Holland vs. Denmark: Group of Death Claims Shaky Dutch Squad

Group B offers no easy games and the Netherlands may be the first world power to make an early exit after a shocking 1-0 loss to Denmark.

The Netherlands were finalists at the 2010 World Cup and came into Euro 2012 as the No. 4 ranked team in the world.

The Danes brought a strong squad to the tournament as well and are ranked No. 9.

The Dutch dominated possession in the early part of the game, but failed to put any of their chances away.

In the 24^th minute, Denmark struck the fatal blow when Michael Krohn-Dehli made a decisive cut past the Dutch defense and smashed a low strike between the legs of Maarten Stekelenburg, Holland’s goalkeeper.

No European Championship match is complete without a bit of controversy, and in stoppage time, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar tapped the ball into the outstretched arm of Danish defender Lars Jacobsen. It was clearly a hand ball and should have yielded a penalty for the Dutch, but the infraction was overlooked by the referee.

But the officials were not the cause of the upset, and the heralded Dutch attack delivered a lackluster performance. 

The Netherlands out-shot Denmark 32-5. If Holland hopes to have any sort of success at the tournament, they will have to do a lot better than zero goals on 32 shots.

Whether it was opening match jitters, or the players are still getting used to one another, the Dutch must solve their problems quickly if they are to have any hope of surviving the Group of Death.

The team’s next match is against Germany, one of the favorites to win the tournament. A loss in that match will likely close the casket on the men in orange.

As for the Danes, they have established a blueprint to continue their success at Euro 2012. They played excellent defense and were able to frustrate the Dutch attackers. They got an early goal, then focused all their energy in the defensive third of the field.

And of course, they received a little bit of luck. If the team can execute a similar game plan in its upcoming matches, it has an excellent shot at continuing past the group stage.