Denmark will take on Portugal in a highly-anticipated Group B match at Euro 2012 on Wed. June 13th when they meet at in Lviv, Ukraine. Denmark is coming off a 1-0 win over Holland on Saturday in their opening match and Portugal were 1-0 losers to Germany the same day.

The odds for Denmark in general has changed a bit, however you still get 13/5 (3.60) at Bet365.com but we don’t think they will claim another victory. Portugal looked strong and want revenge following a narrow defeat against Germany.

Michael Krohn-Dehli scored the game winner for Denmark against the run of play in the 24th minute against Holland. If it wasn’t for the Dutch missing several scoring opportunities it’s doubtful Denmark would have escaped with all three points. Holland attempted 28 shots, but just hit the target five times while Denmark hit the net on four out of eight shots.

Robin Van Persie could have wrapped the game up all by himself, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk might be in for some criticism for starting Van Persie instead of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as well as being criticized for not using both strikers. It seems a waste to have one of the other Golden Boot winners sitting on the bench and then being defeated. Huntelaar was eventually brought on as a substitute in the 71st minute as a replacement for Ibrahim Afellay.

Krohn-Dehli of Brondby had a good game for Denmark and could be a force in this tournament. He played well in both ends of the pitch and took his goal well by coming in from the left wing and drilling the ball through the keeper’s legs. Manager Morten Olsen will undoubtedly be thrilled with the result and three points, but Denmark was playing with fire for most of the 90 minutes and it’s not a good tactic.

Daniel Agger anchored the back four, but the win really came down to the lack of finishing by Holland. Still, Denmark’s never been beaten at a Euro game after scoring the first goal of the game. They’ve won five and lost four.

Portugal was perhaps unlucky in their loss to Germany, but they rely too much on Cristiano Ronaldo, who often disappears in major tournaments. Their finishing was poor even though they hit the cross bar twice. Portugal has managed just one goal in their past four games and that has to worry. They didn’t play bad defensively, but a 72nd minute header by Mario Gomez was all Germany needed.

Portugal didn’t attack enough until they were behind and that’s simply the wrong way to play football. It looked like they went out to settle for a draw and as usual in this situation, it backfired on them. However, Pepe almost put Portugal in front in the 44th minute when his shot hit the underside of the crossbar.

With Portugal and Holland being tied for last with no points and Germany and Denmark sitting at the top of the group with three, this is a huge game for Portugal and a draw may not be enough for them. If they convert the chances they had against Germany they should be able to squeak out a win against the Danes. It might not be pretty though.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds have a Portugal victory at 11/10 with a Denmark win at 13/5 and a draw at 9/4.

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written by Stefan