Breakdown - GROUP B

Well, after the sendings off, missed penalties and thumping goals that Group A greeted us with, expectations were high for the eagerly anticipated Group B. And the favourites just failed to ignite.

Denmark came out with a performance that not only proved the first big shock in the competition but also has them sitting pretty at the top of Group B with Germany. Portugal looked shaky so Denmark have to really be looking forward right now and thinking, what seemed impossible, really could be possible. Many people said not to write them off, but it was easy to do so with such mammoth teams in their group. The Danes were organised and very tight defensively with Agger and Kjaer being absolutely fantastic. Poulsen had a good game and after his expertly taken goal, Krohn-Delhi has been a talking point. If they can stay as impressive as that defensively, they may be able to hold the Germans at bay and I would not be suprised if they managed a win against Portugal.

Man Of The Team: Agger

Holland didn't get off on the right foot and suprisingly, Prem top scorer RvP had a shocker of a game, missing chance after chance and looking like a fish out of water at times. He has often failed to step up to the plate in an international level but after the season he had, I thought he may be confident enough to deliver. Huntelaar may have well nabbed his starting place now after making an impact staight away as a sub and nearly earning the team a penalty in the dieing moments of the game. The Netherlands certainly had chances in abundance to leave a devastating score against the Danes but luck was just not on their side. Robben didn't have the best game either doing very well getting the ball forward and linking up well with Van Persie but, just like the van man, he fluffed it in front of goal. One man who had a superb game was Sneijder who was controlling the midfield and delivered some outstanding crosses in. He nearly set Van Persie up on more than one occasion then Robben failed to head in a Sneijder cross and Huntelaar failed to score after a 40-yard pass from Wesley landed perfectly at the mans feet. They have potential and should they be able to get their act together, can still get a top 2 place but it will be hard coming up against Germany.

Man Of The Team: Sneijder

Germany had a pretty boring game really, after all the hype coming into the competition. The same can be said for Portugal and what was billed to be a thrilling game with goals coming in from all over the place, it ended up 1-0 thanks to a late Gomez header. They had their chances and looked strong defensively but it wasn't thrilling.

Man Of The Team: Boateng

Portugal didn't have the best first half but did grow into the game and once they stopped playing so defensively, showed they could be a major threat in front of goal, especially (unfortunately) in the last 10 minutes of the game. Pepe, Ronaldo and Nani could all have put goals in the back of the net, which they need to build on going forward. The Danes are wonderfully structured and if The Dutch get their act together, they should become a goal scoring outfit so I think Portugal's only chance is if they really push their attack forward and whip in some goals. It's not like they don't have a sturdy hitman in Ronaldo.