Romania

Buffon saves Italy from disgrace

Nandita F24 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:25:53 +0200

World Champions Italy were saved from being eliminated from the Euro 2008 tournament thanks to a penalty save by Gianluigi Buffon. Italy, however, was left hanging after a 1-1 draw in a Group C match against Romania. After a goalless entertaining first half, Romanian striker Adrian Mutu gave his team the lead in the 55th minute only for Italy’s Christian Panucci to draw a minute later.

A 90-minute round of observation

Emmanuel F24 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:54:00 +0200

Here we go… France could do no better than a draw. They were unable to beat what looked like an average team, Romania. So, let’s try to be kind and optimistic. France did not lose. Great. Against nine defenders, one goalkeeper and Mutu, they held firm. Great. France has not lost. Phew… Apart from that? Nothing special.

This match confirms what we have seen in their warm-up games: France lacked power, creativity and speed to overwhelm a disappointing Romanian selection. There was neither initiative nor reactivity. Well, no spark. We can’t replace the irreplaceable, but we can change Malouda.

So let’s think positive. France reached the 2006 World Cup final after drawing against Switzerland and then against South Korea. But South Korea isn’t Holland. In fact we just learnt one thing. Lilian Thuram is now the French player with the greatest number of caps in European Championships: a total of 15.

Not bad, but that’s not enough to reach the quarter-final.

Henry – an obvious choice for the starting line-up?

Nandita F24 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:45:01 +0200

Thierry Henry, vital to Domenech’s starting line-up, is unlikely to be part of the first eleven in this evening’s match against Romania. The footballer hasn’t trained since Saturday, after he reportedly injured himself during the warm-up for the match against Colombia, according to the official version. Our Observer wonders if Thierry Henry’s presence in the starting line-up undisputed.