Associated Press
June 10, 2008
The Dutch certainly made the first surprise of the European Championship a stunner.
The Netherlands handed Italy its worst loss in tournament history, a 3-0 rout yesterday in Bern, Switzerland, that left the World Cup champions in danger of elimination in the first round.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wesley Sneijder scored in the first half, and standout defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst added the third goal on a counterattack in the 79th minute.
"It was a historic feat. This was Italy, the world champion," Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. "I cannot name one player who played poorly."
That's because none did.
"This leaves us incredibly proud and with a great feeling," Sneijder said. "The first time is always incredibly important and to do this against Italy ... it gives us a lot of confidence. But we have to realize that it is not in the bag yet."
Italy's once-proud defense looked old and slow. Van Nistelrooy tore through the Azzurri defense at will. With injured captain Fabio Cannavaro sitting on the bench next to his crutches, Marco Materazzi and Andrea Barzagli were picked apart by the Oranje attack.
"It was one of the ugliest games in the last 12 years," Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. "In the name of the entire team, I think I have to apologize to all the Italian fans."
France 0, Romania 0
In Zurich, Switzerland, with upcoming games against the Netherlands and Italy, France couldn't afford a slow start.
So a 0-0 draw with Romania in Group C, considered the toughest in the European Championship, wasn't quite what the French had in mind.
The undermanned French, without captain Patrick Vieira and leading scorer Thierry Henry, dominated possession, but failed to penetrate a stiff Romania defense devised by coach Victor Piturca.
