A Danish Lesson: How Holland’s Elegance Faltered Against Measured Resolve

Denmark delivered Euro 2012’s first true shock, subduing a curiously subdued Holland with a disciplined, quietly confident performance that left Bert van Marwijk’s men peering nervously at the precipice. If the Dutch are to navigate their perilous group, they will need to urgently recalibrate the fragile connection between their midfield artisans and the isolated figure of Robin van Persie, whose lonely vigils up front spoke volumes of a team struggling to justify its billing among the tournament favourites.

This was not a match Denmark dominated, yet they deserved their victory for executing their plan with more clarity and conviction. Their goal was a minor masterpiece—both in its directness and its audacity—and thereafter they defended with admirable composure, still finding moments to hint at a second. In contrast, Holland’s celebrated midfield looked strangely bereft of guile, failing time and again to stitch meaningful patterns that might have fed their premier marksman. Van Persie, all too often starved of service, could count on little beyond the ceaseless industry of Wesley Sneijder. As Denmark’s manager Morten Olsen remarked with cool understatement: “We found enough room to play the game we wanted to play. Perhaps we might have been sharper with the final ball; we will need that against Portugal.”

For a quarter of an hour, the script unfolded as anticipated. The Dutch, full of early swagger, penned Denmark into their own half. Ibrahim Afellay twice threatened with efforts that narrowly missed, while Van Persie dragged a shot wide from Arjen Robben’s cut-back before turning provider himself, floating a cross that Sneijder might have preferred to receive from the Arsenal striker rather than the reverse. When Denmark finally gained a free-kick in a promising area—courtesy of Ron Vlaar’s cumbersome challenge on Nicklas Bendtner—Christian Eriksen squandered it, shooting tamely into the wall.

Midway through the half, Holland contrived their best opening when John Heitinga and Mark van Bommel combined cleverly to slip Robben behind the Danish line. Opting to square rather than shoot, the winger only succeeded in inviting Lars Jacobsen to intervene before the ball could reach Van Persie. Even so, Robben’s clever reverse pass moments later gave Van Persie a glimpse of goal, though his swivelled effort drifted agonisingly wide.

Then, with almost mischievous disregard for the run of play, Denmark conjured a goal of rare simplicity and effectiveness in the 24th minute. Simon Poulsen’s powerful surge down the left produced a rebound that Michael Krohn-Dehli collected with deft assurance, accelerating past Vlaar and slotting coolly beneath Maarten Stekelenburg. It was a goal that seemed to drain the colour from Dutch cheeks.

The lead invigorated Denmark, who began to hold the ball higher up the pitch, even as Holland’s riposte gathered menace. Robben struck a post from distance, Afellay’s rising drive narrowly cleared the bar, and Sneijder’s intelligent pass just before the interval put Van Persie in, only for a clumsy first touch to invite Andersen to save. Krohn-Dehli, meanwhile, remained a persistent threat, forcing Stekelenburg into a low stop before half-time.

In truth, Holland’s malaise centred on their inability to weave Van Persie into their attacking fabric. When Sneijder released him shortly after the restart, the striker uncharacteristically tangled with his own feet. He did at least test Andersen moments later, while Van Bommel’s low shot demanded an even smarter intervention from the Denmark keeper. Afellay, increasingly desperate, let fly from range; Heitinga headed over. But Denmark, through Poulsen’s marauding runs, always hinted at springing another surprise—only Afellay’s alertness prevented Jacobsen from profiting at the far post.

As the game ticked into its final phase, Dutch attacks grew more frantic than fluent. Robben, betraying the anxiety gnawing at his side, sent a header embarrassingly wide when well-placed. With Krohn-Dehli again forcing Stekelenburg into action, Van Marwijk belatedly turned to Rafael van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the closing 20 minutes—a move many might argue should have been his opening gambit. Both seemed too potent to be mere bench options, and each nearly altered the narrative: Sneijder’s sublime flick sent Huntelaar racing clear, only for Andersen to smother decisively. Huntelaar also appealed—futilely—for handball against Jacobsen in the dying moments, the referee dismissing both the protest and the tantalising giant-screen replay.

“We just have to beat Germany now,” Van Marwijk conceded with an air of resignation that bordered on gallows humour. Everyone could see it: the Dutch, so often the purveyors of elegant tragedy, were already teetering on the brink.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar