Denmark’s upset victory over tournament favourites Holland in the opening match of Group B was an absolute shocker for every soccer enthusiast in the world, while the whole of Denmark celebrated a famous win in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. We look at five important things the match taught us tonight:
The Danes were made the unofficial pre-tournament fourth seeds in a group which consisted of title contenders Holland and Germany, alongside perennial dark-horses Portugal. But with this stunning triumph, Denmark have reinstated their status as being another team-to-look-out-for in a competition they last won in ‘92 when they defied all odds and predictions. If Portugal and Germany were expecting a breather against Denmark, the Netherlands game surely must have diluted any such thoughts. On the other-hand, this win will give the Danes a huge boost in confidence and will hold them in good stead in their two remaining, but equally tough, group fixtures.
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After a phenomenal season for both club and country, the Dutch forward was being hailed as Holland’s flag-bearer in Euro 2012 after repeatedly being accorded with the title of the best striker in the world. With 48 goals in all competitions for Arsenal and another seven for Netherlands, RvP came into this summer’s Euro in red-hot form, ready to guide Oranje to their first major international trophy since their famous Euro triumph in 1988. However, the Dutchman was a pale shadow of the player we saw in Arsenal colors, failing to find his footing throughout the course of the match. He fluffed a couple of easy chances and his team’s severe inability in front of goal was largely due to his below-par performance. The Dutch will be hoping that RvP gets his touch back as quickly as possible.
After a tormenting season in which he was loaned out to Roma following a series of dreadful displays for Wolfsburg, the highly-rated Kjaer seemed to be slowly fading into oblivion. Some pundits even went to the extent of preferring Andreas Bjelland over the 23-year old. However, the Danish talent of 2009 was a figure of utmost calm and composure against the fabled attack of the Dutch. He made some crucial interceptions, put in a few breathtaking challenges and was very solid in the centre of defence. He was ably supported by his partner and Danish captain Daniel Agger and they along with full backs Lars Jacobsen, Simon Poulsen and keeper Stephan Andersen put in a magnificent defensive display to survive the Dutch onslaught in the opening and closing stages of the game.
Blame it on a misfiring and selfish Ibrahim Afellay or not, the tried and tested 4-2-3-1 Dutch formation, long being used by Bert vans Marwijk and his predecessor Marco van Basten, didn’t quite bear fruits against a very well engineered 4-3-3 Denmark line-up. RvP often cut a lonely figure upfront, while one was often left wondering whether both the two deep lying midfielders, de Jong and van Bommel, were being fully used to their potential. Although Holland’s main reason for the defeat was their poor finishing, but the result has given the Dutch coach some food for thought, and might just prompt him to try and accommodate Bundesliga top-scorer Huntelaar in the starting eleven.
A low-key defense has for long been Holland’s Achilles Heel in major international tournaments. And their weakness in that department came to the fore again against a very creative Denmark attack. John Heitinga let Krohn-Dehli go past ever so easily in a move which ultimately led to the only goal of the game. The Dutch defense was carved open a number of times and a similar showing against the stronger offensive units of Portugal and Germany will prove highly detrimental to their fortunes in the competition.
The opening game of group B has thrown the ‘Group of Death’ wide open. Netherlands now can’t afford to lose any of their remaining two games against Germany and Portugal, a prospect which seems very daunting given their exploits against Denmark and the quality of the opposition teams. Denmark, who finished above Portugal in the qualifying group, will be a tough nut to crack for both Germany and Portugal. The class of Germany and the flair of Portugal makes group B matches an even more mouth-watering prospect. It’s disappointing to know that eventually this group will see two very good teams being knocked out at such a premature stage of the tournament.
