LFC In Euro 2012 Watch: Agger v Holland and Portugal

THE Netherlands, one of the favourites to win the Euro 2012, were dealt a huge blow in their opening game against Denmark. The Danes tore open the ‘Group of Death’ by beating one of the tournament’s top contenders, 1-0.

The Dutch started the game brightly, with their attacking players very much threatening. Still, despite Holland’s 28 shots on goal, the Danes took all three points after Michael Krohn-Dehli showed everyone how to finish.

The Danes played the whole game on the counter and defended solidly throughout the game. The results came as a major shock to everyone including me, a real David-versus-Goliath outcome.
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Holland had the possessions and the chances, but key players were all guilty of failing to capitalize and missing said chances. Wesley Sneijder was instrumental throughout the game, showing creativity, flair and real vision. But even he couldn’t save the day.

The Danish defense lead by their captain, and Liverpool centre-back Daniel Agger, showed stubborn resistance and some great performance between the stick by keeper Stephan Andersen did the trick for them.

If anyone was surprised by Denmark’s win over the Netherlands in their first group match, they should look at the team’s performance against Portugal to see how good they are. The Danes were unfortunate to lose the game as they played some good football throughout and came from two goals down to equalize. They had the better possession and looked threatening in the second half, but 87th minute strike from Silvestre Valera did them in.

It was a great performance by the Danes nonetheless, who would be disappointed to not have secured at least a draw with the kind of football they played in this game.

Here is a look at how Daniel Agger has fared at Euro 2012 so far.

Daniel AGGER v Netherlands

Daniel Agger captained Denmark to the first upset of Euro 2012. Everyone expected Holland to ease past Denmark. With a team of lesser quality, on paper at least, the Danes were not supposed to provide too much resistance to a Dutch team brimming with top-class players in just about every position. However, on the day Denmark had other ideas and strangled the Dutch and ultimately came away with a deserved and famous victory.

Agger captained and played the full 90 minutes and did so with composed assurance. There were some slightly testing moments early on, but the Reds centre-back played through and grew in stature as the encounter proceeded. With constant shouts of encouragement and instruction, he marshalled his defense against Robin van Persie and company. Timely interception, commanding headers and solid tackles were the hallmarks of the Danish captain’s performance against arguably one of the most potent attacks, on paper, in the tournament.

Player rating: 9/10

Daniel AGGER v Portugal

Once again, the Danes were lead from the back by Liverpool’s Daniel Agger who capped a great game for his country twice in a row. He had another solid all-round display for Denmark against Portugal, providing the rock-solid defending he is known for along with occasional forays into the attacking third.

Make no mistake, the 3 goals and the defeat does not tell the story, as alongside Simon Kjaer, Agger kept Portugal relatively at bay, blocking a number of shots and stuffing multiple Portuguese attacks. Another good game from the Danish captain, he did brilliantly while defending and looked equally to the task while making his trademark runs toward the opposition penalty box.

Player rating: 7.5/10

Thanks a lot for reading. You can find me on Twitter @LEONGUI7E

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