Berne, June 9- It was celebration time for Netherlands as they beat Italy 3-0 in their first Euro 2008 game. Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the first half and Giovanni van Bronckhorst made the third goal in the 79th minute giving Netherlands their much awaited victory against the world champions.
The Dutch were in full control of the field right from the 12th minute and easily outplayed their rivals. The first half was electric. Dirt Kuyt outplayed Italy’s Gianluca Zambrotta and passed the ball to Van Nistelrooy who brushed past Italian captain Gianluigi Buffon and managed to stay on his feet. The goal from Van Nistelrooy in the 26th minute was a sure threat to the Azzurri.
Netherlands struck once again when birthday boy Wesley Sneijder took charge of the ball. Van Bronckhorst, after taking a pass from Rafael van der Vaart, passed over the ball to Dirt Kuyt who headed it to Sneijder. The Dutch midfielder volleyed the ball past Buffon to make, perhaps, one of the most impressive goals in the tournament.
With the beginning of the second half, Italy made a fruitless effort to be in the game. Alessandro Del Piero got two chances to save the game for the Italians, but missed both of them. The team lost another chance to score when the free kick delivered by Andrea Pirlo in the 78th minute was saved by Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
The Group C Euro 2008 game between Netherlands and Italy was wrapped up by Giovanni van Bronckhorst who completed the Netherlands score chart by heading the ball into the Italian net in the 79th minute. Italy, being defeated yesterday, stands last in Group C as France and Romania scored a 0-0. The Azzurri, now, have to win the match against Romania to stay in the Euro Cup 2008 tournament.
Final Score Netherlands-Italy Match June 9th
Netherlands - 3, Italy - 0
Goals: 3
Teams:
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Christian Panucci, Andrea Barzagli, Marco Materazzi (Fabio Grosso, 54), Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini, Mauro Camoranesi (Antonio Cassano, 75), Luca Toni, Antonio Di Natale (Alessandro Del Piero, 64).
Netherlands: Edwin van der Sar, Andre Ooijer, Joris Mathijsen, Khalid Boulahrouz (John Heitinga, 76), Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Orlando Engelaar, Nigel de Jong, Dirk Kuyt (Ibrahim Affelay, 81), Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Ruud van Nistelrooy (Robin van Persie, 70)
