Holland V Italy

[JT26CFC]

Van Nisterlooy just scored in an offside position, but the goal stands. So far 1-0. Good game so far (much better than france vs. romania)

[jack h]

2-0 Holland 30 mins in, really good game so far, Boulahrouz is playing well

[coco]

Pass of the tournament so far on 43 mins by Van Der Vaart to RVN.

[abramovich]

Dutch look lively. Snejder and Van Der Vaart run the show in the midfield.

Italy look old and tired( no wonder considering they have only one player in the starting eleven who is under 30).

Still, never underestimate the Italians.

[Gem]

Let's be fair, anyone is more entertaining to watch than France.

Great game mind

[cassiya]

Italy look old and tired( no wonder considering they have only one player in the starting eleven who is under 30).

Bloody Hell, How old is Christian Panucci these days? I thought he was over the hill when he played for us

[munichblue]

FIFA have changed the rule, the Italian player behind the goalline has neutralized the offside. Silly rule....

[sweet waffle]

Best game of the tournament so far, Holland look well up for it (I've got a fiver on them at 14/1), great second goal and I must say VDV looked impressive, I'd much rather us go after him than Deco.

[Lady Diehard]

Italy look old and tired( no wonder considering they have only one player in the starting eleven who is under 30).

Eh - come on. If you wrote this post during the first half Cassiya, then I would agree with you. The midfield never got going in that first half. But I'm sorry - and this is NOT just bias - in that second half I cannot see that Italy played that badly. What we do lack, however, is teeth in the final third. I'm not sure that lumping the ball up to Luca is going to do much, and I would like to see more support for him.

But as an Azzurri lover, I have to say, Holland were effing fantastic tonight. Yep, they got a bit of luck with the offside goal, but there was no arguing with their second or third. I can see them absolutely trouncing France if they continue to play as they did today.

The hopes we have for italy is that they were just almost there, on the edge, and now that they're up against it, you just watch them pull out all the stops against Romania and France.

I don't believe the tournament is over by a long chalk, but we certainly missed Fabs tonight in defence, but, as I say, in the first half the midlfield - particularly Gattuso (what was going on Reno?) was lacklustre and I think that ultimately cost us the game.

You can't go on about age because those lads gave their all in the second half.

But hats off to Holland! Sometimes, you just have to sit back and applaud! The game of the tournament so far by a country mile.

[Maksimov]

Easily the best game of the tournament so far. Although it has to be said that the quality hasn't been very high before this match. Italy put some good pressure on the Dutch in the second half and had their chances, but their finishing let them down. Well deserved win for the Dutch, but I don't think there was as much between the two teams as the scoreline suggested. The Dutch were very dangerous with their counter attacks. Hopefully the quality of football will keep improving.

[g3.7]

great entertainment, holland surprisingly good. italy a bit dodgy at the back (materazzi needed to step up in cannavaro's absence and did the opposite I think), but looked a good bit better than france on that showing too (save for camoranesi, who only an idiot* would suggest is a top player). very impressive from the dutch on the break though, and this without their quickest players. van bronckhorst's best game for years and years and years.

[geezer]

Van Basten has taken some criticism from a few on this site but if that's the type of football he gets his team playing then it won't be long before he's being named as first choice for the poisoned chalice of the CFC hotseat.

[andy]

Have to agree with G4 good game for the Dutch. but I still think Italy a favorites ! .. they always start slow and make it hard for themselves. We will see ( I hope )

That Boularoz bloke, is that the same twat who played for us ??

[Lady Diehard]

That Boularoz bloke, is that the same twit who played for us ??

My thoughts entirely!!!!!

[abramovich]

Van Basten has taken some criticism from a few on this site but if that's the type of football he gets his team playing then it won't be long before he's being named as first choice for the poisoned chalice of the CFC hotseat.

My thoughts exactly. What are the chances that tomorrow british tabloids will come out with headlines like " Roman looks to buy Van Basten's contract out from Ajax as he is now his #1 choice" or something of that nature?

Van Der Vaart looked quality today. Hope Roman was watching.

[Valerie]

Great match! My talent for predicting results once again showed: I had us down for a 2-1 defeat.

Everything worked for us, man of the match for me was between Wesley Sneijer and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Very surprising to see Bouhlarouz in the starting line-up, and given that he has played only about 6 competitive matches this season, he acquitted himself very well.

The Italians will pick themselves up though, especially if Panucci's hair stays as lovely as it was yesterday.

[Maksimov]

The Italians will pick themselves up though, especially if Panucci's hair stays as lovely as it was yesterday.

I see you've been concentrating on the really important aspects of the game last night.

[Valerie]

The Italians will pick themselves up though, especially if Panucci's hair stays as lovely as it was yesterday.

I see you've been concentrating on the really important aspects of the game last night.

I've been brainwashed into looking for Chelsea connections: with Robben and Melchiot injured, Van der Vaart and Huntelaar still not on our books, Panucci was my only Blue lifeline

[sweet waffle]

I'm guessing that most people are like me and thought the first goal was definitely offside last night. Not according to Keith Hackett. Stand by for loads more debatable decisions if this is their thinking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 445476.stm

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's opening goal in the win over Italy was legitimate, says Premier League referees' chief Keith Hackett.

