ZURICH -- Good afternoon from Zurich. Sitting in the stadium media centre at the Letzigrund stadium, which is a kind of underground concrete bunker, but with nice high ceilings. Actually not the worst place to work.
Technology willing, you're looking at photos of the giant soccer figures installed at Zurich's hauptbahnhof – the main railway station. They're amazingly lifelike, if a little creepy. In case you don't recognize the faces, that's Alexander Frei in the Swiss uniform, Michael Ballack for Germany, Robin Van Persie for Holland and of course Peter Cech in the helmet.
Today the Group of Death wraps up with Italy and France playing here, and Holland and Romania playing in Bern simultaneously.
There are all kinds of permutations involved in who will go through to the quarter-finals along with the Dutch. You might want to get out a pen and paper for this:
If Romania wins, they're through.
France needs a win and a draw or loss from Romania to advance.
If Romania loses and France and Italy play to a draw in which goals are scored, Italy would go through because they would have scored more goals in games involving the three teams.
If Romania loses by one or two goals, or loses by a three goal margin other than 3-0, and the France-Italy game finishes 0-0, Romania goes through either because of goal differential or goals scored.
If Romania loses 3-0 and the other game is scoreless, Italy goes through for reasons which are not easily explained without the use of higher mathematics.
If Romania loses by four or more and the other match ends 0-0, Italy goes through on goal difference.
Got that?
