Netherlands 2 - 0 Denmark

Mon Jun 14 - The Netherlands progressed through the World Cup qualifying stage with such ease that you would be forgiven for thinking this is the best Dutch team ever. They scored 17 goals and conceded only 2 during the group stage. The Netherlands were the first to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with an impressive 8 wins, 0 draw and 0 loss.

However, the performance of the Dutch team today against Denmark was less than impressive. In the first half neither team could be described as dominating the game and it ended in a disappointing 0 - 0. The second half started with an own goal that gave Netherlands a 1 - 0 lead. Danish defender Poulsen headed a ball away from goal but unfortunately it found the back of his teammate Agger and flew into his own net. Advantage: Netherlands.

Netherlands did not take full advantage of the lead until midfielder van der Vaart was sub with pacy winger Eljero Elia who showed some deft footwork to elude his markers on 2 occasions. In the 85th minute, his shot on goal hit the post and Kuyt was on hand to tap in the rebound.

You could blame it on nerves since it is their first game of the tournament. But some would argue that the 4th ranked team (Netherlands) in FIFA rankings should have put away the 36th ranked team (Denmark) with ease.

On Saturday the Netherlands play Japan who defeated Cameroon 1 - 0 today.