In every international tournament there is always a group that has the potential to see one of the favourites eliminated from the first round. In the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, the Group of Death contained Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark. Realistically all three sides had a chance, but the group winner was expected to between the three European big guns.
Going into the clash between these two great rivals, Germany were in a good spot having beaten Portugal 1-0 in their opening game four days before. Netherlands had been surprisingly beaten by Denmark 3-2, so while a draw would have kept Germany well in contention a win was about the minimum that the Dutch wanted. A win against a very strong Germany side is much easier said than done, of course.
Bert van Marwijk's side came into the tournament with high expectations. They, along with Germany, were one of the favourites for the tournament, and with the likes of Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder all in the peak years of their career they were expected to cause major damage. Suddenly, however, they needed a good result against Germany to even claw themselves back into contention to reach the second round.
It was the Germans who started brightest, following an early volley from Van Persie that was comfortably saved, and they could have been ahead after just eight minutes. They created a volleying opportunity of their own for Mesut Ozil, but his well-struck effort rattled the inside of the post and rebounded kindly for the Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, who was beaten by the initial effort.
Had Van Persie been in better form, the result might have been so much more favourable for his side. He squandered a huge number of chances against the Danes, and he missed another not long after Ozil's effort. Robben was becoming their key player, and it was his pass that set Van Persie away in the box, but the striker pulled a dragged effort wide of the far post.
And, just as they had been against Denmark, the Netherlands were punished by going behind. Thomas Muller - so effective off the right - cut in to find Bastian Schweinsteiger. In turn, the Bayern Munich man found his club teammate Mario Gomez, who controlled brilliantly before finishing past a helpless Stekelenburg. Seven minutes before the break it was 2-0 and potentially lights out for Holland, as the same pair combined again for Gomez to thrash an unstoppable finish just inside the post.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Rafael van der Vaart were both thrown on at the break as Van Marwijk rolled the dice, but the increase in attacking talent led to a more open game with holes appearing in the middle. Germany could have been 3-0 up before Van Persie had a shot well saved by Manuel Neuer.
The lifeline did finally arrive and it was Van Persie who, perhaps with an air of frustration, lashed one beyond Neuer from 25 yards with his weaker foot. The game looked to be turning, but Germany managed to hold on for the win that ensured their qualification but left the Dutch on the brink. They now needed to comfortably beat Portugal and hope that Denmark did the job against Germany.
