The Netherlands v Denmark betting for Euro 2012 on June 9th, gives us our first look at the so called Group of Death. The Netherlands look in pretty confident mood at the mood and there actually seems as if there is a strong sense of dressing room unity and peace. That will make the Dutch even stronger, as they try and track down Euro 2012 favourites Germany and Spain and get their hands on the title. The Dutch, who tasted European Championship success back in 1988 are looking to bounce back quickly after the heartbreak of their 2010 World Cup final defeat at the hands of Spain, where they just got everything wrong tactically. However, they have remained a consistent squad and side since then and should have grown from that experience. They were untroubled through qualification, winning all of their game until they bumped into Sweden, who were desperate for points in the last round of matches. So they are strong, and they were fired along by the goals of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie, and because of a strong midfield presence, the Dutch will be favoured to crack the Danes.
Netherlands v Denmark Betting Odds at William Hill
Netherlands 4/7, Draw 11/4, Denmark 5/1
The only supposed weakness around Holland is at the back, where perhaps they just lack in quality compared to the rest of the side. However, they are very mobile and very quick in coming out of defence, and after failing to win any of their three international friendlies after qualification to Euro 2012 was secured (drawing against Switzerland and then being defeated by Germany and England), their pre-tournament warm ups didn’t go to plan when they were beaten 2-1 by Bulgaria at the end of May. They bounced back with wins over Slovakia and Northern Ireland, and they will be stronger once they get into the swing of the tournament. The test against the Danes will be a big one, because the Netherlands will probably have most of the ball and it will be down to their creativity to try and break down the tough Denmark side, who will try and stifle the Dutch. So an interesting poser for Bert van Marwijk’s side to open with, and they will have one eye on the big meeting with Germany of course, which could well be the group decider. But for now, Holland go into their opening match as strong favourites. They should take the lions share of possession and while they may have to be patient against a defensive Denmark side, they should enough spark of creativity in them to eventually take this match.
Denmark had a pretty solid qualification process, edging out Portugal and Norway to win Group H. The Danes only dropped four points through qualification, and enjoyed a good win over Portugal, who they come up against in Group B in the Euro finals. The Danes were dealt a massive blow though, as they lost Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen to an injury picked up in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil. They lost that match 3-1, but they did look much sharper in their following contest against Australia, which they won 2-0. The Danes seem to think that they are just getting their sharpness back, and because they have two international friendly matches cancelled at the start of the year, perhaps have not played together as much as they would have liked. After meeting the Netherlands in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup and suffering a 2-0 loss there, the Danes will be hoping for a much stronger start. The Danes are trailing 12-6 in the head to head against the Netherlands, and as they don’t look as if they have the genuine fire-power up front to outscore the Dutch, the Danes could be facing an uphill battle here.
Prediction: Would expect nothing less than a Netherlands win here. The results haven’t totally gone their way in international friendly matches this year, however, when they get the ball down and play like they can, they can match Spain and Germany. Their creative use of space and picking out players is wonderful. A good confident start from them should happen here, and wouldn’t be too afraid of taking a Netherlands 2 Goal winning margin for 7/2 at Bet365. Once the Danes crack, Holland should have a comfortable ride.
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