[Dutch Treat]

What a match to look forward to!

I think the Italians are favorites in this game. They have a well rounded squad and are not really lacking in any department and showed so in the qualifiers. Tough team to beat.
The Dutch have lots of firepower in midfield & attack, but the defense is not up to par. Will they be able to outscore their opponents at the Euro2008?

Netherlands qualifying round :

G W D L F A Pts
12 8 2 2 15 5 26

Italy's qualifying round :

G W D L F A Pts
12 9 2 1 22 9 29

We al know qualifying is what it is, qualifying, but we have some interesting data here.
As I've said earlier, The Italians have a solid team. Topped the group above France & Scotland. Netherlands ended 2nd in their group behind Romania and just one point above Bulgaria.
But looking at the statistics we see that, strangely enough, the Italians conceded more goals ( 9 ) than the Dutch( 5 ) , while the Italians ( 22 ) outscored the Dutch ( 15 ). Still I believe that Italy's main strength is their defense & midfield, and the Netherlands main strengths is their midfield & offense.

I think there's going to be 2 key factors in this game.

1. Is Italy going to be there right from the start? They often start a bit below par, slowly growing into the tournament. Their first game at tournaments often seems to be a cautious one, but this is not a game to do so. If they do, I can see the Dutch take the win. Choosing defense against that much firepower is asking for trouble.

2. Marco van Basten. The Dutch coach has been criticized a lot for his player management, player selection and field tactics. There seems to be a bit of a shift lately, he actually started to listen to the players. Is there still time to change, or will he hold on to his believes and start with a 4-3-3 again? Since Cocu stopped international football, we just can't seem to be playing the 4-3-3 as effective as we used to. If he choses the 4-3-3, I think our midfield disappears as it's too offensive & lightweight, and I can see Italy take the win.

I'm not going to post line-ups, going to wait for the final squads to be announced first.

My prediction for now : 1-1 ( subject to change )

[squidward123]

shit, holland only scored 15 goals in 12 games??? I knew we were spoilt with 35 from 12 games but that really is a surprise

[Khaloisha]

Originally Posted by Dutch Treat

Netherlands qualifying round :

G W D L F A Pts
12 9 2 1 15 5 26

Italy's qualifying round :

G W D L F A Pts
12 9 2 1 22 9 29

There's something strange here, same win/draw/lose but different points?

[johan neeskens]

I predict a boring 0-0.

[Spartak]

Originally Posted by Khaloisha

There's something strange here, same win/draw/lose but different points?

They were actually 8-2-2.

But 15 goals in 12 matches is a shocking total considering they got to play two matches each against Luxembourg, Albania, and Belarus. Actually, Belarus scored more goals than the Netherlands during qualifying. But we all know qualifying means little when the final tournament kicks off. I wouldn't be surprised if Holland explodes at Euro 2008. But I'm gonna stick with my earlier prediction that neither the Dutch or Italians will make it out of this group.

[johan neeskens]

Originally Posted by Spartak

They were actually 8-2-2.

But 15 goals in 12 matches is a shocking total considering they got to play two matches each against Luxembourg, Albania, and Belarus. Actually, Belarus scored more goals than the Netherlands during qualifying. But we all know qualifying means little when the final tournament kicks off. I wouldn't be surprised if Holland explodes at Euro 2008. But I'm gonna stick with my earlier prediction that neither the Dutch or Italians will make it out of this group.

I've been trying to tell this forum for years that the Dutch have played ultra-conservative, defensive football under Van Basten's leadership. But he's changed a lot over the past couple of months so who knows.

I'm still going for Italy & the NL to go through.

[Massimo_Oddo]

I think Heitinga/Mathijsen could struggle against Toni, while our defenders are lacking a bit of pace so Robben or RVP could expose them.

[Dutch Treat]

Originally Posted by Khaloisha

There's something strange here, same win/draw/lose but different points?

Oops my bad. Damn that copy & paste stuff.

Spartak is right, the Dutch have a 8-2-2 record.

[Dutch Treat]

Originally Posted by Massimo_Oddo

I think Heitinga/Mathijsen could struggle against Toni, while our defenders are lacking a bit of pace so Robben or RVP could expose them.

I'm more worried about out RB, that's our weak spot.

[Massimo_Oddo]

Originally Posted by Dutch Treat

I'm more worried about out RB, that's our weak spot.

Who's likely to play RB? Melchiot or Ooijer?