Pakistan Information & News

EURO 2008 Final Spain have beaten Germany 1-0 with Liverpool’s Fernando Torres sealing the win with a first-half goal to secure the first International trophy for Spains La Furia Roja in 44 years. The game started at a decent pace with both sides trying to take the initiative early-on in the game. Thomas Hitzlsperger had his chance easily saved by Iker Casillas in the Spanish goal early in the first-half, with Michael Ballack fizzing a cross across the goal-mouth soon after, but there were no German players there to meet the cross. Spain almost took the lead in the 15^th minute after Andrés Iniesta’s cross was deflected towards goal by Christoph Metzelder, with Jens Lehmann diving superbly to his right to stop the ball going in. Spain started to take the ascendancy in the match, with Fernando Torres hitting the post in the 22nd minute with a nice headed attempt that had Jens Lehmann beaten. Joan Capdevillas follow-up shot went wide of goal. Each of Germanys attempts were broken down well by the organised Spanish defence, whereas the German defence didn’t seem to fare so well against Spain’s attacks, with Torres and Capdevilla making breaks into the German defence and causing some discomfort to Lehmann and his back-line. Torres opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after Torres beat Philipp Lahm for pace on the edge of the penalty area, and capped off a superb move by sliding the ball past Jens Lehmann’s right hand to make it 1-0 to Spain. Spain continued to take the game to Germany with a neat passing move resulting in Iniesta playing David Silva in, who volleyed high over the bar in the 34^th minute. Michael Ballack was injured in a clash of heads with Marcos Senna, with the German captain having to receive treatment. Both Ballack and Casillas received yellow-cards for confronting the referee as the half came to a close with Spain having spent the majority of the first period in control. Spain continued their dominance in the early stages of the second-half with Torres still causing problems. Ballack forced Casillas into a diving save in the 59^th minute after Kevin Kuranyi replaced Thomas Hitzlsperger as Germany tried to get into the match. Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas was replaced by Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso in the 63^rd min with Santi Cazorla replacing David Silva shortly after. Sergio Ramos has a stunning attempt to double Spain’s lead but his header from a free-kick was saved well by Lehmann. The resulting corner kick saw Iniestas shot being cleared off the line by Torsten Frings much to the relief of the German head coach Joachim Low. Torres continued to cause problems for the German defence with the pace of the Liverpool striker totally outwitting German central defender Christoph Metzelder. Torres was replaced by Daniel Güiza in the 78^th minute with Germany also making their last change of the match a minute later with Löw replacing Miroslav Klose with Mario Gomez. Spain continued to press Germany but couldn’t quite find the second goal with Senna coming close to latching on to a cross from Daniel Güiza that could have sealed the match with just ten minutes remaining. Xavi Hernandez delivered a cross in the 85^th min which led to a free kick being awarded after a tackle by Kevin Kuranyi on Senna but Xavi Hernadezs strike went over the German crossbar. Spain head coach Luis Aragones will now retire having helped Spain to win the first major trophy 1962 when they hosted the tournament in 1964 and last won the trophy.

