In a sentence
Poulsen’s horrible own-goal and Denmark’s lack of ambition make it comfortable for the unconvincing Oranje.
The tamest fightback
After their first-half performance, it seemed reasonable to expect a strong Danish response to going behind. Instead, they gave up the chase. Manager Olsen must have concerns over his team’s mental resilience.
Eljero Elia’s 20 minutes of magic
Elia did more in his brief cameo than the rest of Holland’s attackers managed in the entire game. He announced his entry with a slick turn before ghosting away from two defenders. After that, he carried a constant threat. Is there room for him and Robben?
Poor Bendtner
On this evidence, it looks like being a difficult couple of weeks for the Arsenal striker. It is unreasonable to expect miracles of a lone striker receiving bad service and little support. He will spend much time fruitlessly chasing hopeful long balls.
We still don’t know how the Orange back-line will hold up
Poor though they were today, we know Holland can attack. But how can they play under pressure? We didn’t find out today and until we do, it’s hard to make a judgement on this side.
The moment – Poulsen goes mad
So far, this tournament has been defined more by blunders than moments of brilliance: this was as bad and as costly as the goalkeeping errors that we’ve seen.
What next?
Holland should improve and make the most of a comfortable group by winning their two other games. Denmark will qualify with them but may well have a scare en route.
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