The struggle after a wild night in Ukraine is just to fit everything into five bullet points, but I’m going to give it a shot.
Denmark 1 – Netherlands 0
Germany 1 – Portugal 0
– Denmark played it perfectly. For the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s opener, the Danes were content to absorb the Dutch pressure, launching long balls as far as they could whenever they broke up an attack. It was a risky strategy, but it paid off when Michael Krohn-Dehli clinically finished on Denmark’s first chance of the game in the 24th minute. From there, the Danes would’ve been expected to sit back, but they aimed to control possession instead. The tactics were unorthodox, but the end result was the biggest Denmark win since 1992.
– Netherlands is in serious trouble. To lose an opening match is one thing; to face a do-or-die showdown against the consensus tournament favorite in game two just to stay alive is quite another. The Dutch created chance after chance against Denmark, but couldn’t find the equalizer and looked spent by the final whistle. The heads better pick up fast, because anything but a draw against Germany on Wednesday will see one of the most talented Dutch sides in history effective eliminated.
– Portugal deserved better. This side is tabbed as a perennial underachiever at major tournaments, but it is hard to imagine a better effort than the Portuguese put forth on Saturday. They defended resolutely, were creative in attack, and were agonizingly close (inches away, in Pepe’s case) from going ahead on multiple occasions. Germany had their share of chances as well, but it would take a hardened cynic to claim that Portugal didn’t earn at least a point.
– The battle for second is going to be epic. The only side that didn’t look like a legitimate title contender was the defending World Cup runners-up and number-four in the world Dutch. Germany’s win puts them in the driver’s seat to take the group, but the other quarter-final berth is up for grabs. Denmark and Portugal were hugely impressive — who would’ve guessed that their Wednesday match may be the most important in the group?
– History repeats itself. It may be cruel, but Germany is traditionally known as a team that always finds a way to win, while Netherlands and Portugal can never quite get over the hump. So it proved in Kharkiv and Lviv. The Dutch did everything but score against the Danes, while Portugal probably gave more than it got against Germany, but both lost. Now, both teams could be eliminated by what had appeared to be a crucial day three matchup.