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EURO 2008 Semi Final match at a rainy Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna on Thursday evening with Xavi Hernandez Daniel Guiza and David Silva giving La Furia Roja a 3-0 lead and a place in the EURO 2008 Finals against Germany and the game started at a decent pace with Spain taking the early advantage of possession in the match. Liverpools Fernando Torres had the first opportunity for Spain in the 6^th minute with the striker making Igor Akinfeev save from close range after being put through by David Villa. Villa had a sharp shot from outside the box easily saved by Akinfeev in the 11^th minute as Spain created the early chances. Spain had a faint appeal for a penalty turned down in the 15^th minute with referee Frank De Bleeckere ruling in favour of the Russians after Torres appeared to be pulled back. The target of many Premier League clubs Andrei Arshavin had one or two good moments for Russia but the Spanish were in control of this Semi-Final in the first 20 minutes. Spain always looked the more likely side to open the scoring having the majority of possesion and chances without really stretching Akinfeev in the Russian goal. Then against the run of play it was Russia who almost opened the scoring Roman Pavlyuchenko seeing his rasping curler from outside the area go just wide in the 31^st minute. Leading EURO 2008 goalscorer David Villa was forced to leave the pitch through injury in the 34minute, and was replaced by Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas who really made a difference after coming on as a substitute against Italy in La Rojas Quarter Final match. Pavyluchenko had a sliding attempt at Iker Casillas goal seconds after Fabregas came on but his shot went wide much to the relief of the Spanish keeper and fans. Spain finished the half as they started it with the lions share of the game and despite causing the Russian defence problems the match went into half time goalless, but with chances on both sides. Spain took the lead early in the second half. Xavi Hernandez broke the deadlock for Spain in the 50^th minute deflecting Andre Iniestas cross past Akinfeev to make it 1-0. Fernando Torres came close on a couple of occasions in the second-half combining well with Arsenals Fabregas to almost double the score. Daniel Guiza replaced Fernando Torres in the 69^th minute and almost immediately made an impact scoring Spains second goal in the 73^rd minute. Smart passing play from Spain on the edge of the penalty area saw Fabregas chipping the ball into the danger area with Daniel Güiza latching onto the ball and lifting it over Akinfeev to make it 2-0. Spain sealed the match with a superb team move in the 81^st minute. Iniesta found Fabregas on the left with a wonderful pass, who crossed perfectly for Silva to make it 3-0 and seal a place in the EURO 2008 Finals against Germany.

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Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Ince is bracing himself for a battle to keep England. International David Bentley and top scorer Roque Santa Cruz at Ewood Park next season former Manchester United captain Ince who won 2 Premier League titles with United has no intention of letting 23 year old Bentley leave with the midfielder having signed a four year contract only 12 months ago. He is also determined to hang on to Manchester United and Manchester City target Roque Santa Cruz who scored 19 goals for the Blue and Whites last season his first season in the Premiership. 40 year old Ince the self appointed Guv nor at Old Trafford is clearly intending to take the same style into his 1^st season as a Premier League manager. I don’t see a problem keeping these two lads because they both signed a contract here he said. It is important to keep your best players and Santa Cruz and Bentley fall into that category. There is interest from other clubs but I have no intention of letting any of our best players leave. I had a nice text off Sir Alex Ferguson congratulating me on the job but if he were to come on to me about Santa Cruz the answer would be you are not having him. There can be difficulties when players make it clear they want out but if these lads are told they have to stay then that’s the end of it. It is not just those two. It applies to any of them. If they want to go but I say no then they knuckle down and help this club progress to where we want to take it. Sportsmail reported yesterday that Blackburn have already turned down a £15million offer for Bentley from Premier League rivals Aston Villa and a stand that shows the new Rovers supremos determination to keep the clubs best players and when asked about Cristiano Ronaldos future at Manchester United and the similarities with his own move from Old Trafford to Inter Milan. It is not really the same because I didn’t actually want to leave United he said. I would have been more than happy to stay but they decided to sell me because they had Nicky Butt coming through and they needed funds for the new training ground at Carrington. Ronaldo wants to go and it is sad. Fergie has been fantastic for his career and made him the player he is today. From being a great story for United of finishing last season as champions of England and Europe it has soured things a bit and that is a shame. I learned from Fergie as well as other top managers I played for. It is all about standards with him from the character of the players he picks to the choice of the people around him. There is an aura about him and it is no Coincidence so many of his former players have gone on to manage at a high level. I am not kidding myself though. When United come here in Oct everything we went through together will disappear out of the window. Well have a glass of wine at the end but while I am in that other dug out he will be gunning for me. I am the enemy now. Ince also vowed to repay Blackburn for getting him the dispensation to get the necessary coaching badges that are required to manage in the Premier League and everyone here pushed the boat out to ensure I got special dispensation over the qualifications so I could take up this challenge he said. I really appreciate that and fully intend not only completing the course over the next couple of years but showing this club they made the right choice. We have got two years or so to get it all done and it will be. In many ways it is about what you have to offer as an individual every bit as much as the certificates you have got. Players at this level shouldn’t need much coaching. It is a case of getting them going and motivating them and I am confident I can do that. If I couldn’t get the best out of players I wouldn’t have kept Macclesfield in the Football League and then taken MK Dons to Wembley and promotion. Once I have finished in the Premier League I would love an opportunity to go back to Inter Milan and take charge there after that if an opening with England cropped up it would round things off brilliantly. I have captained my country so why not? It’s a long way down the line but it would be a fantastic honour.

