The Netherlands put on the performance of the tournament in their opening UEFA Euro 2008 Group C match against Italy, and they will be looking for a repeat showing as they face a disappointing France side at Stade de Suisse Wankdorf on Friday afternoon. BetOnline has the Netherlands +155 odds with France +165 and the Draw listed at +200 odds.
While Romania's goal was to defend from the beginning of this 0-0 draw in their first UEFA Euro 2008 match against France, the French never even looked like they were going to put the Romanians in any danger. Theirry Henry was missing in action with an injury, which means Nicolas Anelka was selected to lead the French attack. If anyone watched the Champions League final and watched Anelka miss the penalty that would have extended the shootout for Chelsea, they would know the tempermental striker is not the man to lead your team. That said, Anelka did not get much support from his midfielders, especially Franck Ribery, who was sparkling for Bayern Munich this season.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst all got on the score sheet for the Netherlands, who went punch for punch with the Italians and once van Nistelrooy opened their account, the Dutch were laughing all the way to the bank. It was 50-50 in terms of possession and the Dutch only outshot the Italians 16-13, but it was not even that close as Holland put together their best international performance in recent years. Edwin Van der Sar, the man who stopped Anelka in that Champions League shootout, was on form when called upon, and their captain was very inspirational in the few times Holland found themselves in trouble.
The Netherlands are 155 home favorites in this contest, while the French are rated at 165. France needs someone to pump some life into this side, because if they play against Holland and Italy as they did against Romania, it is going to be a long day for their fans. For Holland, they just need to maintain their energy from the Italy game, and try to get off to a good start because France will then have to respond, which never looked likely against Romania. Take the Netherlands to book their spot in the next round with a win over the French on Friday.
France at the Netherlands – 2:45 PM ET
Free UEFA Euro 2008 Prediction: Netherlands
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