Euro 2012 Group B: Germany Should Play the Same Formation Against Holland

Tomorrow's game at the Metalist stadium, in Kaharkiv, sees the renewal of possibly the greatest rivalry in the history of European football.

Germany vs. Holland has become one of the most hotly contested matches in international football, coming a close second in ferocity only to the battle of the South American giants, Argentina and Brazil.

And what's more, this game could not be more important for either side to win.

The Dutch will effectively be knocked out of the tournament—barring a miracle—if they lose the match, having slunk to a shocking 1-0 defeat in their opening game of Euro 2012 against Denmark.

The Germans, however, are in a much more positive position and, in complete contrast, need the win to all but ensure they finish the group stages as the leaders of pool B.

Neither of these outcomes would be complete certainties, but in both scenarios there would have to be a lot of results going a very different way from how we expect it, for them not to come to fruition.

In terms of the match itself, Germany need to play the same way that they did against the Portuguese on Saturday night.

The way in which Joachim Loew's men kept control of the ball in the midfield, waiting for the perfect moment to strike against Ronaldo and co., was essential to the fact that they were at no point really in threat of conceding from open play.

They didn't leave themselves exposed once against a very talented Portuguese offence, and a similar performance against a Dutch team that seems to be able to create chances, but not put them away, would stand them in good stead for another victory.

If truth be told, though, the one area in which the Germans should look to improve is their work in the final third of the pitch.

Defensively and in the midfield they were almost uncriticizable, but in front of goal Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller seemed incapable of picking out the right pass or cross for Mario Gomez in the centre.

One would have to assume that this was as a result of first-game nerves—in fact, as the match itself went on, both of these players improved drastically in this respect.

Although if that same problem does crop up again versus the Netherlands, Loew and his men might have to do some serious training drills to weed it out of their systems.

The man to keep quiet in this game will be Wesley Sneijder.

Sneijder was one of the few positive sparks for Holland in their dismal 1-0 defeat to the Danes last week.

Sneijder, seemingly able to pick a teammate out from anywhere on the pitch, would have more than likely finished with a hat-trick of assists if the Dutch forwards had performed to the standards we have come to expect of them.  

In what is undoubtedly the biggest clash of the Euros so far, these two sides will come face to face once again tomorrow at 21:45 Ukrainian time.

The outcome could decide the whole championship.