Euro 2008 – Group C
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Group C Info
Group C (aka the “Group of Death”) kicks off on June 9 until June 18 2008. This group consists of World Cup finalists Italy and France, plus Holland and Romania.
Expert advice from Euro 2008 trader, Mark Barlow:
What a group! You could give a good case for any of them winning the tournament, let alone winning the group. Italy will be keen to have no slip up’s this time round (they were dumped out at the group stage last time round after two draws and a win. I would take them to win Group C, with France to follow them into Round 2. Tough on Holland and Romania, but we are sure to see some good football in this group.
Group C Forecast: 1. Italy – 2. France
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Bet on Group C matches at Betway.com
June 9: Romania vs France
(Switzerland, Zurich – Letzigrund)
June 9: Holland vs Italy
(Switzerland, Berne – Stade de Suisse)
June 13: Italy vs Romania
(Switzerland, Zurich – Letzigrund)
June 13: Holland vs France
(Switzerland, Berne – Stade de Suisse)
June 17: Holland vs Romania
(Switzerland, Berne – Stade de Suisse)
June 17: France vs Italy
(Switzerland, Zurich – Letzigrund)
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Group C: Team Info:
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- HOLLAND
- FIFA world ranking: 10
- Head coach: Marco van Basten
- Most capped player: Edwin van der Sar (122 caps)
- Top goalscorer: Patrick Kluivert (40)
Euro 2008 Squad:
GK
Sander Boschker (Twente)
Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)
Henk Timmer (Feyenoord)
Edwin van der Sar – Captain (Manchester United)
DF
Ibrahim Afellay (PSV)
Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa)
Tim de Cler (Feyenoord)
Johnny Heitinga (Ajax)
Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg)
Mario Melchiot (Wigan)
André Ooijer (Blackburn)
Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord)
MF
Nigel de Jong (Hamburg)
Demy de Zeeuw (AZ)
Orlando Engelaar (Twente)
Denny Landzaat (Feyenoord)
Arjen Robben (Real Madrid)
Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid)
Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)
FW
Ryan Babel (Liverpool)
Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Ajax)
Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic)
Euro 2008 qualification:‘
Van Basten’s orange army looked pretty good in Group G, securing second place and Euro 2008 qualification with a game to spare. The only real blemish was an unexpected 2-1 defeat to Belarus in their final game
| Group G | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Winner | Romania | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 29 |
| Runner-up | Holland | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 26 |
Bulgaria, Belarus, Albania, Slovenia & Luxembourg did not qualify.
Euro 2008 qualifying results:
- (away) vs. Luxembourg: 0-1
- (home) vs. Belarus: 3-0
- (away) vs. Bulgaria: 1-1
- (home) vs. Albania: 2-1
- (home) vs. Romania: 0-0
- (away) vs. Slovenia: 0-1
- (home) vs. Bulgaria: 2-0
- (away) vs. Albania: 0-1
- (away) vs. Romania: 1-0
- (home) vs. Slovenia: 2-0
- (home) vs. Luxembourg: 1-0
- (away) vs. Belarus: 2-1
European Championship record
- 1976: Third place
- 1980: Round 1
- 1988: Champions
- 1992: Semi-Final
- 1996: Quarter-Final
- 2000: Semi-Final
- 2004: Semi-Final
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- ITALY
- FIFA world ranking: 3
- Head coach: Roberto Donadoni
- Most capped player: Paolo Maldini (126 caps)
- Top goalscorer: Luigi Riva (35)
Euro 2008 Squad:
GK
Marco Amelia (Livorno)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
DF
Andrea Barzagli (Palermo)
Daniele Bonera (AC Milan)
Fabio Cannavaro – Captain (Real Madrid)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
Fabio Grosso (Lyon)
Marco Materazzi (Inter)
Massimo Oddo (AC Milan)
Christian Panucci (Roma)
Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo)
Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona)
MF
Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan)
Alberto Aquilani (Roma)
Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus)
Daniele De Rossi (Roma)
Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan)
Stefano Mauri (Lazio)
Simone Perrotta (Roma)
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
FW
Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)
Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan)
Cristiano Lucarelli (Parma)
Raffaele Palladino (Juventus)
Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese)
Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)
Euro 2008 qualification:
Reigning World Champions Italy made a shaky start in qualifying with a home draw with Lithuania and a 3-1 loss (call it World Cup revenge) to France, but eventually did enough to come out as Group B winners. Italy won nine of their last ten qualifiers, including a 3-1 win against the Faroe Islands in their final game which earned them pole position at the expense of their rivals France.
| Group B | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Winner | Italy | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 29 |
| Runner-up | France | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 5 | 26 |
Scotland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia & Faroe Islands did not qualify.
