Netherlands had a pretty tough job at hand to qualify for the next stage after a shock defeat in the first match against Denmark. But then a 1-2 to loss to their long standing rivals Germany see them on the brink of elimination.

It was quite unexpected, but then they lacked the edge from the start of the tournament and their top players failed to shine on occasions as they have been doing throughout the club seasons. But German players looked at the top of their game and played some amazing football to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Even on Wednesday, when these traditional rivals met, players like Arjen Robben who had such great club season failed to deliver on expected lines while for Germany likes of Mario Gomez, Bastian Schweinsteiger exhibited some good football.

Here are some of the hits and flops of the match:

Germany:

Hits

Bastian Schweinsteiger: He always has it in him to shine for the national side at the big stage. He has shown it a lot of times in the past and did the same yesterday as well. He might not have been among goals but was creator of almost all the German moves in the match. His passing was immaculate and set up both the German goals.

Mario Gomez: He came into the tournament after a very successful season with Bayern Munich and he replicated that in this match. After scoring the winning goal against Portugal, he netted twice to win the match for Germany. With three goals to his name he already now has his sight set on the Golden boot.

Flops:

Manuel Neuer: He was never really tested by the Dutch attack but then one goal that he had to save he could not and was beaten all ends up by Robin Van Persie.

Netherlands:

Hits:

Robin Van Persie: He arguably was the best player of the side. The highest goal scorer for Arsenal in the EPL this season scored a goal early into the second half but that could not help the Dutch’s cause. He missed a striking partner in the match.

Flops:

Arjen Robben: The player was no match for his Bayern Teammate Philip Lahm and could not get past him. Was little better than the last match, but could not create the much needed spark for his team.

Nigel di Jong: Nigel di Jong probably was the worst player on exhibit in the match. He was completely off standards and was dominated by Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil throughout the match.

Indian Sports News Network