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EURO 2008 unfortunately Franck Ribery has incurred a suspected knee injury early on in Frances 2-0 EURO 2008 Group C defeat to Italy at the Letzigrund in Zurich on Tuesday and just min 10 minutes into the match Franck Ribery 1 of the main French playmakers was stretchered off the pitch with a suspected twisted knee after falling badly in a tangle with Gianluca Zambrotta. The 25 year old Bayern Munich star fell awkwardly and injured his knee in the tangle. We think it is a sprained knee but we don’t know for sure. He is been to hospital but we have no news yet said France head coach Raymond Domenech to a news conference after the match. Ribery was replaced by Arsenal target Samir Nasri with the scores still level at 0-0. Ribery was sorely missed by Les Bleus in a match which a 10-man France went on to lose to their World Cup Final rivals 2-0 a penalty from Andrea Pirlo gave Italy the lead in the 25th min with Eric Abidal seeing a somewhat harsh straight red card for the offence on Luca Toni in the penalty area. Daniele De Rossi’s 2nd half free kick sealed a 2-0 win for The Azzurri who meet Spain in the Quarter Finals with France finishing bottom of Group C on just 1 point.

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EURO 2008 Ivan Klasnics second half strike was enough for much changed Croatia to beat Poland and move into the quarter finals of Euro 2008 as Group B winners. They will take on Turkey in the last eight stage. Poland who came into Mondays Game in Klagenfurt needing to win and hoping that Germany lose to co hosts Austria to have any sort of hope to stay in the Euro campaign thus crash out of the European showpiece tournament. Leo Beenhakkers side though looked in control of the proceedings in the first quarter of play with Dariusz Dudka coming close to scoring with an attacking header and the Poles started on a high tempo and looked pumped up to get the desired result as they would have been encouraged by Slaven Bilic making wholesale changes to the side that beat Germany in the last game to qualify for the last-eight stage with a game to spare however Croatia gained confidence with the passage of time and dictated the terms to their opponents thereafter if not for Artur Boruc generally having a good outing the Poles would have been down by at least two goals in the 1^st  half itself. The Celtic custodian made good saves to keep out the likes of Klasnic and Ivan Rakitic. Danijel Pranjic shot wide from left side of the penalty area, while Hrvoje Vejic saw his glancing header whizzing narrowly past the far post after a superb delivery from Ivan Rakitic from right. Klasnic finally broke the stalemate as he found the target with an angular strike after 53 min from the penalty area after Danijel Pranjic made a perfect pass from the left side and the Poles seemed to have been shaken up by the goal and in a promising opening came closer to scoring, however Guerreiro Roger shot on turn was inches wide of the far post. Substitute Ebi Smolareks thundering drive missed the top left corner by a narrow margin. Fellow substitute Tomasz Zahorski wasted their best chance as he could not place his shot into the open goal with Croatia keeper Vedran Runje advancing and making himself big, to make a good save in the closing stages of the game.

