EURO 2008 - Group C

GROUP C has been named the "Group of Death". Yet, in every tournament, the infamous Group has seen a team failing to perform up to its standards. This year is no different, and with the injuries piling up in the Italy and Dutch camps, and the lack of form in the French camp shows that one of the hot favourites is going home early this tournament. (Well, one of them has to anyway, hahahaha!)

Group C comprises of France, Italy, Netherlands and Romania.

France - Billed as World Champion in 1998 and Europe Champion in 2000, France is often touted as one of the favourites. Runners-up in World Cup 2006, they lack the French midfield maestro Zinedine Zidane who has since retired from international football. With Zidane gone, France are looking for a talisman who will bring glory to the French.

Bundesliga's player of the season, Franck Ribery has been in outstanding form whole season, and he will definitely be a man to look out for. However, he tends to hold the ball longer than expected and the smooth-flowing football France often produces(when Zidane is around) has since turned into a rough ride. Apart from Ribery, one man is expected to contest the top goalscorer award. Karim Benzema currently playing for Olympique Lyonnais has proven to be a potent scorer and with Henry out of form, Benzema is expected to deliver the goods in this tournament. A little defensive than before, France has not been scoring freely in warmup matches, but come the tournament, people should expect to see a French team worthy of challenging for the champions trophy.

Italy - World champions in World Cup 2006, Italy are expected to perform in Euro 2008 and they certainly are not showing it so far. With Inzaghi is missing from the tournament, all hope rests on the big striker Luca Toni, Ribery's team mate in Bayern Munich. Veteran Del Piero is lining up front with Toni, and frankly speaking, those resting their hopes on the 2 delivering the goods may be disappointed.

Cannavaro is ruled out of the tournament, Panucci and Cassano is facing a struggle to be fit and while defending has not been a major problem for the Italians, this time is a cause for concern. Expect an aggressive approach to their football to prevent the opponents from over-running the defence and as before, the number of goals scored will be scarce and few.

Netherlands - a team hit worst than Italy in terms of injury, Netherlands have their left flank effectively ruled out due to injury. Robben has been ruled out of the opener and Babel, out of the tournament. While van Persie is expected to provide the cover down the left, he too is not fit and most certainly will not feature in the opening match. One would expect van Basten to fill the left midfield position with Dirk Kyut has has been effectively down the flank for Liverpool.

However, van Basten has not disclosed any secrets but one is expecting Netherlands to play quick, possessive football and plenty of ground passes. The firepower upfront is impressive, with Huntelaar, van Nistelrooy and Jan Vannegoor all looking to get on the scoresheet. But van Basten has known to be a cautious person, and with injuries piling up, he may not risk his midfielders and might look to play a 4-5-1 team to cover for his missing 3 against Italy.

Romania - A little unknown about Romania, although they do play a mixture of passing and keep-ball. There are familiar names like Contra, Chivu and Mutu. Qualifying ahead of the Netherlands, they managed to end up in the same group again. They were pretty good at getting goals in qualifying and they will be looking for Mutu and Marica to bag the goals again.

Playing tight football, Romania often falls to quick counter-attacking football. Their lapse of concentration during open-play also cost them dear in tournaments, but in every tournament that Romania plays, there is always a star in their team who always perform. This year, many think that Adrian Mutu, who has matured for his age, will have a heavy burden to carry. Even the French has listed Mutu as a key dangerman for Romania. Not much can be said about this team, but they do give their football something to shout for.

Kicks 4 Kicks! says that France and Romania may play out to a draw or a 1 goal victory for the Les Bleus. Italy and Netherlands should be tight and fiery, but Italy should clean their act up with a vital winner. A possible draw might be on the cards when France plays Italy, and Netherlands to beat Romania for a vital 3 points. But heartache for Netherlands as France wins their encounter and Italians run clear at the top with a convincing victory against Romania.

K4K! predicts : Italy, France, Netherlands, Romania