- Important 8
- Updates 11
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- about 1 year ago
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Netherlands Vs. Germany, Euro 2012: Final Score, Germans Hold On To 2-1 Victory
Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger put together an absolutely brilliant 25-minute spell of football for Germany on Wednesday night, and it was all that their team needed from them. Germany were not good in the first 20 minutes of their match against the Netherlands and were the inferior side in the second half, but they took advantage of the porous Dutch backline on two occasions, which was good enough to bag a 2-1 win.
Both goals were scored by Gomez, assisted by Schweinsteiger, and conceded in horrific fashion by the Dutch. On both the 24th and 38th minute goals, Schweinsteiger was left completely alone in the center of midfield before he found the feet of Gomez, who applied great finishes. They were two of just five shots on target and 11 total shots for the Germans, but the Netherlands made enough mistakes on both ends that it was all Die Mannschaft needed to win the match.
Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Bert van Marwijk made a couple of bold changes that he probably should have made before the match started. Rafael Van der Vaart and Klass-Jan Huntelaar entered the match for Mark van Bommel and Ibrahim Afellay, giving the Dutch a much more attacking look. They played considerably better in the second half than they did in the first half, but they couldn't get all the way out of the 2-0 hole they dug for themselves.
It took a while for the Netherlands' changes to settle in, and before doing so the Dutch gifted Mats Hummels a couple of good opportunities early in the half. He was allowed to come forward uncontested and had two shots saved by Maarten Stekelenberg back-to-back in the 52nd minute. That appeared to be a bit of a wake-up call for the Dutch, who began to play better from that point forward.
Manuel Neuer made a big save on Robin van Persie in the 58th minute, but the Arsenal striker would eventually get the better of him. It took until the 73rd minute, but van Persie finally showed exactly why he's first choice for the Oranje ahead of Huntelaar with a stellar right-footed strike from 25 yards out, powered past Neuer. That shot got the Netherlands back into the game, but they would never create a better chance.
Wesley Sneijder was brilliant throughout the game, while van Persie was very useful as a passer for much of the contest. Both Huntelaar and Arjen Robben, however, were incredibly wasteful throughout the night. Robben, in particular, was the Netherlands' least effective attacking player and was very unhappy when van Marwijk substituted him for Dirk Kuyt in the 83rd minute.
Stekelenberg almost robbed his team of a chance to fight for a stoppage time equalizer when he misplayed a ball into his feet and nearly allowed substitute striker Miroslav Klose to score. The Dutch keeper scrambled to recover the ball just as Klose was beginning to put a foot to it. That saved embarrassment, but the Dutch never challenged Neuer's goalmouth in the closing minutes.
The Netherlands have not been eliminated from Euro 2012, but they have a lot of work to do. They need to defeat Portugal in the final game of the round and hope that Denmark loses to Germany, while also winning by enough to have the best goal differential among the three teams tied on three points apiece.
We have live coverage of the game in our Netherlands vs. Germany, Euro 2012 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.
- about 1 year ago
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Netherlands Vs. Germany, Euro 2012: Bastian Schweinsteiger Holding His Hamstring
Bastian Schweinsteiger has played the best half-plus that he has played in months today, but his day may come to an end soon. The Germany midfielder has injured his hamstring, although the severity of the injury is unknown and it may not be anything of note.
It is unclear when Schweinsteiger hurt his hamstring. There did not appear to be an obvious stretch or fall that could cause a strain, he just started grabbing it and limping a bit. He has stayed on and is running it off so maybe it is just a cramp and nothing to worry about, but for now it is worth watching.
The midfielder is playing his best game in a long time, spraying passes around, helping keep the ball and showing great range to break up Dutch attacks before spurring Germany forays forward. He already has two assists in the game and could easily add another one or two so to see him hurt now, in the midst of a great match, would be a real shame.
We have live coverage of the game in our Netherlands vs. Germany, Euro 2012 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.
- about 1 year ago
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Netherlands Vs. Germany, Euro 2012: Halftime Score, Mario Gomez Stellar, Germans Lead 2-0
Update: Netherlands 1-2 Germany, Final Score
Germany got off to a very slow start against the Netherlands on Wednesday night. Joachim Löw looked worried on the sidelines as the Netherlands kept the ball with ease and created scoring chances. This went on for the first 20 minutes of the game. When things changed, they changed dramatically.
The last 25 minutes of the first half couldn't have been more of a different story than the first 20. The Netherlands' midfield and defense absolutely fell apart as Bastian Schweinstieger and Mario Gomez took over the game, creating two goals with relative ease. Because of the result in Wednesday's early game, the Netherlands cannot be entirely eliminated with a loss in this game, but they're about to enter a very dire situation unless they can do a complete 180 in the second half. They deservedly trail Germany 2-0 at halftime.
Robin van Persie almost capitalized on Germany's bad start on a couple of occasions, but just like it did in the Netherlands' first match of the tournament, his finishing let him down. On both a Mark van Bommel long ball in the 6th minute and an Arjen Robben cross in the 10th minute, he put weak shots right into Manuel Neuer.
Germany's opener came 23 minutes into the match, and even though the finish was beautiful, it's hard not to focus more on Holland's failings than Germany's successes on the goal. Schweinsteiger was somehow completely unchallenged in midfield when he played a through ball into the feet of Gomes, who was kept onside by a slacking Gregory Van Der Wiel. Gomez made a beautiful turn with the ball and smacked it into the net with his second touch, instantly turning the tables on a Netherlands team that had looked like the better side until that point.
Maarten Stekelenberg made an unbelievable save in the 37th minute on a header by Holger Badstuber, but once again, the chance was downright gifted to Germany. John Heitinga completely fell asleep on a set piece and allowed Badstuber to run right by him. Badstuber had an open header and hit it well, but close enough to Stekelenberg that the Dutch keeper was able to make a save.
The Netherlands could have made Germany regret not taking that chance, but they couldn't get their defense together quickly enough to make that happen. Less than one minute later, the Dutch defense absolutely fell apart again. For the second time, Schweinsteiger set up Gomez with a great pass on the ground. For the second time, no one cut off the supply and no one closed down Schweinsteiger in midfield. If that wasn't bad enough, Stekelenberg went to ground before Gomez even took his shot, allowing the German striker to score easily.
If anyone has the answers for Holland, ring up Bert van Marwijk. He can't make his country produce quality central defenders during the halftime interval, but surely there's someone on the bench that can change this game. Holland look terrible. What they're doing isn't working.
We have live coverage of the game in our Netherlands vs. Germany, Euro 2012 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.