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EURO 2008 Turkey have dramatically come from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in there EURO 2008 Group A match at the Stade de Geneve on Sunday and goals from Arda Turan and Turkey skipper Nihat Kahvecis two late second half strikes smashed the Czech Republics dreams after Jan Koller and Jaroslav Plasil gave the Czechs a 2-0 lead the game started brightly with the Czech Republic coming close in the first minute of the match but Marek Matejovskys right foot strike went wide of Volkan Demirels goalpost. Turkey were the first to see a booking when Mehmet Topal was shown a yellow card in the 6th minute for a challenge on Jan Polak and Mehmet Aurelio seeing yellow minutes later a booking that will mean he will miss Turkeys next match. The Czechs were starting to take control of the match with a 22-yard shot from Marek Matejovski in the 17^th minute that forced Demirel to dive well to save. Turkeys one shot on target in the first half came in the 31st minute an attempt from Servet Çetin which never really troubled Petr Cech in the Czech goal. Volkan Demirel made another excellent save just after the half hour mark. Marek Jankulovskis cross was met by Libor Sionko but his attempt was somehow parried away by the Turkish keeper and the deadlock was broken with a goal from Czech Republic striker Jan Koller who scored his 55th international goal in the 34^th minute. Koller leapt well to head home Zdenek Grygeras cross with Demirel’s right hand not strong enough to palm the ball away from goal. In the 39^th minute the Czechs were dealt an injury blow with on of the liveliest players on the pitch Marek Matejovsky was stretchered off the pitch. Czech Republic head coach Karel Bruckner replaced him with David Jarolim and the game went into half time 1-0 to the Czech Republic who commanded the 1^st period of the match and deserved the lead at the break. Turkey made a change at half time replacing Senturk with Sarioglu and came out for the second half with far more intent the Turkish captain Nihat Kahveci who was by far Turkeys best performer on the night, saw his acrobatic volley fly a couple of yards over the bar. Despite the added pressure from Turkey the Czechs doubled their lead in the 61^st minute with Jaroslav Plasil scoring an excellent diving strike smashing Libor Sionkos pinpoint cross past Volkan Demeril from just outside the six-yard box to make it 2-0. Turkey pulled a goal back in the 75^th min to give the Turks some hope of reaching the Quarter Finals. Arda Turan scored his second goal of the tournament with a solid right footed shot past Petr Cechs near post from a cross from Hamit Altintop that somehow eluded everyone else in the crowded penalty area bringing the scores to 2,1 with a quarter of an hour to play. The goal had completely contrasting effects on both teams. The Czechs who had dominated the first 75^th min of the match completely fell to pieces while Turkey took control of the game and the Czechs seemed completely stunned by conceding the goal and conceded two late goals in the dying minutes of the match both from the Turkish captain Nihat Kahveci his 1^st came in the 85^th minute with an easy tap-in to make it 2-2 with Kahveci sealing the win just two minutes later in spectacular fashion. The comeback was finished with a brilliant right foot curler from 22 yards after Nihat beat the Czech offside trap with his shot ricocheting off the underside of the crossbar before going in to make it 3-2. There was late drama in injury-time of the match when Turkey goalkeeper Volkan was sent-off for a push on Jan Koller he will miss the Quarter Final. Turkey now progress to the Quarter Finals of EURO 2008 where they meet Group B winners Croatia on Friday June 20.