Van Nistelrooy looked yards offside when he prodded home from close range.

But it appears he was played onside by defender Christian Panucci, who was lying off the pitch.

"The fact is the assistant was correct; the defender who slid off the field is still regarded as active," Hackett told BBC Sport.

"Christian Panucci went off through contact with his own goalkeeper (Gianluigi) Buffon. He is still considered part of the game."

Italy's players were furious with the decision and even the Dutch delayed their celebrations until they were sure the goal had been given.

Italy striker Luca Toni, who was booked for protesting the goal, said: "I looked at the replay during the match and it looked to me as if it was offside.

"I said to the referee, 'look at the replay'. But he didn't look so that was that."

After the game Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt admitted he was waiting for the goal to be chalked off for offside.

But Hackett's comments back up the chairman of Austria's refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl, who said the decision was "100% correct".

A Uefa official said the matter may get cleared up at its media briefing on Tuesday.

[ethicalstrategy]

It will be interesting to see how the Dutch fare against Romania, who will undoubtedly play with 10 behind the ball. Holland looked good on the counter but I doubt that they will get many opportunities. They only managed 1 point against them in qualifying.

[Backbiter]

I'm guessing that most people are like me and thought the first goal was definitely offside last night. Not according to Keith Hackett. Stand by for loads more debatable decisions if this is their thinking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 445476.stm

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's opening goal in the win over Italy was legitimate, says Premier League referees' chief Keith Hackett.

Van Nistelrooy looked yards offside when he prodded home from close range.

But it appears he was played onside by defender Christian Panucci, who was lying off the pitch.

"The fact is the assistant was correct; the defender who slid off the field is still regarded as active," Hackett told BBC Sport.

"Christian Panucci went off through contact with his own goalkeeper (Gianluigi) Buffon. He is still considered part of the game."

Italy's players were furious with the decision and even the Dutch delayed their celebrations until they were sure the goal had been given.

Italy striker Luca Toni, who was booked for protesting the goal, said: "I looked at the replay during the match and it looked to me as if it was offside.

"I said to the referee, 'look at the replay'. But he didn't look so that was that."

After the game Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt admitted he was waiting for the goal to be chalked off for offside.

But Hackett's comments back up the chairman of Austria's refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl, who said the decision was "100% correct".

A Uefa official said the matter may get cleared up at its media briefing on Tuesday.

To me that's utter bollox. Players off the pitch are now active? I'd love to see see any other decisions like that, because I can't recall a single one. It won't be long before subs warming up play people onside.

[dkw]

i think that rule makes a lot of sense. imagine the scenario where an attack is under way and the last defender just steps of the field of play saying hes injured. offside flag goes up. i expect its to stop thing like that.

[Gulpje]

Great match! My talent for predicting results once again showed: I had us down for a 2-1 defeat.

Everything worked for us, man of the match for me was between Wesley Sneijer and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Very surprising to see Bouhlarouz in the starting line-up, and given that he has played only about 6 competitive matches this season, he acquitted himself very well.

The Italians will pick themselves up though, especially if Panucci's hair stays as lovely as it was yesterday.

I'm still smiling

MOTM for me is Gio, great work for the second goal + he scored the third. By the way, I thought they were all playing great!

[Elliott]

Fair play to Holland. They probably deserved the win, but i think the scoreline was a bit flattering to say the least;

1st Goal - Offside.

2nd Goal - Cleared off the line, only to break away and score! (Great counter by the way). &

3rd Goal - Great free kick from Pirlo, only to be palmed away by that gormless looking cnut of a gnome Van der Sar! - (See ending to Goal 2 + a fortunate bounce to carry it over the line).

Van der Vaart, Boula, Gio, and Sneijder were superb. Sod Deco - We should be breaking our balls to get VDV! Very classy.

I thought Italy were unlucky, and it was clear that it was going to be one of those nights.

Toni was too heavily isolated, and needer quicker, and better support. Del Piero made a difference, but it was too little too late by that stage. I expected more from Cassano. I think the change to 4-3-3 has really unsettled them, and the players didnt look comfortable in the final third. The final pass always seemed to be wanting.

Pirlo, especially in the latter stages, (barring the free kick) had a shocker.

Expect Italy to pick themselves up and finish 2nd in the Group.

A promising start from Netherlands, but i have my doubts as to whether it will last.

Best game yet.

[Backbiter]

i think that rule makes a lot of sense. imagine the scenario where an attack is under way and the last defender just steps of the field of play saying hes injured. offside flag goes up. i expect its to stop thing like that.

But Panucci was INJURED. A player ON THE FIELD can be considered INACTIVE if he's injured or not felt to be interfering, so to consider a player who is both INJURED and OFF THE PITCH as ACTIVE is inconsistent bollox.

If someone did steps off the pitch deliberately to gain an advantage that is already against the rules of the game as it's ungentlemanly conduct.