The final EURO Group C fixtures resume, Tuesday June 17, with Italy vs France and Netherlands vs Romania. The Netherlands have already advanced into the quarter finals while Romania must win or draw to keep their hopes alive. Both Italy and France can continue in EURO 2008 action if they win their match outright, a Romania loss by three or more goals will put either Italy or France through. Both games are played at the same time to avoid match fixing. This Group C is going to play out like a soap opera if the Dutch field a weak lineup against Romania. Oddsmakers at BetUS.com have Romania as +120 favs over Netherlands +170 with a chance at draw at +275. Get your Netherlands vs Romania: EURO 2008 Betting Prediction in now at BetUS.com
The Netherlands are playing the best football out of any other teams in EURO competition. They drubbed Italy 3-0 then France 4-1. They have a power house offense with Arjen Robben, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wesley Sneijder who are all teammates for Real Madrid. "The three of us have an excellent relationship, on and off the pitch," Robben said. "There's a good connection with Wesley, he knows exactly where I want the ball. It can only be an advantage that we play together with Real. Theres been a lot of speculation that the Dutch will start a weak lineup against Romania, but I beg to differ. "We want to continue to play the way we did in the first two games, that is the objective. We put a lot of hard work in it to get to this level and we do not want to lose this momentum," said Van Nistelrooy, who may sit out to make way for Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. "We do not think like that, we'll go into the game as we always do. We'll go in with a clear focus, as we want to keep on going, keep on playing well. Like I said, we do not want to lose the momentum." Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder (2) and Ruud van Nistelrooy have the goals for the Dutch.
Romania are the surprise underdogs to come out of the group of death and a victory against the Dutch will get them in. They are just happy to draw against Italy and France. “What we have already achieved is tremendous," said the FC Internazionale Milano player. "If you had told me before the tournament that we would hold both France and Italy, I would have signed a sheet of paper and I would have been very happy. But now we have the chance to go through and I can see this team's potential. I want this very much and so do my team-mates. This is the most important match for our generation and qualifying from this group would be a historic moment for Romanian football." The striking partnership of Mutu and Ciprian Marica, who scored eleven goals between them in qualifying, has been the main reason for Romania’s success. Mutu has style in spades, specializing in free-kicks and dangerous raids from the left. Marica gets among opposition defenses and looks to exploit his speed to snatch goals. This team is playing for honor and their whole nation and when you play for those reasons, miracles can happen. Romania beat the Dutch 1-0 in qualifying and drew 0-0 the second time around.
Head to Head: 11 matches played
- Netherlands lead 7-1
- 3 matches ended in a draw
- Netherlands scored 22 goals
- Romania scored 2 goals
Group C: Netherlands vs Romania
When: Tue, June 17, 2008 1:00 PM ET
Line: BetUS.com
Pick: Netherlands +170
The Bottom Line: Even with a weak Dutch lineup, if you call it weak, they are still offensive powerhouses. They still have the best goalie, Edwin Van Der Sar in net just in case. They want to win and carry on the momentum into the quarter finals. Get your Netherlands vs Romania: EURO 2008 Betting Prediction in now at BetUS.com and recieve a 50% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!