Euro 2008 qualifying results:
- (home) vs. Lithuania: 1-1
- (away) vs. France: 3-1
- (home) vs. Ukraine: 2-0
- (away) vs. Georgia: 1-3
- (home) vs. Scotland: 2-0
- (away) vs. Faroe Islands: 1-2
- (away) vs. Lithuania: 0-2
- (home) vs. France: 0-0
- (away) vs. Ukraine: 1-2
- (home) vs. Georgia: 2-0
- (away) vs. Scotland: 1-2
- (home) vs. Faroe Islands: 3-1
European Championship record
- 1968: Champions
- 1980: Fourth place
- 1988: Semi-final
- 1996: Round 1
- 2000: Runners-up
- 2004: Round 1
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- FRANCE
- FIFA world ranking: 7
- Head coach: Raymond Domenech
- Most capped player: Lilian Thuram (138 caps)
- Top goalscorer: Thierry Henry (44)
Euro 2008 Squad:
GK
Grégory Coupet (Lyon)
Sébastien Frey (Fiorentina)
Mickaël Landreau (PSG)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
DF
Eric Abidal (Barcelona)
Jean-Alain Boumsong (Lyon)
François Clerc (Lyon)
Julien Escudé (Sevilla)
Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
William Gallas (Arsenal)
Philippe Mexès (Roma)
Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich)
Sébastien Squillaci (Lyon)
Lilian Thuram (Barcelona)
MF
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon)
Alou Diarra (Bordeaux)
Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth)
Mathieu Flamini (AC Milan)
Claude Makelele (Chelsea)
Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Samir Nasri (Marseille)
Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)
Jérémy Toulalan (Lyon)
Patrick Vieira – Captain (Inter Milan)
FW
Bafetimbi Gomis (Saint-Étienne)
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
Karim Benzema (Lyon)
Djibril Cissé (Marseille)
Sidney Govou (Lyon)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
Euro 2008 qualification:
France’s campaign wasn’t the pushover many would have anticipated, especially with two losses against Scotland. Ironically, Italy’s 2-1 win over the Scots which did them a big favour, making their final game in Ukraine a formality. And remember it was Italy who beat France in the last World Cup Final.
It should also be noted that Barcelona’s Thierry Henry broke Michel Platini’s record of 41 goals during the Group B qualification.
| Group B | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Winner | Italy | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 29 |
| Runner-up | France | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 5 | 26 |
Scotland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia & Faroe Islands did not qualify.
Euro 2008 qualifying results:
- (away) vs. Georgia: 0-3
- (home) vs. Italy: 3-1
- (away) vs. Scotland: 1-0
- (home) vs. Faroe Islands: 5-0
- (away) vs. Lithuania: 0-1
- (home) vs. Ukraine: 2-0
- (home) vs. Georgia: 1-0
- (away) vs. Italy: 0-0
- (home) vs. Scotland: 0-1
- (away) vs. Faroe Islands: 0-6
- (home) vs. Lithuania: 2-0
- (away) vs. Ukraine: 2-2
European Championship record
- 1960: Semi-finals
- 1984: Champions
- 1992: Round 1
- 1996: Semi-finals
- 2000: Champions
- 2004: Quarter-finals
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- ROMANIA
- FIFA world ranking: 12
- Head coach: Victor Piţurcă
- Most capped player: Dorinel Munteanu (134 caps)
- Top goalscorer: Gheorghe Hagi (35)
Euro 2008 Squad:
GK
Dănuţ Coman (Rapid Bucureşti)
Bogdan Lobonţ (Dinamo Bucureşti)
Marius Cornel Popa (Politehnica 1921 Ştiinţa Timişoara)
DF
Cristian Chivu – Captain (Inter)
Cosmin Contra (Getafe)
Sorin Ghionea (Steaua Bucureşti)
Dorin Goian (Steaua Bucureşti)
Petre Marin (Steaua Bucureşti)
George Ogăraru (Ajax)
Mirel Rădoi (Steaua Bucureşti)
Ştefan Radu (Lazio)
Răzvan Raţ (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Gabriel Tamaş (Auxerre)
MF
Răzvan Cociş (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Paul Codrea (Siena)
Adrian Cristea (Dinamo Bucureşti)
Andrei Mărgăritescu (Dinamo Bucureşti)
Bănel Nicoliţă (Steaua Bucureşti)
Florentin Petre (CSKA Sofia)
Ovidiu Petre (Steaua Bucureşti)
FW
Florin Bratu (Dinamo Bucureşti)
Nicolae Dică (Steaua Bucureşti)
Ciprian Marica (Stuttgart9
Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)
Daniel Niculae (Auxerre)
Euro 2008 qualification:
Group G winners Romania qualified for their first European Championships since 2000 with two matches to go, completing a run of ten unbeaten games in their campaign – after a somewhat shaky opening draw against Bulgaria.
| Group G | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Winner | Romania | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 29 |
| Runner-up | Holland | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 26 |
Bulgaria, Belarus, Albania, Slovenia & Luxembourg did not qualify.
Euro 2008 qualifying results:
- (home) vs. Bulgaria: 2-2
- (away) vs. Albania: 0-2
- (home) vs. Belarus: 3-1
- (away) vs. Holland: 0-0
- (home) vs. Luxembourg: 3-0
- (away) vs. Slovenia: 1-2
- (home) vs. Slovenia: 2-0
- (away) vs. Belarus: 1-3
- (home) vs. Holland: 1-0
- (away) vs. Luxembourg: 0-2
- (away) vs. Bulgaria: 0-1
- (home) vs. Albania: 6-1
European Championship record
- 1984 – Round 1
- 1996 – Round 1
- 2000 – Quarter-finals
