Van Nistelrooy strikes late to deny Germany
Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy pounced late to earn the Netherlands a 1-1 draw with Germany who dominated their much anticipated Euro 2004 opener on Tuesday.
Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy pounced late to earn the Netherlands a 1-1 draw with Germany who dominated their much anticipated Euro 2004 opener on Tuesday.
The Germans deservedly led through Torsten Frings's 30th-minute free kick, and the Dutch rarely threatened an equaliser before Van Nistelrooy turned sharply to hook in a right-wing cross from close range nine minutes from time.
"We deserved it, we tried to make the game for 90 minutes," Van Nistelrooy said. "You know when you play Germany it's going to be tough but we kept fighting and the support got us through."
The result left the Czech Republic in control of Group D following their 2-1 victory over Latvia, but Germany will feel their disciplined performance deserved more than just a single point.
"It's a bit annoying," Germany coach Rudi Voeller said. "We should have added another one after 1-0 but nevertheless compliments to the team."
"We can live with it even if it was a little bit bitter at the end. We didn't lose anything but we didn't win anything either."
The Dutch created the first chance after only two minutes when skipper Philip Cocu lobbed the German defence but the ball was just beyond the reach of Van Nistelrooy who failed to connect.
Apart from that they had few clear chances, largely because Voeller won the tactical battle against Dick Advocaat, though the Dutchman did throw on forward Pierre van Hooijdonk in the closing minutes and his presence helped unsettle the defence.
The Netherlands played with Van Nistelrooy as a lone striker as expected, but he was repeatedly isolated and surrounded at times by up to five German defenders.
The tactic failed because of ineffective midfield displays from Edgar Davids and Boudewijn Zenden who were both replaced at halftime. They were largely played out of the match by robust tackling and defending by the German defenders, especially the outstanding Christian Woerns.
Both teams came into the game in a nervous state of mind following poor build-ups to the tournament with the Germans under pressure after a recent 5-1 defeat by Romania and a 2-0 home loss to Hungary.
The Dutch, beaten 1-0 by Belgium and Ireland in their build-up, were also rattled by the usual personality clashes in their camp. They rarely played as a working unit and Germany's championship pedigree came to the fore as the game went on.
Frings scored when his curling free kick from wide on the left evaded a number of forwards and defenders before bouncing into the net off goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar's far post.
The game was played in a passionate atmosphere at the Dragao Stadium with the thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans becoming more subdued as their team was pushed back -- until their dramatic late equaliser.
"The equaliser came out of the blue really but if you give Van Nistelrooy half a yard in the box he's going to score and it was a great finish," said Germany's Dietmar Hamann. "I think we should have won."
Man-of-the-match Michael Ballack, substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger and striker Kevin Kuranyi all tested Van der Sar as the Dutch left space at the back pressing forward for an equaliser.
It finally came and German goalkeeper and captain Oliver Kahn, celebrating his 35th birthday, had a rather more subdued celebration than seemed likely.
"You must maintain such a level for the full 90 minutes and the Dutch built up real pressure and they got their goal," Kahn said. "This group will remain open until the last minute."