime for France and Italy as well, and France has managed to get through down only the one goal. Chiellini picked up a yellow in stoppage time as well. It will be interesting to see how their tactics will change for the second half. If the scores stand up through another 45, it would be Italy who advance.

44th: De Rossi with some nice work to earn Italy a dangerous set piece. Looks like Pirlo, maybe Grosso also. Wow, Grosso hits the far post, and France clears the ball. Now Pirlo gives a foul that earns him a yellow and a suspension for the next game if Italy does advance.

38th: Here's a dangerous free kick for France, good angle about 26 yards out. Benzema and Henry over it. It's Benzema but he hits the wall then fires wide on the rebound.

34th: Henry comes close dribbling in on the right and firing just wide of the far post.

30th: Toni is looking very dangerous now, can France make it to the half without conceding again? At this point Netherlands and Romania are still at 0-0.

26th: Inserted just 16 minutes ago, Nasri will come off before I get much of a look at him. With the red card to Abidal they needed another defender, and Boumsong is in.

25th: Pirlo to take it. GOAL: 1-0 Italy. Pirlo's spot kick is well taken to the upper left corner giving Coupet no chance. Can France recover or is this just what Italy needed to take control?

24th: Wow!!! Penalty!!! Abidal is sent off with a red card for being the last man back and taking down Luca Toni in the box. A light foul but definitely a foul, no choice for the ref there.

22nd: My apologies, forgot to mention it was Nasri who came on for the injured Ribery. I love the sub although I didn't expect it. Nasri is a great young player with some quality on the ball.

18th: Some back and forth play with neither team managing any real chances, through 18 minutes Romania and Netherlands remain deadlocked at zero as well. Patrice Evra being booked for a tackle on Cassano now.

12th: Interesting that we have a rematch of the World Cup Final without Zidane or Materazzi.

11th: Corner to Italy. Panucci with a nice hearder saved by Coupet.

10th: It doesn't look good, he's off on a stretcher and I wouldn't expect him back, look for Malouda to come on as Ribery appears to be in serious pain and may be out awhile. Through 10 minutes both matches stand at 0-0.

8th: Ribery has a problem, looks like the calf. Not a good sign at all for France.

4th: Luca Toni comes close on a misplayed long ball, but he hits it first time and fires wide. It seemed he had time for something better there.

4th: France looks the more dangerous in the first few minutes, earning two corners so far but producing nothing off of them. I doubt I have to even say this at this point, but again... the field is quite wet.

1st: We're underway in Zurich, what a great crowd for both sides today.

Pre-game: As expected, Netherlands will have major changes in the other match. Dirk Kuyt, van Nistlerooy, Van der Vaart, Van Bronckhortst, Van der Saar, and Wesley Sneijder will all be on the bench. With Huntelaar and Van Persie up front with Arjen Robben in behind them the Dutch still will have some strength to their offense. Romania will of course be anchored in the back by Cristian Chivu, and Mutu will be looking to erase the bad memory of his penalty that wasn't to be.

Pre-game: Cassano will start up top for Italy along with Luca Toni. De Rossi, Pirlo, Gattuso and Perrotta make up the midfield while Chiellini, Grosso, Zambrotta, Panucci and of course Buffon make up the back. For France it will be Benzema pairing with Thierry Henry in the attack, a midfield featuring Makelele, Govou, Ribery and Toulalan, with Clerc, Evra, Abidal and Gallas making up the back four. Coupet mans the net.
Pre-game: There has been a good deal of talk that Cassano may well start today for Italy.