Exhilarating Night of Football Fluctuates Before Germany and Portugal Come Out on Top

Four of the biggest footballing nations in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal all played tonight in an absorbing night of sport at its best. The stage was set for one of the most dramatic nights of the tournament with all four teams able to qualify for the quarter-finals before kick-off. Neither match disappointed as football fans across Europe were taken through the ringer as the pendulum swung this way and that.

The Netherlands entered this final round of fixtures desperately needing a win to give themselves a chance of progressing to the knock-out stages while opponents Portugal knew a win would all but seal their place in the next round. The Dutch flew out of the blocks like Usain Bolt and Rafael van der Vaart gave them the early advantage with a magnificent curling strike from all of 25 yards. Portugal came close to an immediate response but Cristiano Ronaldo could only hit the base of the post when found in plenty of space. Portugal continued to threaten in an open game but Ronaldo was caught narrowly off-side and had a close-range header excellently saved by Oranje goalkeeper Stekelenburg.

Meanwhile in the other match Germany took the lead in the 19^th minute through a cool finish from Lukas Podolski after Mario Gomez appeared to mis-hit his shot. However underdogs Denmark did not lie down and scored an equaliser thanks Michael Krohn-Delhi’s head following Niklas Bendtner’s nod back across goal. This meant that as it stood Denmark and Germany were taking the top two spaces. However Danish joy did not last long as Portugal equalised through much-maligned star-striker Ronaldo. He beat the off-side trap by a whisker to collect Joao Pereira's pass and calmly slot home.

The second half continued to be tight in both matches as no one wanted to press too hard for fear of conceding what would have been a killer goal. Ronaldo silenced his critics in style when he cut inside to fire low past Stekelenburg in the 74^th minute crush Dutch hopes. The Real Madrid forward then nearly completed his hat-trick but saw his long-range left-footed drive come crashing back off the post. It did not matter though as the stuffing had long been knocked out of the Netherlands as they limped to an inadequate exit from a tournament they had been expected to feature prominently in.

Denmark continued to battle against the Germans in an attempt to find a winning goal that would have given them a chance of qualification. Unfortunately for the battling Scandinavians though Germany caught them on the counter-attack with just ten minutes left and Lars Bender fired home to seal top spot in the group and a quarter-final against Greece.

A brilliant night of football failed to let down the millions watching despite the high expectations. At the end of the day Denmark and Holland are on their way home, while Germany and Portugal march onwards to the Euro 2012 last eight.

European Superpowers Set to Clash Once More

When the Netherlands were hit by Blitzkrieg in May 1940 the Germans began an occupation of the country that would last for five years. Over 2,000 Dutch soldiers and 2,000 civilians lost their lives in the Battle of the Netherlands and a further 110,000 Dutch Jews died in the five years that followed, including Anne Frank. For the next 34 years many Dutch people held an unrivalled hatred against Germany. 

In the summer of 1974 Holland were poised for revenge as their multi-talented 'total-footballing' side took the lead against West Germany in the World Cup final before their rivals had even touched the ball. Surprisingly the Germans came from behind to win 2-1 with a winner from star striker Gerd Muller. The Dutch people were distraught and the game became known as 'the mother of all defeats'. Dutch midfielder Wim van Hanegem illustrated his country's hatred for the Germans after the match: 

"I didn't give a damn about the score. 1–0 was enough, as long as we could humiliate them. I hate them. They murdered my family. My father, my sister, two of my brothers."

Van Hanegem left the field that day in tears.

However in 1988 came Dutch football's greatest hour. In the German's back garden they met in one of football's most titanic clashes with a place in the European Championship final up for grabs. After scoring a penalty each and the match heading for extra-time Marco van Basten slid in to score a dramatic 88th minute winner. That night 9 million Dutch people celebrated on the streets. They chanted 'In 1940 they came! In 1988 we came!'. Dutch defender Ronald Koeman pretended to wipe his backside with Olaf Thon's shirt and the Dutch peoples' joy was unconfined.

Goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen displayed these emotions: "I had been waiting for that moment for fourteen years. Before the game I remembered my feelings watching TV as a teenager, and that boosted up my anger. I am happy to have been able to give this gift to the older generation, the ones that lived through the War."

In World Cup 1990 they met again and this time there was conflict on the pitch. After being booked for a tackle on Rudi Voller Frank Rijkaard spat in his opponent's hair. The Dutch players then felt that Voller dived in an attempt to win a penalty and Rijkaard proceeded to twist Voller's ear and stamp on his foot. Both players were sent off and as they left the field the Dutch midfielder spat in the German's hair again. This earned him the nickname 'llama' in Germany. West Germany went on to win the match and their third World Cup.

In Euro 2004 the Dutch met their greatest foe once more with German manager Rudi Voller seeking revenge for the incident from 14 years before. He didn't get it though as a late Ruud van Nistelrooy equaliser condemned Germany to a second successive Euro group-stage exit. 

This evening they meet again. Tournament favourites Germany are on a high after their opening 1-0 win over Portugal; Holland in desperate need of a result following a shock defeat by the same scoreline to Denmark. The hatred that used to surround these matches has faded into the distant past and now the games are more focused on the football. Despite this Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder says that he 'has always dreamt of scoring the winning goal against the Germans'. 

Two sides are primed for battle and nothing but a win will do.