It was a tall order to begin with. In order to advance to the Euro 2012 knock-out phase quarter-finals, Holland needed to beat archrivals Portugal by at least two goals and hope that Germany defeated Denmark.
Portugal, however, also played to win, even though a draw would also have sufficed, provided Denmark did’t beat Germany.
And so, Bert van Marwijk changed his starting line-up in every line of play: tall defender Ron Vlaar replaces John Heitinga, midfielder Rafael van der Vaart is captain instead of Mark van Bommel and Klaas Jan Huntelaar took up the centre-forward position with Robin van Persie sitting just behind him. Huntelaar replaced leftwinger Ibrahim Afellay. The rationale was evident: more firepower up front and more airpower and physical strength at the back.
For his part, Portugal manager Paulo Bento started the same line-up in all three group-stage matches.
Early lead for Holland
A cool breeze blew into the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv as Holland lauched its expected offensive, culminating in a Van der Vaart curler from outside the box that flew straight into the net. It was the early goal the Dutch so badly needed.
Portugal responded with a flurry of chances: Ronaldo hitting the post, Nani shooting just wide and Meirels hitting the side netting - all in five minutes. Not much later came the news from Lviv that Denmark had equalised against Germany: 1-1.
Ronaldo magic
A similar scenario followed in Kharkiv, where Ronaldo tied proceedings with a well-aimed shot from close range in the 28th minute. This was the night the Real Madrid wizard had been waiting for. Freed from the ghosts that had prevented him from scoring for his country, Ronaldo unleashed a barrage of attempts on Maarten Stekelenburg's goal. But as yet to no avail.
Meanwhile, his teammates thoroughly enjoyed the amount of space left by the Dutch in midfield, crossing over in two or three moves to rip open the Dutch defence with intelligent, fast-paced passing. For Holland, the half-time whistle came at just the right time.
The Dutch started the second period with slightly more possession, but again, most of the danger came from Ronaldo, and from Helder Postiga, whose 59th minute goal was disallowed for off-side.
Another winger
"Hunt for the ball, hunt, hunt," the 10,000-strong Holland fans chanted from the stands. Holland manager Van Marwijk took the cue in the 66th minute. He fielded an extra attacker, Ibrahim Afellay, for young Jetro Willems, who'd been yellow-carded ten minutes before.
Portugal were not impressed. After tricking the Dutch centre-backs, Cristiano Ronaldo fired low in the left corner to give the selecção a well-deserved lead. Holland now needed three goals to revive their hopes of advancing to the second round - an impossible task given their shake defence, powerless forwards and wide-open midfield. Still, they tried and a wonderful curled Sneijder shot hit the post eight minutes from time.
Dutch sports journalists believe that Bert van Marwijk will succumb to the pressure for him to stand down. The Holland coach is expected to announce his resignation within the next few days. It was only late last year that Van Marwijk renewed his contract with the Dutch Football Association until after UEFA Euro 2016, to be held in France.
Meanwhile in Lviv, Germany beat Denmark 2-1.
And so, the first two quarter finals were decided:
Portugal are to play the Czech Republic in Warsaw on Thursday 21 June;
Germany are to play Greece in Gdansk on Friday 22 June. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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