THIS IS THE OFFICIAL GAME THREAD Monday, June 14, 2010 Johanessburg Netherlands v Denmark Threads are usually closed at 500 posts. Moderators will try to close the thread at a logical transition point and will always provide a link to the most current thread. Good Luck to both nations and let's keep it clean and cordial folks! It's World Cup time!!!!
Okay folks, the pregame is OVER and we're within a few hours until kickoff of Group E and the official Netherlands v Denmark match . . . so the game thread is now open for business!!!!
When was the last time the Dutch played Denmark? Obviously the Dutch are always the popular "Dark horse" pick to win the tournament, but Denmark seems like a solid squad (at least they did before their pre-tournament friendlies). Several recent World Cups have seen a second-tier Euro team make a great run (Bulgaria 1994, Croatia 1998, Turkey 2002)... could Denmark be that team in 2010?
The last time denmark and holland met it ended 1-1 in a friendly in 2008 , the best run denmark has ever made in a world cup was in 1998 when they reached the quater finals. Denmarks chances today depend on getting all the injured players ready including tomasson, bendtner, kjær, jensen and sørensen. If they play i see a tight game as there is no presure on the danes to preform well. On the other hand holland has one of the strongest teams since 1988 and the whole country is counting on them doing well. If denmark can keep the dutch from scoring early on, i see an upset on the cards as the danish team is very fragile and need to gain confidence by not going behind straight away.
American getting up at 6AM to catch this and I think honestly that judging by recent scoring trends (minus Germany, but that was a mismatched game obviously), this game will not stun too many with its score. I'm thinking 1-1 is what it ends up at. Netherlands lets their guard down somewhat early (USA style) and give Denmark a somewhat-quick goal. Then Netherlands ties it up later with a good shot from their striking squad. Either way, good luck to both teams, and I hope its an exciting game!
Well, Nicklas Bendtner is playing from start ... Kjær is back in central defense.... and more surprisingly Simon Poulsen is playing left back. .
Up at 6:30, pot of coffee brewing and skipping work. All I've got to do today is watch three matches. Is anything better then the World Cup? I'm excited as always to watch the Dutch but also interested to see the other teams in this group. I think second place is wide open and none of the other three teams are very good.
Line ups: Holland: Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst; Van Bommel, De Jong; Kuijt, Sneijder, Van der Vaart; Van Persie. Danmark: Sörensen; Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, Simon Poulsen; Christian Poulsen, Kahlenberg, Enevoldsen; Rommedahl, Bendtner, Jörgensen.
is robben completely out or is he available to be a sub? i can see why they wouldn't want to risk him, but if they need a goal would robben be able to come on for 10 minutes or so?
He has a hamstring tear and according to TSN if it indeed is a 'tear' then he could miss the entire group stage. I dont think he's available to sub in....
I reckon they play better without Robben anyway. I'm predicting a tight one. 1-0 or 2-1 to the Dutch, probably the latter.
The Denmark injuried players must have been to 'Lourdes' or 'trick' by the coach that they could not play?
...and the last time they played each other competitively was at Euro2000, methinks. NED 3, DEN 0. I remembered the Dutch started real slowly in that match, then went on to score 3 goals in what was generally a struggle of a game for us. The result was overly flattering, the Danes fought harder than the scoreline suggested.
Netherlands Vs. Denmark WC 2010 | Group D | Round 1 | 11:30 GMT | 14-6-2010 JSC SPORTS - Ara. Comm. - 1150 KBPS - 320*240 - flv Goals First Goal for Netherlands By S. Poulsen (o.g.) Min.49 Click Here for Video Extras Chance for Denmark by BENDTNER Min.27 Click Here for Video Chance for Denmark by Kahlenberg Min.37 Click Here for Video Highlights
Probably going to sound repetitive by now, but...that's a lot of empty seats. Not nearly as much as in games past, but this is Holland and Denmark in Johannesburg, not one or two minnows in the middle of nowhere.
Well, it's enhanced by the orange seats as much as the Oranje spectators, if not moreso. The stadium is designed to resemble an earthenware pot, hence the terracotta seating to resemble the interior.