There was an almost unanimous
opinion in the sporting media in the day or so running up to this Group B
opener that it was going to be practically a walkover for the Dutch and
although they held the majority of the possession for most parts of the game,
they lost it. Their opponents, Denmark ,
throughout the game, worked hard to prevent Holland from scoring and in the process by
way of their counter-attacking play, they produced a goal themselves.
Although on paper, looking at what
the two teams have achieved over the past ten years, one would have been
inclined to have said that Bert Van Marwijk’s team would have beaten the Danes
by a score of at least two nil. But this was to be no David versus Goliath
contest and the supposed lesser team, at least according to FIFA’s rankings
rose to the challenge set before them, which was to keep their opposites at
bay.
The fixture produced a more
entertaining game than what had been seen the day before with the proceedings
of Group A and with less goals to boot and that is not to presume that
aggression and temper ruled the ninety minutes at the Metalist Stadium. No. The
match was good because as it carried on, the potential for an upset only
increased and both teams started to take risks in order to equalize or finish
the game.
For the duration of the game, all
that happened was that the Netherlands
attacked and Denmark
defended and thinking back over the game, it was a miracle for the team in
white not to have conceded but their defense held excellently. The Defense
would usually then pass it out to midfield in order to threaten the Dutch box
for a minute or two and then the cycle would repeat when the Orange
team recovered the ball.
The Holland team, which contained big names such
as Van Persie, Robben and Sneijder tried their best to beat the Danish Dynamite
but on viewing the game it was clear to see that players such as the
aforementioned Robben as well as De Jong, lacked not the ability but the
confidence to successfully outmuscle an opposing defender and score. The fact
of the matter was that the Oranje who happened to have entered the box relied
heavily on aerial passes to Van Persie from the wide areas.
It was around the twenty fourth
minute that a forward and out of position Simon Poulsen made a cross from wide
after dealing with Van der Wiel, which found Michael Krohn Dehli who promptly
scored a goal for Denmark, which stunned many. The Dutch continued to attack as
they had been, without urgency as well as with some missed chances in front of
goal, for which they had paid the price.
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| Krohn Dehli about to celebrate his goal. |
However, the tempo increased after
the break and the attacks from Holland were noticeably more resolute and
precise but bad luck would thwart them for this half too as Denmark became more
determined to hold on to their one nil lead. From the seventy first minute
onward, the Dutch began taking off midfield for attacking players with Rafeal
Van der Vaart and Klaas jan Huntlaar replacing the defender at fault for the
goal de Jong as well as Afellay.
Even when the other faulty defender
Van der Wiel was taken off for Dirk Kuyt, a forward, the Danish had made their
own substitutions and were taking play more into midfield and by the time the
final whistle had blown the Dutch looked polar opposites to the counterparts in
white, frustrated and tired.
The Danes, overjoyed from their
victory should find encouragement from this giant slaying, which it will no
doubt be termed, while the Dutch should look to their second half attacking
play and admit that they just got it wrong on the day. Congratulations Denmark !
