Denmark appeared to be the big losers of the Euro 2012 draw. They found themselves in Group B, alongside soccer powers Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal. Apparently no one let the Danes know they were to go quietly, as they pulled off the first major upset of the championship, shocking the Dutch by a score of 1-0.

PHOTO CREDIT - AssociatedPress.org

Edmonton - June 9, 2012 - Denmark appeared to be the big losers of the Euro 2012 draw. They found themselves in Group B, alongside soccer powers Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal. Apparently no one let the Danes know they were to go quietly, as they pulled off the first major upset of the championship, shocking the Dutch by a score of 1-0.

Michael Krohn-Dehli's early goal was all Denmark would need, as they rode the strength of a superb defensive effort to the upset victory. The lose now puts Holland behind the eight ball, as they will likely need positive results against both Germany and Portugal, to advance to the knockout stages of Euro 2012.

Though the Dutch carried the play from the opening whistle, they were unable to put the ball in the back of the net. They came in waves but were either stopped by the Denmark defensive wall or simply missed the target all together. As is often the case in sport, when one side misses numerous opportunities they opposition generally will find a way to score on the other end, which is exactly what the Danes did.

With the flow of play having all been at the other end of the pitch, some power defending from Holland allowed Denmark to produce a chance out of nowhere, which proved to be rather costly. Krohn-Dehli picked up loose ball on the edge of the Dutch box and work himself in a bit of lovely footwork, before beating Maarten Stekelenburg with a blast that found it's way between the keepers legs. Just like that, the Danes were in front, leaving the Netherlands and their supporters in disbelief. Twenty-four minutes into the match, the favourites were trailing despite dominating the play.

The Netherlands continued to pressure but we unable to feed an equalizer before the end of the half, despite some glorious chances from Robin van Persie and a strike off the boot of Arjen Robben that rattled off the bar. Miraculously, the Danes were in the lead after the opening forty-five.

Holland continued to press throughout the second but again were unable to find the mark. Outside of a great stop by goalkeeper Dennis Rommedahl off substitute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, at the seventy-sixth minute, the Denmark defence was outstanding. Keeping the favourites to the outside and limiting their chances on goal. The harder the Dutch tried to penetrate the Danes backend, the better the underdogs seemed to defend.


Group B - Results and Schedule


06/09/12 – Denmark 1 Netherlands 0
06/09/12 – Germany vs Portugal
06/13/12 – Denmark vs Portugal
06/13/12 – Netherlands vs Germany
06/17/12 – Portugal vs Netherlands
06/17/12 – Denmark vs Germany