World Cup 2010 Comment: Victorious Netherlands struggle to take flight without Arjen Robben

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The first all-European fixture at the 2010 World Cup was supposed to be a clash of styles: Netherlands’ modern interpretation of Totaalvoetbal versus Denmark’s defensively compact, conservative approach.

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Netherlands £10.25

Draw £95.00

Northern Ireland £260.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Netherlands £10.00

Draw £560.00

Northern Ireland £710.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Netherlands £11.25

Draw £80.00

Northern Ireland £190.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Netherlands £11.10

Draw £85.00

Northern Ireland £210.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Netherlands £10.90

Draw £110.00

Northern Ireland £250.00

But it wasn’t the typical razzle-dazzle Dutch flair a lot of people were anticipating to see. They dominated proceedings for large parts of the game and they showed glimpses of the brilliance with their sharp one-touch football and clever flicks, but they were never really able to build momentum from there and the fans were only left begging for more.

Every time the Oranje seem to spark into life, they would just fizzle out quickly. And the crowd had to entertain themselves by performing the Mexican wave midway through the first half.

Bert van Marwijk’s side did look like they were missing a certain Arjen Robben, a player who could run at the opposition and draw out two, three maybe four defenders to carve out open spaces for his team-mates; or dart into a scoring positions by cutting in from the right wing.

Rafael van der Vaart, the player who took Robben’s place in the starting XI, isn’t quite the same kind of footballer and he doesn’t provide the width, speed and terror that Arjen does.

Mark van Bommel and Wesley Sneijder also tried to inject pace and individual skill into the game, but neither could do it consistently enough to worry the Danes.

Robin van Persie meanwhile, tried his best Robben impersonation to turn, spin and run past the Danish defence, but he had to pull out of position to do so, leaving the team without a natural finisher inside the box to apply the gloss on his good work.

Ironically, that was exactly how the Dutch scored their opener mere seconds into the second half when van Persie was forced wide onto the byline but his whipping cross was nodded in by a Danish defender for an own goal.

Simon Poulsen and Daniel Agger will have the unenviable squabble to decide who actually put the ball into his own net as the last touch actually come off Agger’s back, although Poulsen has been officially given the ignominy of scoring the first own goal at the 2010 World Cup finals.

Dutch courage | Netherlands will need to be better to top Group E

The introduction of a natural winger Eljero Elia for van der Vaart just past the hour mark immediately gave the Netherlands the extra dimension they were craving for.

Even though Elia didn’t run at the Danish defence as much as the fans would’ve wanted him to, there was a sense of urgency and danger every time he had the ball at his feet in the final third of the pitch thanks to his trickery.

But it was his speed, the element that was missing most for the Dutch in the first half, that really troubled the opposition and that was how the Netherlands found their killer second goal. Dirk Kuyt pounced on a rebound after Elia breezed past his marker to get to the end of a sumptuous Wesley Sneijder through pass, only to see his shot cannon back off the post.

One can only wonder why he didn’t start the game in the first place.

But the Oranje, their fans and their coach van Marwijk won’t be too concerned about the display or their two scrappy goals. A win in the opening game of the World Cup is a win regardless, and that’s three precious points in the bag for them to kick-off their campaign. Robben will return sooner rather than later and the Dutch can only get better from here.

How will the Netherlands finish in Group E? Check out Castrol Football's 2010 World Cup Group Predictor.

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