17 June 2008

Death to the Group of Death

So, my friends, this is the end. Well, it might be for Italy. And maybe France which does brighten me up a bit.
The Dutch technically have nothing to play for but neither did Croatia and they won their game yesterday. That gives me a bit of hope.
Whatever happens, it's our own damn fault. Sure there were offsides galore but we played like crap the first game and couldn't take all our chances the second. Our own damn fault.
*sigh*

(edit)
Lineups: Buffon, Panucci/Grosso/Chiellini/Zambo, Gattuso/De Rossi/Pirlo/Perrotta, Cassano/Toni
Interesting. Cassano from the start and Perrotta & Zambo getting another chance. I'm glad Del Piero is on the bench; let's face it, he's not a starter anymore. He's the super sub.
So will the old legs of Panuc/Zambo be able to handle this? Can Gattuso & De Rossi both avoid red cards? Can Cassano perform?
Ugh. Very. Nervous.

The French, it's the usual. Except for Vieira on the bench. And Thuram. Wow.

(edit again)
Poor Ribery. He looked to be in A LOT of pain. That was awful.

(edit again, much later)
Yay. I can breathe again. Well, we win and are rewarded with a match against Spain. But hey, at least we won. And even better - my Aquilani got a run out & I am sooooo happy about that. With both Gattuso & Pirlo missing the next match (idiots) he'll also get that start. Yay!

5 comments:

Matt said...

Nice own-goal by Henry ;)

Matt said...

Also: Nikki's dream matchup (not) -- Italy vs Spain.

Anonymous said...

Well...now that we got those 2 monkies off our back (30 yrs of not beating France outright and getting out of this damned group of death!)...Let's see if we can actually show up and play the way we all know this team is capable of playing!! I'm GLAD that Gattuso won't be able to be selected for the next match - but we know what that means - Ambrosini...LORD ALMIGHTY...WHY??? Donadoni has one more chance to get his act together and prove he's capable of being this National Team coach. Guess we'll see. IN the meantime - enjoy the moment! We are through - despite the haters and naysayers!!

Nikki from the Treble said...

matt - at least i can whole-heartedly support whoever comes out alive!

Anonymous said...

dayummm. this is a freakin fabulous tournament so far, no?
yes.

i honestly cannot make a prediction for italy spain, but it's going to be a wonderful Sunday!

-jenny