Italy held to 1-1 draw, The Nedtherlands dominate France

Death must be an exciting thing, because the "Group of Death" is so exciting that I'm constantly on the edge of my seat.  The two World Cup finalists could be ousted by the proverbial underdog, Romania, and Holland is undeniably the most entertaining team I have seen in a while.  

Romania and Italy played to an eventful, controversial, and entertaining draw.  Italy thought they exorcised their demons when Luca Toni scored a fantastic header to the top corner.  However, the linesman ruled him offside.  The replay clearly showed that he was onside, but the goal didn't stand and the score remained level.  Adrian Mutu made the Italian faithful cringe when he latched onto a through ball and buried it in the back of the net.  Italians didn't have to wait more than a minute for the equalizer though, as Christian Panucci put Giorgio Chiellini's flick in to the Romanian net just a minute after Mutu gave Romania the lead.  The referee was again the culprit when he called a penalty against Italy in the 81st minute.  Mutu stepped up but Buffon was up to the task.  He dived by the ball, but his trailing hand hit the ball, and the danger was over.  Italy must be disappointed with their 1-1 tie, and Romania ecstatic with their destiny in their own hands.

As back and forth as the Italy Romania match was, it was nothing compared to the Dutch and The French.  The Dutch won 4-1 over the French, and the French were to put it lightly, ripped to shreds.  The Dutch truly achieved "Total Football" in their past two games.  With their victory they clinched first place in the group, and a match with the second place team from group D.  Dirk Kuyt, Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben, and Wesley Sneijder all scored in dramatic fashion propelling the Dutch to the quarterfinals.  

France and Italy will play next tuesday, and so will Romania and The Nedtherlands.  If France and Italy tie, then all Romania needs is a point to advance.  If Romania wins, they are through.  If Romania lose, then the winner of France and Italy will go through.  If France and Italy are tied after regular time, they will go to penalties to determine a winner.   

I hope you enjoy this fantastic day of soccer. It doesn't get better than this.  As always, leave your thoughts below in the comments section.