 Warsaw : Rafael van der Vaart believes that Netherlands` next Euro 2012 encounter against bitter rivals Germany will be `like a final`, but the midfielder is certain that they can still win the tournament.
Bert van Marwijk`s side were shocked in their opening Group B match, as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Denmark at Metalist Stadium on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Van der Vaart says the Dutch must win both of their remaining games - against Germany Portugal - if they are to reach the next stage.
"The Germany game on Wednesday is now like a final for us," the former Real Madrid man told Goal.com. "We have two finals but if we lose the first one, we are out of the competition.”
"It`s a massive game. That`s all I can say. It`s painful because we thought we had to win against Denmark and it was a very hard defeat to take."
The Dutch players were shocked as they lost to Michael Krohn-Dehli`s 24th minute strike despite dominating most of the match and creating several chances.
Van der Vaart admits qualification for the next round appears difficult, but says that the squad will draw inspiration now from the fact that Oranje lost their opening match at Euro 1988, but still won the tournament.
"There were no words in the dressing room," Van der Vaart added. "We are a long way from the next round but I believe we lost the first game in 1988 and that tournament finished well for us.”
"Hopefully we can do the same. We can still win but it will be more difficult now."
"It was a shock, people would say that when they compare Denmark with Holland. It`s unbelievable. They had one chance, maybe two. It was hard to take because we had so many chances."
Netherlands and Germany kick off at 20:45CET on Wednesday.
Goal.com
First Published: Sunday, June 10, 2012, 13:52
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