A top class midfielder, who had scored 5 goals at the last
World Cup, backed up by one of the best wingers in the world on one side, and a
top class but underrated player on the other? Check. The winners of the Premier
League and Bundesliga Golden Boots? Check. A tournament pedigree that has seen
them reach the World Cup final winning all of their qualifying and tournament games
beforehand? Check. Top scorers in qualifying? Check. Those are just some of the
reasons, along with value of course, that Holland are the Vic Page’s headline
tip for Euro 2012, but already it’s do or die for the Oranjie after an opening
day defeat to Denmark leaves them facing elimination if they don’t win today’s
encounter against; wait for it………… Germany.
It seems like a thankless task – I personally think they’re
done for – but we all know the match is not a forgone conclusion if they can
bring the same panache and invention that they did against Denmark, where they
got 29 shots on target for only 6 to hit the target, although at least 10
chances could easily have been scored with Robin Van Persie, Klaas Jan Huntelaaar (as shown above) and Arjen Robben all potentially guilty of profligacy.
If they play like that against the Germans – Wesley Sneider
was amazing, with 77 passes and 7 chances created, the latter a record for a
European Championship match – then they’ve surely got to have their chances,
but the worry would be that Germany are a completely different proposition. The
team that took the world by storm with counter attacking tactics at the last
World Cup have now morphed into a team which is also happy to have plenty of
the ball as well, as shown against Portugal (where they had 56% of possession).
They were held back for much of the opening half and indeed the game, but one
had to credit their patience in working and opening and Paulo Bento’s Portugal,
a team which contained top class Centre Back pairing Bruno Alves and Pepe, along
with Veolso, Moutiniho and Mierles droping deep on several occasions. Despite
the double holding midfielder axis of Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong,
Holland are far less solid than Portugal and one has to worry about how susceptible
that they will be to the pace of Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schewinsteiger and especially
Mezut Ozil, as was shown when they were beaten 3-0 in Hamburg. I’d be loathe to
take that result too seriously but it does provide an example of how easily
Germany exploit sloopy defences and with their own rear-guard (the excellent Mats
Hummels and Manuel Neuer at the forefront of that, along with Boateng and Lahm)
looking very solid, there’s a real worry that Holland could be pushed out of
the game from an early stage, or ripped apart on the counter attack.
There was a temptation to just go for Germany, but I’ll
stick true to my tournament tips and hope for a dream win against what I think
is all odds. Those looking for a betting pointer should note two things; seven
clashes between the sides in major competitions have seen both sides score, a
tasty looking 4/5 shot at this moment, while the prices for both teams to score
and Germany/Holland to win currently read 7 & 9/2 respectively, both making
appeal. But for now, I’ll just have my fingers and toes crossed hard for the
Dutch, Enjoy and good luck!
Advice
No bet, but strongly consider both teams to score at 5/6
with Stan James either as a single or to put into a win double with your chosen
team.
UP THE ORANGEEE
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