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Holland have beaten France 4-1 in their EURO 2008 Group C Match at the Stade de Suisse Berne Switzerland on Friday meaning that Holland have topped Group C in the EURO 2008 Championships and the match started at a fast pace with challenges flying in from either side. Claude Makele was lucky not to receive a yellow card for jumping into Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt. Kuyt opened the scoring for the Dutch with a firm header from a corner in the 9th minute. Rafael van der Vaarts corner missed Andre Ooijer but Kuyt found space in front of Florent Malouda to head the ball in from close range to give Marco van Bastens team an early lead. Sidney Govou almost levelled for the French in the 23^rd minute Edwin van der Sar saving smartly from his turn and shot inside the area. The Oranje were having the majority of posession in the first half with Khalid Boulahrouz shooting just wide in the 27^th minute. In the 32^nd minute Makele was booked for catching Rafael van der Vaart with his arm. France started to gain a foothold in the match and some lovely control from Florent Malouda led to a French attack with Sidney Govous shot from distance saved easily by Edwin van der Saar in the 34^th minute he quickly had to make another fine save from Franck Ribery and then in the 36^th minute Ribery delivered a lovely cross right past the Netherlands goalmouth but there were no French attackers to latch on to the ball. The first-half finished 1-0 to Holland with France having started to cause problems for the Oranje defence but never really troubling Edwin van der Sar in the Netherlands goalmouth. The second half started where the first left off France taking the initiative with Thiery Henry making some space in the area crossing to Ribery who shot wide in the 47th minute in the 49^th minute the French pushing for a equalizer to keep their EURO 2008 hopes alive had a weak penalty appeal turned down for handball Henry then had a wonderful opportunity to get the French level but turned the ball over in the 54^th minute when clean through on the Dutch goal with only Van der Saar to beat. Holland took a 2-0 lead against the run of play with Robin van Persie turning fellow substitute Arjen Robbens cross in from close range after a speedy counter attack started by Van der Saar in the 59^th minute. Robben bought on for Orlando Engelaar at half time forced Gregory Coupet to save at full stretch in the 63^rd minute as he started to cause France problems the French kept pushing forward and pulled one back when Henry turned a cross from Willy Sagnol past Van der Saar to make it 2-1 in the 70th minute and unfortunately their hopes were short lived when almost straight away Robben who made a major impact when he came on put Holland 3-1 up in the 72nd minute with a shot that beat Coupet from an acute angle inside the area. The match was almost put beyond doubt when van Nistlerooy looped a header over Coupet in the 83rd minute only to see the keeper scramble it past the post. Holland sealed an emphatic win in injury time when Wesley Sneijder scored the goal of the game curling past van der Saar from 25 yards to beat the World Cup finalists 4-1. Holland now have sealed top place in Group C ahead of Italy and Romania who drew 1-1 earlier on Friday.

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Poland have drawn 1-1 with Austria in their EURO 2008 Group B match at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna on Thursday with a late penalty sealing a draw for the hosts and breaking a European Championship record. Austria started the match brightly taking command of the match from the early stages and totally outplaying Poland early in the match. A string of excellent saves from Artur Boruc saved Poland’s blushes with Martin Harnik having two great chances to put the tournament underdogs into the lead and his first shot was parried away but his second shot from close range was blocked brilliantly by the Celtic keeper and minutes later Boruc denied Christoph Leitgebs shot as Poland slowly began to find their feet in the match and come up with a few ideas of their own. Despite the early control of the match by the hosts Poland scored the opener completely against the run of play with Marek Saganowski receiving a long crossfield ball by the far post cutting inside with his cross coming off the defender and the keeper before arriving at Roger Guerreiros feet. The Brazilian born striker only had to tap the ball in from close range to make it 1-0. The game went into half-time 1-0 to Poland but with Austria having had almost total command of the first half and with far better chances at goal but yet the hosts see themselves going into the break a goal down. The second half saw Poland push Austria far more in the early stages but amost gave away a penalty minutes after the restart. Pawel Golanski looked to drag Andreas Ivanschitz down as he burst into the penalty area but referee Howard Webb waved away the Austrian appeals. Jurgen Macho made an excellent double save for Austria the first saving Jacek Baks effort with his leg and then being alert enough to punch away Mariusz Lewandowski’s follow up effort. Poland almost doubled their lead in the 68th minute when Jacek Krzynowek blasted a free kick from 35 yards which was tipped over by the crossbar by Jurgen Macho. Despite the pressure from Poland Austria were awarded a penalty in injury time after Marcin Wasilewski was adjudged to have pulled down Sebastian Prodl in the penalty area with referee Howard Webb instantly pointing for a spot kick. Substitute Ivica Vastic became at 38 year old the oldest person ever to score in the European Championships when he scored the spot kick in injury time to seal the draw and Croatia now progress to the Quarter Finals as Group B winners after their 2-0 win over Germany earlier on Thursday.

