Marco de Marchis, our Italian Observer, fears this game could end-up in a "biscottone", an elimination in absentia.

We may be impatient, but we don't really want to face this event. I fear that without a little fair play, we will receive another 'biscottone' as at Euro 2004. This is the word we use to describe when you are eliminated because the other teams don't play full-out, but look after their own interests.

In this case it would be the Netherlands, who are already qualified and may not want to meet Italy or France again in the semi-final.

 

As Italy's De Rossi said, during the match "everybody will think a little to Romania v Holland."

Anyway, we must win against our French cousins, in order to finish with honour and confirm our status of world champions.

I hope it will be a spectacular match

Anthony Fernandez, Observer in France, believes in the squad more than Domenech.

qualification to the last world cup.

However, this final earned Domenech the affection of fans, journalists and sport analysts, while even the French football federation seemed quite pleased with Domenech's pseudo-refreshing of the team.

Pseudo-refreshed because today we all realise that the team is going opposite to what was planned in 2004. Thuram, Makelele, Viera, Henry, Gallas - Domenenech's pillars are all in their thirties.

Their performance in their respective clubs can't be label as poor, not mentioning Thuram and Henry's empty seasons at Barcelona FC. It is just natural for a national manager to keep such experienced players when the young generation behind cannot fulfill the requirement to play amongst the international elite.

Nonetheless, the young French players' exodus proves that we do grow decent players here. Benzema and Nasri are the symbol of this fresh and successful generation. Respectively in midfield and attack, they both proved their quality on the pitch, but since the beginning of the Euro, they never played together. Instead, we have a team that lacks creativity and wit - one that drew against Romania and lost 4-1 against Holland.

Sole consolation: Ribéry has shown he can lift up the team by himself. On the other hand, Malouda, Anelka, Govou now have to prove their position in the squad.

These two deceptions don't seem to have damaged the moral of the troop. Thierry Henry maintains his objective is still to win the cup.

Without being pessimistic, if France beat Italy and get a ticket to the quarter final, I still think that it will be difficult to go through the next rounds of the competition. The Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Portugal all rely on a solid team spirit and strong individuals, something France cannot face yet.

A small consolation, Didier Deschamps has declared he was ready to be in charge.

Ben Dodman sums up the Euro campaign of World Cup finalists Italy and France.

As it stands, one of the two will go home in shame at the end of their encounter on Tuesday, while the other may follow suit if Romania beat an already qualified Dutch side (presumably packed with benchers). And for a disgruntled England fan like me, this is all turning out to be very entertaining!

For the Azzurri, this situation has a sense of "déjà-vu"; four years ago, Italy's qualification to the quarter-finals in Portugal depended on the match between Sweden and Denmark ending in a win for either of the two. As it happened, the Scandinavians drew 2-2, prompting furious allegations of match fixing in Italy.

Characteristically, Italy's beleaguered coach Donadoni has already appealed to Nordic "honesty" as he urged the Dutch side to give it their all against Romania. He may like to think about his own efforts so far, however, as he surely must take some of the blame for a disappointing campaign.

For a start, the world champions are in desperate need of a youth injection. The team thrashed by Holland 3-0 in the opening game fielded just three players under the age of thirty. And surely, Donadoni's decision to pack the midfield with AC Milan's old guard makes little sense considering the team's shocking form this season. Why not rely on the well-reared Roma midfield, or test some exciting youngster from the in-form Fiorentina?

While his own future appears very much in doubt - Italy's La Gazzetta announcing on Sunday that the World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi would make a spectacular comeback -, Donadoni can at least count on the Azzurri's indomitable team spirit emerging in time of adversity.

The same cannot be said of Les Bleus. While in the Italian camp the pre-match talk is all about the need for "unity", over in the French dressing room, the atmosphere is reportedly one of mounting rebellion. Once again, coach Domenech's good judgement is put into question.

To be fair - France were not that bad against the Netherlands. Yet, the ease with which the Oranje ripped Les Bleus' defence apart to score four goals on Friday almost beggars belief. As things stand, Domenech can no longer rely on a rock-solid back row, and the wisdom of calling up the old guard (is this a case of one tournament too many for Thuram?) must be questioned.

More worryingly, his team has repeatedly proved unable to score goals, despite a plentiful supply of talented attackers. Indeed, his failure to field Karim Benzema - arguably the most exciting young attacking player in Europe today - against the Dutch squad must be rated as a frightful mistake, however poor the Lyon striker might have been in the opening match against Romania.

Of course, as the World Cup finalists battle to save their faces, many look nostalgically for yesterday's heroes. On Sunday, Ribéry admitted his team missed Zidane. This morning, my local newsagent said he missed Platini. Well, I miss Baggio and Totti...