Netherlands 3-0 Italy
After the dour 0-0 draw between France and Romania, fans and pundits alike hoped for a better match between Netherlands and world champions Italy. And the Oranje did not disappoint, sweeping aside Roberto Donadoni's side 3-0 to cause the first major upset of the Euro 2008 tournament.
Ruud van Nistelrooy gave the Dutch the lead in the 26th minute in highly controversial circumstances. Gianluigi Buffon had earlier palmed away van der Vaart's free kick, and Van Nistelrooy's tapped in Sneijder's shot from what looked like a certain offside position. However the referee insisted that Italy's Christian Panucci, who had been injured in a collision with Buffon seconds earlier, and was lying in pain outside the field, had played the Real Madrid forward onside. The goal stood, and the Italians were understandably furious. Because Panucci was never injured by an opposition player, it could not be construed as a foul. Luca Toni got a yellow card for his protests. However Holland second goal was perfectly legitimate, and brought back memories of the Michels side that played total football. Van Bronckhorst first cleared a corner off his own line, and then ran and sent a long pass to Kuyt, who set it up for Wesley Sneijder. The former Ajax player celebrated his 24th birthday in style by volleying past Buffon from close range.
To their credit Italy were not outclassed, not by any stretch of imagination. Del Piero first forced van der Sar into a save five minutes after the hour mark, and then both Luca Toni and he wasted chances to get one goal back for the Azzurri. And if the second goal was good, the third one was even more brilliant. Andrea Pirlo's freekick was brilliant saved by Van der Sar, and even as the Milan midfielder and his teammates were wondering how it did not go in, the Dutch raced the length of the field and scored on the counter. Giovanni van Bronckhorst was in the thick of things again, setting up Dirk Kuyt, but the Liverpool forward was denied by Buffon. However Kuyt chipped the rebound into Van Bronckhorst's path, and the Feyenoord defender completed a dream day by nodding in from six yards out.
Ibrahim Afellay and Robin van Persie threatened to make the win a rout for the Dutch towards the end, but thankfully for Donadoni , the score stayed at 3-0.
Netherlands starting XI:- Van der Sar, Van Bronckhorst, Ooijer, Boulahrouz (Heitinga), Mathijsen, Kuyt (Afellay), De Jong, Van der Vaart, Engelaar, Sneijder, van Nistelrooy (Van Persie)
Italy starting XI:- Buffon, Materazzi (Grosso), Panucci, Barzagli, Zambrotta, Ambrosini, Pirlo, Gattuso, Camoranesi (Cassano ), Toni, Di Natale (Del Piero).
Tags:
Netherlands,
Italy,
Euro 2008,
Ruud van Nistelrooy,
Luca Toni,
Holland,
Wesley Sneijder,
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Posted: 10th June 2008