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Portugal went ahead on eight minutes when Deco scrambled the ball past keeper Petr Cech at the second attempt. The impressive Libor Sionko headed in from a corner to equalise but Ronaldo restored the lead with a low drive and then set up Ricardo Quaresma to tap in. Turkeys last gasp win over Switzerland in the late match confirmed Portugal qualification for the quarter finals.Portugals victory continued the trend so far in the tournament of every game being won by the team that scored first. It was a deserved victory for a Portugal team that improved after the interval and overcame a Czech side that responded to their coachs demand for them to improve after their unconvincing win over Switzerland and the Czechs started well looking far more purposeful than they had on Saturday with winger Sionko giving an early warning of his pace and trickery but it was Portugal who struck first when Deco scrambled the ball home at the second attempt after Cech had almost smothered it at his feet with both sides lining up with five men in midfield and each with a lone striker the first goal might have killed the game and no team had yet drawn level after falling behind in the tournament but the Czechs showed creditable resilience as well as fluidity about their play to claw their way back into the match. When the impressive Sionko who had the beating of Paulo Ferreira all game long won a corner after an excellent mazy run the Czechs forced their equalizer from the set piece Sionko finished what he had started with a diving header that powered past keeper Ricardo. Parity restored the game entered a scrappy phase with Portugal attempting to force the pace but a combative Czech back line standing firm. As a result it forced long range efforts from Petit Ronaldo and Deco but those that were on target caused Cech little trouble for the Czechs Milan Baros threatened briefly to revive his excellent form of four years ago but generally he looked as potent as the sluggish Jan Koller the man he had replaced in the starting line up after the break Portugal attempted to dictate the tempo but found their opponents in determined mood to get back in the game. Sionko narrowly failed to find Baros with a cross as the Czechs pressed for an equalizer as the game swung from end to end Deco played in Simao but Cech was equal to his shot and the next chance came the way of the Czechs when Tomas Ujfalusi’s flick on somehow evaded Sionko and Baros at the far post but a minute later Portugal regained the lead when Ronaldo clipped in a low shot from just inside the box. Still that did not end the Czechs resistance and they were close to making it 2,2 when Sionkos header was tipped over the bar by Ricardo. However it was Portugal who had the final say when Ronaldo broke quickly and squared the ball for Quaresma to slide it into an empty net.

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The game between Greece and Sweden finished 2-0 at full time in their EURO 2008 Group D match at the Wals Siezenheim Stadium in Salzburg on Tuesday evening. Angelos Charisteas was booked in just the first minute for a foul on Swedens Petter Hansson as the game started at high velocity. Charisteas managed to get a shot on goal in the 7th minute of the match but his shot was easily picked up by Andreas Isaksson in the Sweden goal with both teams canceling each other out in the early stages Henrik Larsson forced a point blank save from Antonis Nikopolidis in the 17th minute, which would not have counted as the referees assistant raised his flag for offside. The current European Champions Greece looked comfortable against Sweden without ever really looking like threatening themselves in a half of few chances with the only real opportunity falling to Zlatan Ibrahimovic who narrowly headed the ball over in the 32nd minute for Sweden. The Greek fans started to boo their team just before the break as they lost patience with the Greek negative style of play. The second half started in a bright manner with Christian Wilhelmsson shooting over the bar in the 48th minute for Sweden shortly after Ibrahimovic rifles a long range free kick over the bar with Sweden gaining the upper hand. Vassilis Torosidis booked in the 61st minute for foul on Wilhelmsson before Giorgos Karagounis had his double effort blocked by the Swedish defence in the 63rd minute with the game sparking to life Hansson forces his own keeper to save from a headed deflection from the resulting break Ibrahimovic scored a superb goal in the 67th minute with a stunning strike from the edge of the penalty area after a one two from a throw to score his first International goal in two and a half years. A bizarre goal from a goal mouth scramble gave Sweden the second a second goal just minutes later with Hansson latching on to a deflected shot from West Ham Freddie Ljungberg somehow and turn the ball in from close range in the 72nd minute. Wilhelmsson was forced off the pitch injured clutching his hamstring and the player who was on loan at Bolton Wanderers last season is now no longer expected to play any further part in EURO 2008 with Markus Rosenberg taking his place in the 78th minute. The game finished 2-0 to Sweden who now sit in second-place in Group D behind Spain who beat Russia 4,1 earlier on Tuesday.

