Johannesburg: Liverpool defender Daniel Agger is eager to begin Denmark's world cup campaign and says that he and his team-mates are targeting nothing less than a win against the Netherlands.
The Dutch are favourites to win the group with Denmark being tipped to compete with Cameroon and Japan for that vital second place.
"A team like us is always going out to win and it's the same against Holland. We'll be trying to win the game."
The Matchup
The Oranje
Netherlands arrive at this game having prepared with warm-up friendlies against Mexico, Ghana and Hungary. Oranje put in some impressive performances, but they were dealt a huge blow on the injury front in the aftermath of their game against the Hungarians.
Star winger Arjen Robben picked up a hamstring injury against Hungary and will probably miss Netherlands' World Cup opener on Monday. The Bayern Munich star has since worked hard with physio Dick van Toorn to return to full match fitness and travelled to South Africa at the weekend. Robben might be available for Holland's second group phase game.
Confidence is high in the Dutch ranks and players such as Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart recently declared that this could be Oranje's turn to win their first World Cup, while head coach Bert van Marwijk added that Netherlands can beat any team out there.
Additionally, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie have been tipped to shine at the 2010 World Cup and both players will be keen to show the world what they're capable of.
Danish Dynamite
Pre-tournament friendly results have hardly been encouraging for Denmark. A win over Senegal was a positive step, but losses against Australia and South Africa have done little to build confidence or even team spirit.
The win against Senegal might have resulted in a win, but even that game had a negative side-effect to it. Highly rated defender Simon Kjaer picked up a knee injury in the win and has since been struggling to return to full match fitness. The Palermo star is expected to feature against Netherlands, but his preparation hasn't exactly been perfect.
Additionally, first choice goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and striker Nicklas Bendtner aren't fully match fit. Sorensen will probably be able to play, but Bendtner is likely to miss out on Monday's game.
To make things even worse for Denmark, head coach Morten Olsen missed part of his side's World Cup preparation due to a bout of flu. The experienced coach is still confident that Danish Dynamite can be successful against Oranje though.
"Netherlands have no secret for us. We know everything about them and they won't be able to surprise us. I have a plan how we can keep them at bay and I'm confident we can record a good result against them," Olsen was quoted as saying.
Form Guide
Netherlands
WON 6-1 (h) Hungary (Friendly, June 05)
WON 4-1 (h) Ghana (Friendly, June 01)
WON 2-1 (n) Mexico (Friendly, May 26)
WON 2-1 (h) USA (Friendly, March 03)
DREW 0-0 (h) Paraguay (Friendly, November 18)
Denmark
LOST 1-0 (a) South Africa (Friendly, June 05)
LOST 1-0 (n) Australia (Friendly, June 01)
WON 2-0 (h) Senegal (Friendly, May 27)
LOST 2-1 (a) Austria (Friendly, March 3)
WON 3-1 (h) USA (Friendly, November 18)
Team News
Netherlands
Tricky attacker Arjen Robben isn't fully match fit yet after his hamstring injury and isn't likely to feature. Therefore, Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart will probably be selected in the starting line-up, based on training sessions throughout the week. Bert van Marwijk doesn't really have any other injury worries and will start with a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Probable Starting XI: Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronkhorst; Van Bommel, De Jong; Kuyt, Sneijder, Van der Vaart; Van Persie
Denmark
Morten Olsen will probably have to make do without star attacker Nicklas Bendtner due to injury, but the Denmark coach also got some good news on the injury front in the past couple of days. Simon Kjaer and Thomas Sorensen are both expected to play after having recovered from injuries. Soren Larsen is expected to fill in for Bendtner up front.
Probable Starting XI: Sorensen; L. Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, Mtiliga; Rommedahl, D. Jensen, S. Poulsen, M. Jorgensen; Tomasson, Larsen
Players to watch
Netherlands
Robin van Persie has been in absolutely stunning form in the warm-up friendlies Oranje played in the past couple of weeks. The Arsenal striker netted a brace against Mexico and also scored against Ghana and Hungary. RvP recently stated that he has the ambition to play at the same level as players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and a good performance at the World Cup would underline this ambition.
Denmark
Daniel Agger is one of Denmark's absolute star players and the Liverpool defender will have to be in superb form against the Dutch. With Danish Dynamite expected to be on the back foot for the majority of the game, Agger probably awaits a busy game and it's up to the centre-back to keep attackers such as Van Persie and Kuyt quiet.
Prediction
Netherlands start the match as the favourites to win Group E, but the Danes will provide a stern test for Oranje. Denmark are a defensively sound unit, while Holland will have to make do without star attacker Arjen Robben. The Dutch still have plenty of class up front though and they are likely to find the net more than once.
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