Group B: Portugal vs Netherlands discussion

Highly reliable 'De Telegraaf' says this will be HollandXI: Steek; Vd Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Willems; De Jong, Vd Vaart; Robben, RvP, Sneijder; Huntelaar.

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I hope this won't become a revenge of the WC 2006 kung-fu fight!

Expect a lot of yellows. These two teams are going to fight it to the death. C.Ronaldo to have another flop and Afellay to be the hero after a bad game against Germany

We will loose. Bert will screw something up. I am sure. If I was Bert I would play Strootman instead of VDV & Schaars instead of Willlems.

I am still not sure if he will play this. I heard this last match too. I think he will play the same starting 11 again or play Kuyt.

Portugal vs Netherlands discussion.



"We have to go for it here and need Germany to win," the former Borussia Dortmund boss stated at a press conference.

"We know from the start we have to win with a two-goal difference and I have that in mind. We have to go for it and that’s what the tactics will be based on. You’ll see that as well.

"After the Germany defeat we were deeply disappointed but we knew we had to beat Portugal by at least two goals. It gives you a new situation, and I want to go ahead with that.

"This is based on the fact that Germany will win [against Denmark] - I've got nothing to add to that statement.

"The consequences of other games can't really help us right now. We’re just going to play our game and wait and see what Germany does."

Van Marwijk has faced criticism for alienating players during the tournament including Rafael van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who have expressed their frustration at being forced to settle for substitute roles.

The 60-year-old, who was in a spiky mood in his pre-match press conference, insists he is happy with the way he communicates with the players.

"I do talk to some of the players and I don't with others,” he added. "I just talk to the players who will be in the team about what we want to change.

"A competition like this with one game left is very different to a league season. We know we have to win 2-0 so the tactics that we choose will be based on that."

A feature of recent clashes between the Netherlands and Denmark has been ill-discipline, with their second round clash in the 2006 World Cup seeing four red cards.

Van Marwijk expects another fiery encounter on Sunday night but has urged the players to keep their cool.

He said: "It’s going to be a very hectic game. We’ve seen lots of yellow and red cards in matches against Portugal in the past. We need to be disciplined. I’ve told that to the players, but they know that already."

This will be interesting. The Netherlands have been underachieving, but if they can step up they can be extremely dangerous and a 2-0 wouldn't be that unlikely.
Portugal have been playing okay, I hope we can at least tie the game.

I just hope this doesn't into into a slugfest, like all the recent Portugal-Netherlands.

Win or draw for Portugal should get them through assuming Denmark will lose. Portugal has been by far one of the attacking sides in this tournament, their too direct not to score against Holland. Without the ball tho their not well organized and act as headless chickens.

cristiano ronaldo to make the game of his life
and help portugal go through

"It's very difficult for us in this group, because there are just too many big egos. After the World Cup they may have become even bigger. That makes it hard for us," the attacker told the official KNVB website.

"If you want to accomplish something together, you have to put egos aside. You have to fight as a team to regain that sense of invincibility. It won't come by itself.

"I assume that the Germans will win. Several guys have told me so. Now it's important to put negative thoughts aside and fight for our last chance together."

Several reports of unrest have emerged from the Netherlands' camp, with Rafael van der Vaart said to be unhappy with team coach Bert van Marwijk over his role as a substitute at the tournament.

However, Robben insisted that such squabbles should be put aside for the good of the team, and that everyone should pull in the same direction.

"When you are out of the starting eleven, you are allowed to be angry and you can be angry. That is normal. As far is I'm concerned, you can talk to the manager, individually," he added.

"But when the game begins, you have to stick with the team. When there are still players that don't join that spirit, it's disturbing. You have to accept it or go home."

Germany may be decieved like Russia and Poland. If they lose 1-0 to Denmark and Portugal win by any margin against the Netherlands.

That's how close this group is, I'm expecting a surprise and a Ronaldo hattrick

This should help sort out the possibilities :

Portugal (v Netherlands)

Win - Secures qualification unless Denmark beat Germany 3-2, or by a higher-scoring one-goal margin.

Draw - Secures qualification if Denmark do not beat Germany.

Lose - A one-goal defeat would still see them through if Germany beat Denmark, but any more and they are out.

Netherlands (v Portugal)

Win - Secures qualification if by more than one goal and Germany beat Denmark.

Draw - Out.

Lose - Out.

i still cant understand why netherlands go through if they win by more than 1 goal and germany beats denmark.... ???

if that happens netherlands go 3 points and denmark stays 3 points
but since head-to-head result comes 1st denmark defeated netherlands therefore still denmark qualifies... wtf?

