Euro 2008 Predictions: Group C (The Group of Death)

Even thought he final stages of Euro 2008 have already begun, I am still going to give my predictions for the remaining groups I have not done yet (C and D) as well as the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final based on my predictions of the group stages. The predictions for one of the two group A matches played was wrong but the teams that will move forward I feel will still move forward so that should not affect anything.

With that said, Group C was very tough group to predict. The groups contains Romania, France, Italy, and Netherlands All of these teams (minus Romania are considered European powerhouses and have each won the Euro crown at least once already) and therefore I feel extremely sorry for Romania. They are in an absolutely rotten group. However, I think all of these powerhouses are overated especially France and Italy so this is going to be interesting.

Monday June 9

Romania 1
France 2

France should win this one with no contest, but Romania could cause a little trouble by keeping the score tight throughout the match. Not much else to say here.

Netherlands 2
Italy 3

This is going to be a close match since both are very good teams. However, the Dutch seemed to have been sleeping lately and I remain unconvinced that they are still a powerhouse. The Dutch should keep it tight throughout however. I hope I'm wrong because I never liked the Italian team and do not want them to win this Euro Cup. However, I would love it if italy was the team that Croatia faces should they make to the final. Italy has never won against Croatia. The best they have done was a tie.

At the end of the first round of Group C matches, Italy and France would be tied for 1st and 2nd with 3 points and a goal difference of +1. Italy wins the tiebreaker because Italy had scored 3 goals while France has scored 2 against their opponent. Netherlands and Romania would have no points and a -1 goal difference. The tie breaker would be won by Netherlands who had scored 2 goals versus Romania's 1 leaving Romania in last place.

Friday June 13

Italy 3
Romania 1

I don't think Italy should have any problems with this one. They will definitely win it but the score I just made up.

Netherlands 0
France 0

These two overrated teams seem to be lacking something lately. A scoreless tie seems to be the most likely result in a match against each other.

At the end of the second round of Group C matches, Italy will continue their streak and take 6 points making it clearer who will win the group. France will have 4 points in total while the Netherlands will have only 1. Romania will remain winless with no points at all.

Tuesday June 17

Netherlands 1
Romania 1

Netherlands seems to be the only team Romania can match with pretty well. They were in the same group for the qualifying stage and Romania actually the advantage over the Netherlands in the two matches coming out 4 points in total against Dutch (one 1-0 win and 1 scoreless tie. Based on my predictions, Romania will not be able to qualify for the quarterfinals but will be able to destroy any hopes Netherlands has of doing so.

France 2
Italy 2

It seems as if Italy and France cannot avoid each other. They played against each other in the 2006 World Cup final which Italy obviously won then they played each other two more times in Euro 2008 qualifying (their first match was a scoreless tie). However, I think this time both teams will be ready to do some damage in this bitter rivalry. France will most likely only need a point to qualify but they are definitely going to want more against Italy. This is going to be a good match for the UEFA history books.

When all is said and done, Italy would be the group winner with 7 points. france will qualify as runner-up with 5 while Netherlands (2 pts) and Romania (1 pt) would be eliminated.

This, in my opinion, will be the most interesting group at the Cup. I wish Romania and Netherlands would be the ones to move on as I hate Italy and France with a passion, but it just does not seem possible.