Germany defeated the Netherlands 2-1 to pretty much advance to the next round. The Dutch are basically out. The DFB squad controlled the first half and could have put the match away. The Dutch threw everything into attack in the second half in a desperate attempt to save the tournament.

The initial stages gave Holland a slight edge, as Bert van Marwijk trusted the same lineup that pretty much sucked in the opener against Denmark. Joachim Löw also sent out the same squad that prevailed precariously over Portugal in the opener. Obviously the Dutch could not afford another loss. Despite some advantage in ball posession, the Oranges were not able to really threaten the solid German defense, and as the half wore on, the Dutch advantage evaporated. The Germans were beginning to take advantage of a rather disorganized defense. A nice combo led Schweinsteiger to pass to Gomez in the middle, a deft spin and Stupor-Mario easilt slotted past Stekelenburg. Now Germany was clearly on top and slicing through the Dutch lines. Badstuber had a wide open point blank header that Stekelenburg made a brilliant reaction save. A few minutes later, Gomez was freed down the right and blasted into the net. 3 shots in the tournament, 3 goals…Klose who? Germany was now cruising and the Dutch were clearly beaten. Right at the whistle, Schweinsteiger’s free kick kept floating, forcing another fine save.

In the 2nd, van Marwijk brought on van der Vaart and Huntelaar in a desperate attempt to change the tide. The Dutch did regain their composure, but were unable to break through against the strong German defense. Finally van Persie blasted in to cut the lead, but if you expected an all out assault, you’d be disappointed. The last 15 minutes actually went back to Germany, as it appeared that Holland had shot their wad.

Germany now leads with 6 points, but has to make sure that they don’t get massacred by Denmark. If Portugal were to beat Holland, that could leave the DFB squad out cold in a three way tie with 6 points. Meanwhile, Netherlands needs to kick Portugal’s ass and hope that the Germans stomp the Danes….setting up a 3-way with three points.

Netherlands - Germany 1:2 (0:2)

Attendance: 37,750 (Kharkov)

0:1 Gomez (24., Schweinsteiger)
0:2 Gomez (38., Schweinsteiger)
1:2 van Persie (73., Robben)

HOLLAND:
Stekelenburg 
van der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Willems 
van Bommel (46. van der Vaart), de Jong 
Robben (83. Kuyt), Sneijder, 
Afellay (46. Huntelaar) van Persie

GERMANY:
Neuer 
Boateng, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm 
Schweinsteiger, Khedira 
Th. Müller (90.+2 L. Bender), Özil (81. T. Kroos), Podolski 
Gomez (72. Klose)