Dutch are 'obliged' to beat Germany, says Hummels

GDANSK, Poland (AFP) –

German defender Mats Hummels takes part in a press conference at Dwor Oliwski hotel in Gdansk. Hummels has said World Cup finalists Holland are “obliged” to beat the Germans in Wednesday’s key clash at Euro 2012 — or risk suffering a potential first-round exit.

Germany defender Mats Hummels has said World Cup finalists Holland are “obliged” to beat the Germans in Wednesday’s key clash at Euro 2012 — or risk suffering a potential first-round exit.

Germany opened their Group B campaign in Lviv, Ukraine, on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal after striker Mario Gomez scored the winner with a second-half header.

Earlier, Denmark had inflicted a shock 1-0 win on Holland in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as Michael Krohn-Dehli’s first-half finish also got the Danes off to a winning start in Group B.

Having lost 3-0 to Germany in a friendly last November, the Dutch take on the Germans again in Kharkiv on Wednesday badly needing three points to have any chance of surviving what has been dubbed “The Group of Death”.

A second defeat for the Oranje at the hands of Joachim Loew’s Germany would leave Holland’s chances of reaching the last eight of Euro 2012 hanging by a thread and dependent on Portugal beating the Danes later on Wednesday in Lviv.

“The Dutch are practically obliged to win, they will play at their best and invest everything they have got,” said 23-year-old Hummels in Sunday’s press conference.

“Anything but a win could mean their tournament exit so it is already their final, way before the actual final.

“There is a huge history and a healthy rivalry between the two nations, so either team will have to give 100 percent, they have to win and we want to secure our passage to the quarter-finals.”

Hummels impressed at centre-back against Portugal and played a big part in the German team managing to subdue Real Madrid star Ronaldo.

The Borussia Dortmund defender now faces Holland’s star-studded attack which boasts the likes of Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, Arsenal‘s Robin van Persie and Schalke 04′s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Hummels played against all three last season either in the Champions League or the Bundesliga, especially Robben who he played three times: twice in the league and once in the German Cup final as Dortmund won the league-cup double.

“As far as Holland is concerned, it would be nice if it was only Arjen Robben to worry about,” said Hummels.

“We saw some scenes from Saturday’s match where van Persie, (Inter Milan’s Wesley) Sneijder or (Barcelona‘s) Ibrahim Afellay looked dangerous.

“They have tremendous fire-power up front, marking Robben will be just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle, but there will be many others to worry about.

“(Van Persie and Huntelaar) probably belong to the top eight strikers in the world.

“Huntelaar has had a superb Bundesliga season, any balls which came near him were whacked or headed into the back of the net.

“We have to ensure neither of them get into a position where they are close to finishing, but world-class players need very few chances to score.”

Hummels said Saturday’s Portugal match may have lacked the sparkle many fans were hoping for after both teams had watched the Dutch lose to the Danes.

“For outsiders, it probably looked like it was heavy going, but we had watched the Dutch-Denmark game before and that must have instilled some fear in both teams, as you are right on the back foot if you lose,” he explained.