On 9 June 2008, Donadoni was handed the biggest defeat for Italy's national team in over 25 years by former Milan teammate Marco van Basten, a 3–0 loss to the Netherlands. Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro was unable to play due to injury, and Donadoni was widely criticised for his choice of players for the match. His team drew the subsequent match with Romania on 13 June, despite some controversial officiating which saw a goal called back in each of these games creating intense criticism of the officials. The team then beat France 2–0 on 17 June to progress to the quarter-finals against much-fancied Spain, the eventual champions. The two teams played out a 0–0 draw, the only match Spain was held scoreless in regular time throughout the tournament. However, the Spaniards won 4–2 on penalties.