By Patrick Vignal
ZURICH, June 16 (Reuters) - Heavyweights Italy and France,
used to battling it out with a trophy at stake, will face each
other on Tuesday with the prize of merely surviving the group
stage at Euro 2008 to fight for.
The final act in Group C will see one of the last two World
Cup finalists, or maybe both, on the tournament scrapheap after
their showdown on Zurich’s Letzigrund pitch.
The pair’s fate is out of their hands with unfancied Romania
certain to qualify if they beat Netherlands. The Dutch outplayed
Italy and France in quick succession to make sure of winning the
group.
France, struggling to find the right mix between ageing
stalwarts and promising youngsters, will go through only if they
overcome their Latin rivals and Romania do not beat the Dutch.
Apart from a win, Italy, who have also looked rusty and
surprisingly vulnerable at the back, might just squeeze through
with a scoring draw, or even with a goalless draw, providing
Romania lose 3-0 or by a four-goal margin.
The match would have been dramatic enough in any
circumstances, Italy having beaten France on penalties in the
2006 World Cup final featuring Zinedine Zidane’s infamous
headbutt, to name just one episode in their colourful history.
Italian and French media are both worried that Netherlands
will field a weakened side against Romania or the players will
pull out of tackles to avoid injury.
“We have put ourselves in that situation and only have
ourselves to blame for it,” said France coach Raymond Domenech.
“We should not worry about the Dutch, nor should they worry
about us.”
CASSANO CONSIDERED
Domenech, who could be excused for feeling let down by his
old guard in general and his defence in particular, could opt
for a revamped side with Lilian Thuram and Willy Sagnol likely
to lose their places at the back.
His Italian counterpart Roberto Donadoni is not expected to
be so radical but has hinted he was considering bringing forward
Antonio Cassano into the side.
“The fact I have played him for a little bit of the two
games against Netherlands and Romania shows that he impresses
me,” Donadoni told reporters. “I think he is a top player, I
have brought him with me and it is possible he will play.”
While Donadoni will hope for some Cassano wizardry to
brighten Italy’s horizons, Domenech might give young striker
Karim Benzema, confined to the bench against the Dutch, a chance
to show off his skills.
The two coaches’ jobs could be threatened if they were to be
send packing from a tournament they both aspired to win so
early.
Domenech, however, did his best to sound excited rather than
worried before what is likely to be a tense affair.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity”, he said. “I’m not saying
we’ll win but I know we’ll fight. The players have a lot to
prove. Not making the most of it would be stupid.”
(Additional reporting by Mark Meadows, Editing by Jon
Bramley)