The reason why Group C of the 2008 European Championship is called the group of death can be seen only from the world rankings of the four teams: before the start of the 2008 European Championship, Italy ranked third in the world, second only to Argentina and Brazil, and was the highest ranked team in Europe; France ranked seventh, the Netherlands ranked 10, and even Romania, a "non-traditional giant", was 12. These four teams are undoubtedly famous strength figures in world football.
From the comparison of the strength of each team, Italy, France and the Netherlands are not equal in strength, and Romania is slightly second. Since Donadoni took over, the Italian team immediately got on the right track after a short period of chaos. Donadoni's emphasis on status rather than fame has made a group of powerful players in small and medium-sized teams rise, while the central axis of world champion Tony Pirlo Cannavaro Buffon is intact, which is a symbol of Italian aristocratic lineage.
France is probably the most reasonable team among the top teams. Thuram, Gallas, Vieira, Makelele and other veterans are experienced, Ribelli, Malouda and Turalang are in full swing, while Gomi, Benzema, Nasri and other rookies have the spirit of newborn calves. It can be said that Domenech has a good hand. As long as the right person is used, the French team is definitely one of the favorites in the European Cup.
In contrast, Basten's Dutch team is slightly "heavy attack and light defense" feeling. The attack line composed of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder and Van der Vaart is the best in Europe, while the defense line composed of Parma, Mateisen and Oye is slightly inferior. Fortunately, the existence of old goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar makes up for the lack of defense. It should not be overlooked that the talent pool of the Dutch League, such as the powerful players from domestic leagues such as Afraid, orlando engelaar and Dezeu, is likely to shine in the European Cup.
Romania is a strong team that has experienced "do or die" many times. Their existence is a big variable in Group C, and the most impressive thing is the European Cup in 2000. Romania is in Group A with Germany, Portugal and England. After losing the first two wars 1, they defeated England 3-2 in the final round, thus defeating the two traditional powers of Britain and Germany and holding their heads high. In this World Cup, Romania is likely to reproduce the miracle of that year again.
Even in the history of the competition, Group C is the most tragic "death group" in the history of this World Cup and even the European Cup.
Italy and France, the two best European teams in the past decade, have dedicated classic games to fans many times. Regardless of the competition between the two teams in the same group in the qualifiers, the final stage of the competition alone is enough to write a history book of hegemony between the two countries:
1998 World Cup quarter-final, France eliminated Italy on penalties, and then won the World Cup for the first time in history. In the 2000 European Cup final, Italy was only one step away from winning the championship, but the tenacious Frenchman finally won the Delaunay Cup with two goals from Wiltord and Trezeguet. In the 2006 World Cup final, Italy finally got revenge. Materazzi and Zidane staged the most legendary unsolved cases in the history of the World Cup. Italy finally retaliated by winning the penalty shootout in the final and became the new world champion.
In the European Cup, Italy and the Netherlands also had a classic confrontation, that is, the semi-final of the 2000 European Cup. Holland launched a flood of offensive at home, while Italy showed the classic "Italian defense", contradictory confrontation, Delporte's two penalty kicks and toldo's World War I, which is unforgettable so far.
It was also the European Cup in 2000, and Italy and Romania were also 4/ 1 finals. With two goals from Totti and Inzaghi in the first half, Italy eliminated Romania.
The Netherlands and Romania are even more "enemies of life and death". In the qualifiers, the two teams competed for the first place in the group. In the end, Romania defeated the favorite Netherlands and entered the final as the first in the group. At the European Cup group draw ceremony, when the two teams were drawn into the same group again, everyone sighed: What a coincidence.