Euro 2012: Portugal Doing Well to Survive in the "Group of Death"

Denmark (41', 80' Bendtner) 2 - 3 (24' Pepe, 36' Postiga, 87' Varela) Portugal
 
Portugal kept its dream of Euro 2012 gold afloat after surviving a Danish – or should we say Nicklas Bendtner? – comeback, with a narrow 3-2 victory.  

As critics loved to point out before, during, and after the match, golden boy Cristiano Ronaldo failed to impress yet again.  The Portuguese all-star missed two critical goals that could have put nerves at rest.  It would be Silvestre Varela that who rode in at the very last minute, serving as Portugal's metaphorical Knight In Shining Armor.  Varela's late strike at the 87' minute mark solidified three points for his side, keeping hopes alive for A Selecção and their fans.  These three points take the Portuguese on to the qualification race for Group B into the final match day where they will face the Dutch (Netherlands) this Sunday.

As aforementioned in this article, Portugal has become quite predictable, showing a consistent strategy no matter the opponent.  And as expected, Paulo Bento made no changes to his side as they went toe-to-toe against the Danes at L'viv Arena.  Pressure weighed heavily on Cristiano's shoulders, and while the Real Madrid man is accustomed to playing on a world stage, perhaps being grouped into what has been endearingly coined as the "Group of Death" heightened that pressure by the tenfolds.  He had a promising 10 to 15 minutes of play, but was noticeably not himself the rest of the match.

The Danes give the first surprise of the Euro 2012

The “Group of Death” started with a big upset. The Dutch had been rated as the third best team in the Championship after the always-powerful Germany and defending champion Spain. However, Denmark defied logic, being considered the weakest team of the group, and clinched a 1-0 victory. 

“La Naranja Mecanica” (The orange machine) dominated possession and was not able to capitalize on the abundant chances it created, they had 28 total shots. On the other hand a well organized and confident Danish team capitalized one of the very few chances they created. Michael Krohn-Dehli skillfully sprinted through two defenders and blasted the ball in between Stekelenburg’s legs. The Dutch were stunned after being in total control of the game. Much was expected from Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben, but they weren’t having their days. A good sign for the Dutch was Sneijder’s notable performance, he kept feeding chances to his teammates whom just couldn’t capitalize. If the Dutch can fix their aim, they will delight us with their crushable offense. 

UEFA Euro 2012: Netherlands vs. Denmark Match Preview

The Dutch and Danish will go head-to-head this Saturday in Kharkiv at the Oblasny SportKomplex Metalist.  Both sides seem to be top form, with Netherlands's Joris Mathijsen as the only doubtful due to a hamstring injury.

Denmark does not score much or often, but have the ability to linger back and attack the opponent on the break. They have the ability to create problems for the Dutch side, particularly for strikers Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Robin Van Persie.

In Case You Missed It: International Roundup – Denmark v. Brasil

Denmark 1-3 Brasil

A young Brasil team pulled a 3-1 victory over Denmark, putting a damper on Olsen's Euro 2012 plans.  Hulk – yes, you read that correctly – led his team to victory, in spite of the frazzled start of the match.  The striker attacked twice in the first half and Denmark's Niki Zimling's own goal put the Seleção up 3-0.

In all fairness, the Danes were lackluster at the start, punished after just eight minutes thanks to the Brasilian Hulk.  Slick play from the São Paulo and Internacional opened up the game for the striker as he released a wicked dipping effort that caught Denmark's Sorensen off-guard.  Oscar looked for Hulk in the middle minutes later but his cross instead found Niki Zimling, who put it past his own keeper.