Wily Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk believes Denmark know his side too well but is not about to fiddle with his tried and tested formula for a Euro 2012 Group B opener which he has labelled "the most important game" Germany and Portugal also await in the fiendishly difficult-looking Group B and World Cup runners-up Netherlands want a fast start against the modest Danes in Kharkiv on Saturday to get points on the board before the trickier encounters ahead. Van Marwijk is aware however that 1992 winners Denmark are dangerous on their day and Morten Olsen's men have all the information they could ever need on their orange-clad foes. "We have no secrets. A lot of their players play in Holland and also in other European leagues, their style of play is a little bit the same, both teams respect each other," Van Marwijk told reporters. "For me it is the most important game." The two sides met in the 2010 World Cup group stage with the Dutch winning 2-0. Centre back Joris Mathijsen is almost certainly out of the Kharkiv match because of a hamstring problem so Ron Vlaar or Wilfred Bouma are likely to step in. Otherwise Netherlands will unleash their armoury of potent weapons including Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, whose silky skills have been wowing the vast crowds at their training sessions in Krakow and helped destroy Northern Ireland 6-0 in their last friendly. The Danes believe they offer enough of a threat themselves to stun the Dutch, especially with their defence looking shaky given Mathijsen's injury and left back Jetro Willems in line to pick up only his second cap. "There are a lot of players who can take charge in midfield, and provide both goals and assists," said Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner, who has six goals in his last eight internationals. "It's looking good, we've been practising well and intensely. We just need the last technical and tactical details and we'll be on our way." Christian Eriksen, of Dutch champions Ajax, will pull the strings for the Scandinavians in midfield as he looks to fulfil his promise and become one of Europe's most talked about players. "I've known I'd be under pressure from the beginning. The more you play, the more focus and pressure there'll be on you - I hope it stays that way," the 20-year-old said. "Of course, it's been a different kind of spotlight than that which I have been under before, but it's fine." Factbox: Netherlands v Denmark Facts and figures ahead of Saturday's Euro 2012 Group B match between NetherlandsandDenmark at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine * The Dutch have not lost to Denmark in regulation playing time in eight meetings since 1967 - though they did suffer a reverse at the Euro 1992 finals in Sweden when they went out on penalties after a 2-2 draw with the Danes in the semi-finals. Denmark went on to win the final against Germany. * Netherlands have an astonishing record in recent competitive games, winning 23 of their last 25. Their only defeats were the extra time 1-0 loss to Spain in the World Cup final two years ago and a 3-2 reverse to Sweden in their last, and meaningless, qualifying game for the Euro 2012 finals in October last year. Their last draw was more than five years (and 37 games) ago, a 0-0 with Romania in a Euro 2008 qualifier in Rotterdam. * Since winning the 1988 European championship in West Germany, the Dutch have been remarkably consistent in Euro andWorld Cup tournaments, advancing out of the group at every finals they have taken part in. * Denmark won their last four group qualifying games and come into the tournament unbeaten in their last six competitive matches. * Since their shock 1992 title win, Denmark have been disappointing in Euro finals and have won just two matches in the three tournaments they have played since. They failed to qualify for the 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland. * Denmark have scored only two goals in their last five games against the Dutch. Previous meetings: 17/05/14 Fr Denmark 4 Netherlands 3 Copenhagen 5/04/20 Fr Netherlands 2 Denmark 0 Amsterdam 12/06/21 Fr Denmark 1 Netherlands 1 Copenhagen 17/04/22 Fr Netherlands 2 Denmark 0 Amsterdam 25/10/25 Fr Netherlands 4 Denmark 2 Amsterdam 13/06/26 Fr Denmark 4 Netherlands 1 Copenhagen 12/06/27 Fr Denmark 1 Netherlands 1 Copenhagen 22/04/28 Fr Netherlands 2 Denmark 0 Amsterdam 14/06/31 Fr Denmark 0 Netherlands 2 Copenhagen 3/11/35 Fr Netherlands 3 Denmark 0 Amsterdam 23/10/38 Fr Denmark 2 Netherlands 2 Copenhagen 12/06/49 Fr Denmark 1 Netherlands 2 Copenhagen 11/12/49 Fr Netherlands 0 Denmark 1 Amsterdam 21/09/52 Fr Denmark 3 Netherlands 2 Copenhagen 7/03/53 Fr Netherlands 1 Denmark 2 Rotterdam 13/03/55 Fr Netherlands 1 Denmark 1 Amsterdam 4/11/56 Fr Denmark 2 Netherlands 2 Copenhagen 15/10/58 Fr Netherlands 5 Denmark 1 Rotterdam 26/09/62 Fr Denmark 4 Netherlands 1 Copenhagen 30/11/66 ECQ Netherlands 2 Denmark 0 Rotterdam 4/10/67 ECQ Denmark 3 Netherlands 2 Copenhagen 14/03/84 Fr Netherlands 6 Denmark 0 Amsterdam 6/09/89 Fr Netherlands 2 Denmark 2 Amsterdam 22/06/92 ECF Denmark 2 Netherlands 2 Gothenburg (Denmark won on pens) 18/08/99 Fr Denmark 0 Netherlands 0 Copenhagen 16/06/00 ECF Netherlands 3 Denmark 0 Rotterdam 10/11/01 Fr Denmark 1 Netherlands 1 Copenhagen 29/05/08 Fr Netherlands 1 Denmark 1 Eindhoven 14/06/10 WCQ Netherlands 2 Denmark 0 Johannesburg Head to head Played: 29 Netherlands 12 wins Denmark 7 wins Draws 10 Key: WCQ = World Cup qualifier, ECQ = European Championship qualifier, ECF = European Championship finals, Fr = Friendly (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter: @AO Sports / and facebook AhramOnlineSports) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/44277.aspx
