POOL B NETHERLANDS 0 DENMARK 1:BEFORE THE first shock result of Euro 2012, the Denmark head coach, Morten Olsen, had spoken approvingly of the Dutch being arrogant in a good way. He might be revising that opinion after hearing the Dutch players join their coach, Bert van Marwijk, in claiming the better team lost but deserved to win.
“It was a miracle, they only made half a chance and they scored,” John Heitinga said. “It’s unbelievable; look how many chances we created.
“Denmark didn’t play very well, you can’t have played well when you give so many chances away. We don’t need to play any better in the next two games, we just need to score. We’ve got the players, we’ve got the quality, the only problem is we are bottom of the group.”
Rafael van der Vaart said confidence would come back if the Dutch won against Germany. “The next game will be like a final for us, we need a win, so it is easy,” the striker said, after coming on as a second-half substitute against Denmark.
“We really had to win that game to feel comfortable, but if you miss your chances you cannot win a match. It puts us in a difficult position now, I think we are going to need two wins. They had one chance all game, maybe two, and they scored. To be fair though, it was an amazing goal.”
Michael Krohn-Dehli’s instant control and turn of pace to sweep past the Dutch defence and slip his shot under Maarten Stekelenburg certainly surprised Ron Vlaar and a statuesque back line. Krohn-Dehli did not make the Danish squad for the last World Cup, and has just transferred back to Brondby after failing to make a sufficient impression at Ajax.
“I made a mistake not calling up Michael two years ago,” Olsen admitted. “But he’s in better shape now and a good age to be a striker for the Denmark team for years to come.”
Denmark deserved this result, and the Dutch were never as superior as Van Marwijk suggested, though they did start as if they meant to overwhelm their opponents and created at least half a dozen decent scoring opportunities.
All were missed, mostly by Robin van Persie, although Van Marwijk was reluctant to pin the blame on his striker.
“Four, five or six players had chances to score, plus the referee had a chance to give us a penalty and didn’t,” he said. “When you are the better team and you don’t get a penalty you deserve, there is nothing you can do.”
It would be difficult to say that Lars Jacobsen’s alleged handball in the final minute should have resulted in a penalty. The referee had a good view and decided not to award one.
Denmark can approach their next game against Portugal with increased confidence and their usual defensive solidarity.
Against Germany, the Netherlands must win the game and need to attack. That probably means a place in their starting line-up for either Van der Vaart or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and possibly having a word with Arjen Robben about playing for the team rather than himself.
Guardian Service
