EuroFootball/Getty Images Euro 2012 Group B—Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
NETHERLANDS 0-1 DENMARK (First half)
Goals: Krohn-Deli (Denmark) 23'
Lineups
Netherlands: Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Vlaar, Willems; De Jong, Van Bommel; Robben, Sneijder, Afellay; Van Persie
Denmark: S. Andersen; Jacobsen, S Poulsen, Agger, Kjær; Zimling, Kvist; Krohn-Dehli, Eriksen, Rommedahl; Bendtner
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49'—What's wrong with van Persie's boots?! He is threaded through on goal by a fine pass and, with the ball on his left-foot, completely mis-kicks and falls to the ground.
47'—Robben on the attack again! That familiar run down the right and cut inside onto the left foot is evident again, but this time his shot is deflected over.
46'—So Holland have 45 minutes to get themselves back into the match and, with fixtures against Germany and Portugal to come, would it be too outlandish to say back into the group?
We're about ready to get back underway in this Group B opener where the score is Netherlands 0 Denmark 1.
Julian Finney/Getty Images So what have we found out after that first half? Netherlands have been in control of the ball for long spells in the game but, aside from the Robben shot which hit the post after a poor pass from Stephan Andersen, the Danish 'keeper has not had much to do.
Denmark have not had too much of the ball in the attacking third of the pitch—but they've taken one of their chances.
Can they see the game out, or will they look for a killer second?
45'+1—Half time in Kharkiv. Michael Krohn-Deli's goal after 23 minutes separates the two sides despite the domination in large spells of Holland.
One minute of added time to be played.
44'—Almost a second! Agger almost gets something on the ball, Bendtner prods it goalwards and then Agger can't get anything on it for the second time—Stekelenburg claims it inside his six yard box.
44'—Final moments of the first half now and Denmark have a corner.
42'—Golden chance for van Persie! Robben plays the ball right for van Persie who is all on his own in the box, but his first touch was poor and the angle is narrowed far too much by the team he shoots.
His effort is blocked away and then Sneijder's effort on the rebound is curled wide.
41'—Krohn-Deli has his eye on the goal. This time he bends a right-footed effort low towards the far corner of the Dutch goal, but the tall frame of Stekelenburg keeps it out.
39'—Chance for Denmark! Zimling runs onto the ball and stretches to volley the ball left-footed, but in doing so takes it off the foot of the better-placed Krohn-Deli.
38'—Afellay picks up the ball and strides past the challenge of Agger, but his shot flies over the crossbar.
38'—Denmark keep hold of the ball well, passing their way out of danger in defence. They are anxious to get to half time now while they still lead.
35'—Robben hits the post!
Denmark keeper Andersen gives the ball away 30 yards from goal and Robben strides forward, shapes the ball onto his left foot and drills one low and hard—only to see his shot bounce back off the foot of the post, with players either side screaming for the ball.
34'—Now Denmark do have a little spell of possession outside the penalty box and they get one or two in the box, but Poulsen's cross is over-hit again and drifts away on the far side.
32'—Holland committing men forward at every opportunity, which is leaving them a little open to the counter-attack at times—though Denmark aren't exactly going gung-ho when they do get the ball.
Rommedahl and Krohn-Deli remain threats on the break though.
29'—Afellay has just taken team mate Ron Vlaar's head into his face and is suffering a little as a result. He needs some treatment on the sidelines, but the game continues.
27'—Holland have had all the ball since the goal but Andersen still hasn't yet been tested.
Simon Poulsen is momentarily at risk of handball inside the box but neither referee, assistant nor the anonymous, inefficient and pointless extra man in black behind the goal line say anything about it.
What about that?!
Holland have had most of the possession but have created very little; with one raid into the penalty area from Simon Poulsen, which ricocheted off to Michael Krohn-Deli to run through and blast through Stekelenburg's legs, the Danes have taken the lead.
What response can Holland muster?
23'—GOALLLLL!!!! Netherlands 0 Denmark 1
Martin Krohn-Deli has scored the opening goal of the game for Denmark!
22'—Another effort from van Persie...but he fails to find the target this time. Robben lays it into the Arsenal forward's feet and he spins to shoot right footed, but again drags it well wide of goal.
21'—It's certainly been a case of the Dutch on the front foot in this opening 20 minutes or so, but they ultimately have nothing to show for their efforts so far and Andersen hasn't really had all that much to do.
Denmark happy to let Holland have the ball in deep midfield positions and get numbers back outside their own penalty area.
19' — Agger needs to be alert now to boot the ball away off the head of Robin van Persie after a lightning move from the Dutch down the inside right channel. They win a corner from the clearance—but Andersen claims it easily.
