Group C of

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

was played from 9 to 17 June 2008. All six group matches were played at venues in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

and

Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. The group was composed of

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

finalists The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided. In sports competitions following a Single-elimination tournament, knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the f ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, as well as the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. At the time of the draw, these countries' respective Elo rankings among European teams were 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th, and as such the group had been dubbed the competition's "

group of death A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament. Thus, i ...

". The Netherlands became the first team from Group C to qualify for the quarter-finals. In their first match, they beat the world champions Italy 3–0, in a display of counter-attacking football. Then, in their second game, they also beat the 2006 World Cup runners-up, France, by a 4–1 scoreline. This left the French in a difficult position, having already played out a scoreless draw against Romania in the group's opening match. Romania also played out a draw against Italy in their second match, leaving them in second place going into the final round of group matches. Italy finished as the second quarter-finalists, after they beat France 2–0 in their final game. French defender

Eric Abidal Eric Sylvain Abidal (; born 11 September 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. In his career, he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 18 trophies with both teams combined, including t ...

was sent off just over a quarter of the way through the game for a foul on Luca Toni in the area;

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

converted the resulting penalty.

Daniele De Rossi Daniele De Rossi (; born 24 July 1983) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and is currently manager of side SPAL. He is mostly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A, as ...

added the second goal from a deflected free kick just after the hour mark. Because of the Italian win, Romania had to beat the Netherlands to qualify for the next round, but they were undone by a

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Dirk Jan Klaas "Klaas-Jan" Huntelaar (; born 12 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. Huntelaar played for PSV, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, Heerenveen, Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan, before joining S ...

goal just after half-time, before

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball co ...

scored his second of the tournament three minutes from the end. Despite the perceived strength of its teams, Group C was the only group at Euro 2008 from which no side made it past the quarter-finals; Italy went out in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

to eventual winners

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and the Netherlands lost against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

Teams

Notes

Standings

In the

quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, *The winner of Group C, Netherlands, advanced to play the runner-up of Group D,

. *The runner-up of Group C, Italy, advanced to play the winner of Group D,

Matches

Romania vs France

Netherlands vs Italy

Italy vs Romania

Netherlands vs France

Netherlands vs Romania

France vs Italy

References

External links

UEFA Euro 2008 Group C
{{DEFAULTSORT:Euro 2008

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

UEFA Euro 2008 C