The 10-point outlook for the morning with no chronological significance:

1. Group C looks like the one that will go a long way in defining this tournament.

2. Italy can really generate some buzz suprisingly lacking for a reigning World Cup champion with a commanding performance against the Netherlands.

3. Portugal has Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain has Fernando Torres, but France has Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and international dynamo Franck Ribery, which should make for the far better offensive show (and Karim Benzema wasn’t mentioned in this sentence.)

4. You know the old adage about group openers like Netherlands-Italy: they’re must-wins, worth putting everything on the line for and … usually end up with the score deadlocked.

5. Edwin van der Sar is an early, early, early candidate for European Footballer of the Year, it’s just that his task right here and now is to out-do Gianluigi Buffon.

6. And what exactly is Romania bringing to this table?

7. There’s that hole in the Italian back line and the Dutch dilemmas, so Ruud van Nistelrooy will undoubtedly be sniffing around for some of that proverbial blood in the water.

8. One might wonder who will take the more daring approach initially with both their managerial reputations on the line back home, France’s Domanech or Italy’s Donadoni.

9. They have impact players Daniel George Niculae and Marius Constantin Niculae, but Nicolae Marius Dica will be the one who can turn the first needed upset for Romania with his notorious free-kick abilities. 

10. The French-Italian dynamic may quickly start to lose its edge should both teams get the early convincing wins that will take some early urgency out of their World Cup title rematch royale in the group finale next week.