17' — What a chance for Holland!
Robben sprints away down the right after van Persie releases him and he has a chance to shoot—but tries to cross instead and Denmark get enough bodies back to stop any chance of a goal.
16' — A rare attack from Denmark as Dennis Rommedahl speeds away down the right flank, but he crosses blindly and with only one Dane in the box, his ball over only finds the Dutch keeper Stekelenburg.
They'll need to hold onto the ball far better in the final third to make an impact in this match.
15' — Arjen Robben cuts infield onto his favoured left foot and hits a low shot, but Andersen gets behind the ball and makes a comfortable save.
12' — The free kick is disappointing though as van Persie slips while taking it, and the wall do their job.
12' — Robin van Persie wants this free kick for himself.
10' — It's almost another chance for Holland, who are really controlling this game now.
van Persie floats a fine pass over the defence for Wesley Sneijder to run onto, but it's a touch too high for him to do anything but head without pace, and Andersen picks it up.
A moment later, van Persie is tripped by Zimling and it's a free kick in a dangerous area for the Dutch.
9' — Robben and van Persie combine in the middle of the park and Netherlands work it left to Afellay.
A stepover, a jink inside the defender and a driving right-foot shot—but it clears Andersen's crossbar.
... but he drives the ball straight into the wall, and eventually it bobbles harmlessly behind for a goal kick.
8' — Bendtner wins a free kick for Denmark, knocking the ball past Ron Vlaar before being taken out.
It's almost dead centre, 30 yards from goal. Too far to shoot?
Christian Eriksen is lining it up...
6' — First sighter for van Persie!
It's a first time shot for Robin van Persie after the pull-back finds him inside the penalty box, but his left-footed effort is dragged wide.
5' — Plenty of patient build-up possession from the Dutch early on, but there's also a lot of space for them to play around in.
Denmark looking a little too open between their lines of midfield and defence in these opening stages.
4' — Afellay is next in line to have a look at goal, but it's an awkward angle for him to try a volley and he skies the ball. Nice knock-down from van Persie to set up the half-chance, though.
3' — Good effort! Willems runs onto the ball and drives a shot in at goal from 25 yards, but his rising drive clears the crossbar of Andersen.
2' — Agger involved again, this time up the other end. Gregory van der Wiel overlaps Arjen Robben down the right flank and looks to get into space to cross, but Agger comes across and makes a fine sliding challenge.
1' — Denmark have an early free kick and look to send forward their tall centre backs.
Simon Poulsen curls it in and Agger does get his head to it...but Stekelenburg makes a comfortable save.
0' — Here we go! Group B is underway.
Captains Nigel de Jong and Daniel Agger shake hands in the centre circle; Holland will kick off.
We're just a few minutes from kick off now; the teams are about ready for the national anthems.
Netherlands finished top of Group E in qualifying for the Euros, having lost just one from their 10 matches, scoring 37 goals in the process.
Denmark similarly won their Group H with just one defeat, though only 15 goals in eight games is symptomatic of their approach to the game—reliable defence first.
Which will come out on top today, the mean defence or the all-out-attack?
The match kicks off in approximately 45 minutes; we'll be back shortly with more news and build-up ahead of the start of this Group B fixture.
For now, feel free to take a look at what happened yesterday—and there was a lot—in the games between Poland and Greece, and Russia and the Czech Republic.
How about some team news first?
Netherlands: Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Vlaar, Willems; De Jong, Van Bommel; Robben, Sneijder, Afellay; Van Persie.
Denmark: S. Andersen; Jacobsen, S Poulsen, Agger, Kjær; Zimling, Kvist; Krohn-Dehli, Eriksen, Rommedahl; Bendtner.
Netherlands, or Holland if you prefer, leave out the likes of Kevin Strootman and Dirk Kuyt in favour of Nigel de Jong and Ibrahim Afellay, who has not had an awful lot of game time this season.
Could be a big call from boss Bert van Marwijk.
Denmark are pretty much as expected, with Daniel Agger and Simon Kjaer in the middle of defence and Nicklas Bendtner up front as the lone striker, supported by a trio of attacking midfielders in support.
One of those is the highly-rated Christian Eriksen; yesterday we got an exhibition in youth superstardom from Russia's Alan Dzagoev, let's see if Eriksen can provide a similar spark today.
First up, right here, it's Netherlands vs. Denmark and then later on we'll have commentary on Germany vs. Portugal, which you can catch here.
Good afternoon/evening everybody, wherever you are watching from... it's day two of Euro 2012 and we've got a couple of cracking matches in store for you.
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