Euro 2012 Day 10 Wrap: Cristiano Ronaldo Rips Holland, Germans Stay Perfect

What difference can two years make?

For the Netherlands, two years make up the difference between the World Cup final and bitter disappointment.

For Germany and Portugal, we're still figuring it out.

Holland, World Cup finalists two years ago in South Africa, crashed out of Euro 2012, losing their third match in as many tries.

This time, their conquerors came from Portugal, but nearly everything else mirrored the first two matches. Once again, the star-studded Dutch lineup disappointed, and once again, Bert van Marwijk's team deserved its fate.

But Day 10 wasn't all gloom and doom.

The Germans won again, making it 3-for-3, and Joachim Löw's high-powered team are looking like a good bet to go one better than their semifinal performance at the 2010 World Cup.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo reminded Europe why he's the best player on the continent, and Portugal reminded everyone why a deep tournament run isn't out of the question.

All the details from an exciting day at Euro 2012 are inside.

A New Hope

Ahead of Sunday's matches, Holland retained hope of advancing to the Euro 2012 knockout stage despite losing their first two group matches.

Midfielder and captain for the day Rafael van der Vaart gave the Dutch even more hope with the opening goal in the 11th minute against Portugal.

And it was a beauty.

Van der Vaart collected a pass from Arjen Robben—how about that, huh?—on the right, pivoted and opened his body, then curled the ball into the side netting at the far post.

It was a brilliant, almost unstoppable, shot, and it gave Holland hope.

For a few minutes, at least.

Ronaldo Scores Two

Through the 11th minute, the Netherlands bested Portugal and deserved their lead.

After the 11th, Portugal dominated, and Cristiano Ronaldo sparkled.

The 27-year-old superstar equalized for Portugal in the 28th minute, controlling the ball and finishing expertly past Maarten Stekelenburg after João Pereira's through ball had carved open the Dutch defense.

Portugal kept attacking throughout the first half, and their advantage finally paid off in the 74th minute, when Ronaldo put the final touch on a breathtaking counter.

This time, Nani played the final pass, but the result was the same. And this time, defeat meant the end for the Netherlands.

Before the match, Ronaldo had failed to score at Euro 2012, and his teammates were fending off questions about his form.

Afterward, Ronaldo had underlined his credentials as Europe's best player, and Portugal suddenly looked like a dark horse to win it all.

So Close, but so Far

Germany won again Sunday, beating a defensive-minded Denmark 2-1 in Lviv, Ukraine.

Joachim Löw's team dominated possession, but struggled to score thanks to towering performances from the Danish defense and Daniel Agger.

Lukas Podolski, making his 100th international appearance at just 26, opened the scoring in the 19th minute, sweeping home a loose ball in the box.

Denmark hit back through Michael Krohn-Dehli's header in the 24th, set up by Nicklas Bendtner's centering header.

Lars Bender, making a rare start in defense in place of the suspended Jerome Boateng, grabbed the winner for Germany in the 80th minute.

The victory was Germany's third in as many matches at the European Championship, but with the score 1-1 late in the second half, Löw's men were surprisingly close to an early exit from the tournament.

With Portugal leading Holland 2-1, Germany would have been eliminated with a 2-1 loss to Denmark. Instead, they now head to the quarterfinals as one of the favorites.

Such is life at Euro 2012.

Firsts

Before Euro 2012, Germany had never won all three group matches at the European Championship.

Before Euro 2012, the Netherlands had never lost all three group matches at the European Championship.

Clearly then, there's a first time for everything.

Group B Table

Group B is now complete with Germany finishing on top with nine points. The Germans had a perfect record in group play, a feat no other Euro 2012 team can match.

Joachim Löw's team will play Greece on Friday in Gdansk, Poland.

With six points from two wins, Portugal will advance to the quarterfinals as Group B's second-place team. They will face the Czech Republic on Thursday in Warsaw.

Denmark and the Netherlands have been eliminated.

Quote of the Day

It didn't take long for the speculation to start.

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has a contract through 2016, but within minutes of Holland's third and final loss at Euro 2012, he was already defending himself.

In the post-match press conference following Holland's 2-1 loss to Portugal, Van Marwijk headed off reporters with a simple—but telling—statement.

"You can ask me all types of questions," he said, "but not about my future" (per BBC).

Big Names Out?

Tuesday's match between England and Ukraine could be missing two of the teams' big names.

Theo Walcott starred for England in a substitute's role against Sweden, and legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko (pictured) scored twice in Ukraine's opener.

Both are doubtful for Tuesday's game.

Walcott is nursing a tight hamstring and Shevchenko has fluid in his left knee (via The Guardian).

Looking Ahead

Group C resumes play Monday, with two more quarterfinal spots up for grabs.

Italy and the Republic of Ireland play in Poznan, Poland, while Croatia and Spain play in Gdansk. Both matches are set for 2:45 p.m. ET start times.

Spain and Croatia are tied atop Group C with four points each, Italy have two points and Ireland have none.

Spain, Croatia and Italy are all still alive in the race for the quarterfinals.

Overnight Reading

B/R world football lead writer Will Tidey opines on Ronaldo and Portugal making their case at Euro 2012.

Mohamed Al-Hendy writes about how Greece's shocking win over Russia is uniting a nation.

Sam Tighe tells us what to expect from the Italy-Ireland match, and Tony Mabert asks if we can keep the Irish fans around.

Finally, I've got five bold predictions for both of the quarterfinal matches that have been set so far. Here's Czech Republic-Portugal, and here's Germany-Greece.

Follow @MikeCummings37