Glorious  Gomez leave Hapless Holland on the brink of elimination!

An inspired performance by the Germans put a severe blow to the chances of Netherlands  escaping the so-called Group of Death after a spectacular 2-1 victory. The match was billed as the most significant match up of the tournament thus far, not in the least bit due to the historic rivalry between these two nations, but due to the prize at stake. A win for Germany would have meant they’d go through barring any miracles on the last matchday. A win for the Dutch, however, would have put all four teams in Group B on 3 points each, leaving it all to play for in the last matchday and therefore setting up a blockbuster occasion.

Both teams came into the match after having to withstand a barrage of criticism. Not many were convinced by the Germans in their opening encounter against Portugal, with voices finding weight in the argument that the likes of Marco Reus and Miroslav Klose be given starting berths ahead of the goal machine that is Mario Gomez and the seemingly sterile Lucas Podolski. As for the Dutch, internal problems had threatened to make a mockery out of the match, with no less than 3 players (Kuyt, Van Der Vaart and De Jong) voicing their discontent over the manager’s tactical decisions in the previous match against Denmark. Their was a growing sentiment that Klaas Jan Huntelaar be given a starting berth ahead of Robin Van Persie as Holland’s Advanced Forward due to his more impressive international career as well as form.

As it turned out, however, both coaches remained stubborn and thus the match started with Van Persie being preferred over Huntelaar and Gomez being preferred over Klose.

For one coach, the decision was to pay off. For the other, it was always going to go hopelessly wrong. As it turned out, it was Germany who established a foothold in this match, and Van Marwjk’s men now find themselves in an impossible situation. 2 sublime goals by the much maligned Mario Gomez were enough to silence his critics, resolute defending by Matt Hummels and co. solidified his status as the best young ball playing centre half in the world, and Van Persie proved he can not lead the line for the Dutch, despite scoring the consolation goal late on.

The 28-year-old had the first opportunity of the match after six minutes, running onto Mark van Bommel’s glorious lifted pass, only to poke his finish straight at Manuel Neuer. Emile Heskey could have done better, it seemed to the neutral observer.

Germany  then had a chance through Mesut Ozil, whose volley from Van Bommel’s weak clearing header rebounded off the post into the arms of Maarten Stekelenburg. Mark Van Bommel has cut a senile figure throughout the finals, and conspiracy theorists will continue to point to his relationship with the gaffa’s daughter as the only excuse for him being in the Dutch side ahead of both Rafael Van der Vaart and Stijn Schaars.

 Van Persie spooned another attempt off target after latching onto a pinpoint pass from Arjen Robben. Van Persie’s woes in front of goal seemed set to continue, and were further highlighted on 24 minutes when his German counterpart Gomez gave a lesson in clinical finishing.

Schweinsteiger’s through ball  pass perfectly picked out the run of his club team-mate, whose sublime turn allowed him the time and space to bury  into the corner. The striker from Spain barely celebrated as he had a point to prove. His critics were looking silly now.

Gomez came close to scoring soon again, but was about a yard short of connecting with Thomas Muller’s low pass from the right. Germany were now establishing their grip on the match, and could have doubled their lead when Ozil’s free-kick found Holger Badstuber completely unmarked, only for Stekelenburg to block the defender’s shot from point-blank range.  Half an inch of neck movement and Badstuber would have scored.

But the second goal would not elude the Germans for long, and it was the combination of Schweinsteiger and Gomez again to supply the goods. After receiving Schweinsteiger’s pass on the right side of the box, Gomez did not allow the angle to faze him, and placed a shot over Stekelenburg into the far side of the goal. It was probably the best finish of the tournament thus far, and that goal not only gave Germany cushion, but also acted as the proverbial finger to all of Mario Gomez’s critics. On the bench, Jogi Low had the look of a man vindicated, while his Dutch counterpart was sinking into his seat.

His tactics had gone woefully wrong. The decision to start with two anchoring midfielders had not worked, and his prized striker was not producing the goods, even though the delivery from Robben and Sneijder was top-notch. Afellay seemed lost on the left, and Jetro Willems proved that at 18, he is not the man to mark a talisman like Muller. Van Marwijk knew that going into half time, he will have to make the changes that were demanded of him before the match, and it was a sick awakening.

And so it proved, at half time Van Bommel and Afellay were replaced by vice captain Rafael Van Der Vaart and Klaas Jan Huntelaar – the dividends were almost immediate.

After  a long spell of German possession, the dutch team finally showed what it was capable of, with Huntelaar now playing just ahead of Van Persie, therefore allowing space to open up, and Van Der Vaart doing a good job of playing the ball up field and wide.

Mats Hummels surprised Netherlands with an enterprising run up the length of the pitch, before forcing Stekelenburg into a smart double save.

Robben tried to spark his side into life with a run down the left flank, teeing up Van Persie at the edge of the box for a shot that was pushed away by Neuer. Wesley Sneijder followed up with a curling  long-range effort inches wide of the far post.

Robben then sliced a volley off target, before Sneijder saw his shot blocked full on the face by Jerome Boateng. It seemed the Dutch had their swagger back, but the German defence stood strong.

With 73 minutes on the clock, they found a way back into the game. Van Persie took a pass on the edge of the box on the turn, and shot with his weaker right foot past the despairing Neuer. At this precise moment however, Van Marwijk made yet another howler of a decision by substituting the enterprising Robben  with Dirk Kuyt (who got 3 touches of the ball altogether in his 10 minutes or so on the field).

That was the nail in the coffin the Dutch had made for themselves. For all their sense of urgency, their was no penetration past the final third in the closing moments of the match. Stekelenberg almost presented the vulture like Klose with a chance, and dutch hearts sank when they heard the final whistle. It was a job – a true German job, and the Dutch have only themselves to blame for their embarrassing performance in the tournament thus far.

As the group stands after matchweek 2, Netherlands can still qualify if the Germans beat the Danes and the Dutch can register a 2 goal victory over the Seleccao, but this seems like a distant dream. Their fall from grace has been fast and sad for all to see, and it is ironic that the Dutch, a side known for its audacious football, may ultimately lose out due to them “playing it safe”.