France has been the biggest disappointment so far, and it showed in yesterday's performance against Italy. Unable to win all 3 matches and scoring only 1 goal, this has got to be one of the worst string of results France has ever produced. Amidst all its stars, it failed to recapture the form that took them to the World Cup finals in 2006. A host of missing experienced players meant that France is looking towards the future, but that looks bleak.
Italy on the other hand stole the highlights when they managed to sneak into the quarter-finals by beating France 2-0 and with Romania unable to beat the Netherlands. Andrea Pirlo steered home the opening goal with a well-taken penalty after Luca Toni was upended in the box. To make matters worse, the man who gave away the penalty was also sent off. Italy then killed off French hopes when Daniele De Rossi scored from a free-kick deflected in off Henry. Italians overjoyed, the French needs a total revamp.
Romania looked to be the stronger of the two when they faced off with the Netherlands. As the match went on, Romania did not have the finishing bite and with Robben and Huntelaar missing open chances, it seemed that even the Dutch were rooting for Romania to beat themselves to knock out Italy and France.
That did not happen, and when Huntelaar opened the scoring in the 2nd half, Romania went on to put on a terrible show. They failed to create any serious chance, Mutu looking out of sorts in attack. As time dragged on, Van Persie capped a fine performance from the Netherlands by scoring the match's 2nd and final goal. The Dutch finished top of Group C, Italy finished the match 2nd on the Group. France finished last and it certainly looks like game over for Domenech's reign.
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