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Ruud van Nistelrooy put the Dutch ahead in controversial circumstances after 26 minutes when he scored from close range  but looked suspiciously offside. Wesley Sneijder swept in a second from Dirk Kuyts header five minutes later. Edwin van der Sar then denied Italy with stunning saves from Fabio Grosso and Andrea Pirlo before Giovanni van Bronckhorst headed in after 80 minutes. Euro 2008 has made a low-key start, but this was a game to set any tournament alight as the Dutch played in a stunning counter attacking style and Italy also showed flashes of brilliance despite ending up well beaten. Holland are in pole position to qualify after Frances dismal goalless draw with Romania but World Cup holders Italy  even in defeat  suggested they can still go through from this tough group. Marco van Bastens side started the game accompanied by the usual question marks about fractured spirit with the Dutch camp but answered in style with their first win over Italy in 30 years and after the dreadful fare on offer in the earlier game between France and Romania the opening 45 minutes produced by two of the tournament favourites provided a glorious contrast. Italy created the first moments of danger with Antonio di Natales cross just failing to find Luca Toni as he closed in six yards out. The giant Bayern Munich striker then headed Gennaro Gattusos cross wide from a good position as all the early signs pointed to a fast flowing and positive contest. Van Nistelrooy posted the warning signals for Italy as early as the 17th minute when he collected Kuyts pass and attempted to round keeper Gianluigi Buffon. Buffon made contact with Van Nistelrooy but the striker  who had a reputation for going to ground too easily when he was with Manchester United  chose to stay on his feet and the chance was gone. Van Nistelrooy had better luck when he gave the Dutch the lead in hugely questionable circumstances after 26 minutes standing in what looked like an offside position when he steered Sneijder’s shot past Buffon. Italy were furious but the chairman of Austrias refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl later insisted that Van Nistelrooy had been played onside by Italy defender Christian Panucci who had been injured seconds and was lying off the pitch and Italys agony increased when the Netherlands doubled their advantage five minutes later via a wonderful flowing move that swept the length of the field. Van Bronckhorst had just made a vital clearance but was then ambitious and energetic enough to attack and send a long crossfield pass to find the head of Kuyt. The Liverpool forward was back pedalling, but was still able to steer the ball into the path of Sneijder who turned a neat close range finish beyond Buffon. Van Nistelrooy had the opportunity to kill the game off three minutes before the interval when he was picked out by a magical pass from Real Madrid team-mate Sneijder but Buffon made a crucial stop. Italy had not played badly and it was no surprise that they stepped the pace after the break in a bid to put the pressure back on the Netherlands. Veteran Alessandro del Piero was introduced for Di Natale and he forced Van der Sar into a smart save after 65 minutes. He then had another clear chance when he was picked out by Pirlo but this time he was wastefully off target. Toni had not been at his best in front of goal and he wasted another clear opportunity with fifteen minutes left lofting substitute Antonio Cassanos pass over Van der Sar but also over the bar. Van der Sar then came to the Netherlands rescue twice in the space of seconds in a passage of play that eventually led to his side’s third goal after 78 minutes. The Manchester United keeper blocked crucially from Grosso and then saved acrobatically from Pirlos free kick before Holland once again demonstrated their ruthlessness on the counter attack. Pirlo was still wondering how Van der Sar had stopped his effort when Van Bronckhorst surged forward once more to set up Kuyt. Kuyt saw his original effort saved by Buffon but he tirelessly retrieved the ball and crossed for Van Bronckhorst to head home despite the best efforts of Italy defender Gianluca Zabrotta. Italy could barely believe they were three goals down but it could have been worse as Dutch substitutes Ibrahim Afellay and Robin van Persie were just off target with spectacular efforts. The Dutch were worthy winners of a magnificent game and made it clear they have the quality to have a major impact on Euro 2008.

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