Yeah...a scenario which sees the three teams level on points is more than likely. Trying to figure out who goes through makes my head hurt. Thus the previous quotes I'd rather take BBC's word for it rather than figure it out myself.

These are the actual rules if you wanna do it the hard way -

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the
following criteria are applied, in the order given; to determine the rankings:

a) higher number of points obtained in the matches among the teams in question;

b) superior goal difference in the matches among the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal on points);

c) higher number of goals scored in the matches among the teams in question (ifmore than two teams finish equal on points);

d) superior goal difference in all the group matches;

e) higher number of goals scored in all the group matches;

f) position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system;

g) fair play conduct of the teams (final tournament);

h) drawing of lots.

Use this website to simulate the results and see who will qualify, no one is safe in this group.

http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/em/startseite/europameisterschaft/2012/1/tabellenrechner.html

a) higher number of points obtained in the matches among the teams in question

which in case are 3 teams with equal points

denmark 3.
portugal 3.
netherlands 3.

points gathered from the 3 teams in the games between them

denmark (3) defeated netherlands
portugal (3) defeated denmark
netherlands (3) defeated portugal

so we go to b)
which in case is what we said about netherlands having to score more than one goal... now i understand

the whole point is counting points from all teams that have equal points and not just two

Well the results from Group A certainly demonstrate the dangers of complacency in your final group fixture. With the level of talent on all four teams in this group, we could see nearly anything. Portugal has yet to really come out of their shell; the Danish have played well, if conservatively; the Dutch have yet to truly show up; and Germany... well they've been the only ones that have come into the tournament looking like they want to accomplish something.

Should Portugal and the Dutch come out firing, we could be in for a real treat. Likewise, if Germany get complacent, starting something other than their best IX, the Danes could potentially get something out of the game. These fixtures have the potential to be some of the most exciting and influential of the tournament.

(Now, watch. Since I've said this, both fixtures will likely go completely according to script tomorrow. If we see two boring, predictable matches, I think I may cry.

If it turns into a slugfest we will finally see the fight we've all been waiting for the two pound for pound best thugs in the world.

Epep vs De Jong

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3284/euro-2012/2012/06/16/3179249/robben-blames-big-egos-for-netherlands-poor-results-at-euro

Uh oh

urbaNRoots wrote:http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3284/euro-2012/2012/06/16/3179249/robben-blames-big-egos-for-netherlands-poor-results-at-euro

Uh oh

To be fair he tracked back and was active vs. Germany. As soon as he came off Netherlands lost any cutting edge they had. Snjeder, VDV, Affelay etc. were responsible for defensive frailty.

One my all time favorite world cup/euros matches ever




100% drama and pure lulz

Diego Armando Maradona wrote:One my all time favorite world cup/euros matches ever




100% drama and pure lulz

great video and music

Netherlands gonna win this game but it depends on what ! u know...

-Ok...@Babun :

Class post from you as always

Thnx m8 but u don't look that serious on that !hmmm" "...anyway i was right ....well ,i guess...LOL...>Neth. vs Ger

boss wrote:Netherlands gonna win this game but it depends on what ! u know...

-Ok...@Babun :

Class post from you as always

Thnx m8 but u don't look that serious on that !hmmm" "...anyway i was right ....well ,i guess...LOL...>Neth. vs Ger

No pun was intended. Your posts are class ( now without smilies).

i would move cristiano to the right for this game

that way you force robben to fall back and help williems to defend if robben doesnt do so ronaldo will have a party in that flank
its also usefull for portugals left flank in which nani will track back to help coentrao deal with van persie, something ronaldo doesnt

Manchester United first team coach Rene Meulensteen has been discussing Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Dutch coach worked with Portugal’s skipper in their days together at Old Trafford.

He told the Sunday Mirror: “I’m often asked whether Cristiano can still ­improve as a player.

“My answer is that he can, if he keeps developing as a ­person off the pitch.

“Cristiano is an exceptional player. But most times it is the ‘me-me-me show’.

“He is always looking for ­satisfaction in ­individual ­moments. He wants the team to shine on him. But it should be the other way. He should be ­shining on the team.

“In 2008 Cristiano had a ­period that he was only busy to please himself.

“In the weeks leading up to the Champions League final against ­Chelsea in ­Moscow I ­decided to go and confront him and work on him.

“I told him that he could make the ­difference in the final for United if he was prepared to make himself less important than the team.

“And he did!

“Cristiano is an intelligent boy who can ­accept criticism. But that selfish part of his character is difficult to cut out."