Bento full of belief ahead of Dutch decider-EURO 2012

Portugal could lose and still go through but Paulo Bento is adamant his team must "control the game" against the Netherlands, who "have to go for it" to stand a chance of qualifying.

Paulo Bento says his team will be going for victory against the Netherlands

UEFA EURO 2012 Group B may be a minefield of ifs, buts and maybes heading into matchday three, but for Portugal coach Paulo Bento and Netherlands counterpart Bert van Marwijk there is only one equation that matters: win and let the rest look after itself.

The Dutch are firmly stuck behind the eight ball after successive defeats and know all too well that they must win by a two-goal margin and rely on Germany to beat Denmark. However, they and the Republic of Ireland are the only two teams to have scored just once in their first two fixtures – taking that tally to three on Sunday is the minimum requirement.

It is a tall order yet Van Marwijk is not a man prone to hyperbole and was keeping his cards typically close to his chest at Saturday's press conference. History is not on his side, either, with the Netherlands victorious against Portugal only once in ten meetings; they have lost six. Bento, therefore, has plenty of reason for optimism.

"If I didn't believe in the possibility of succeeding then I wouldn't be here," the Portuguese said. "There's not any other way of playing this game – we have to believe in the possibility of reaching the goal that we have had from the very start. That all depends on our ability, our organisation and our talent. We have shown enough to suggest we can be confident and have belief in a great result."

It is when that other encounter in Lviv is thrown into the mix that things get complicated. For the Selecção das Quinas, however, victory will suffice unless the Danes triumph by a one-goal margin other than 2-1 and 1-0. If the permutations are as clear as mud, Bento's approach is at least a little more defined.

"We have to try to control the game, not only in defence, but also have possession of the ball and look for attempts on goal," he added. "Our aim is not just to go through but to win the game. We know what the Netherlands' strategy will be from the beginning. We've seen that in many Dutch teams; they like to have the ball, to play and to control the game. They've always shown great technical quality. But we shouldn't only rely only on counterattacks."

There are no such tactical nuances to consider for the Oranje, whose travails belie the fact that they were the top scorers in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying. With a squad boasting ten of the starting XI in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final, one thing is for certain: now is the time for them to rediscover their scoring touch.

"There's always going to be pressure on me and the players as well," said Van Marwijk. "It's about one game and we know we have to go for it. We know from the start we have to win by a two-goal difference if Germany win. Playing in a league when you've got ten or 20 games is very different to something like this where you've got one game left and you've got to win 2-0. The tactics we choose will of course be impacted by that. We're just going to play our game and we know what our goal is – then wait and see what Germany do."

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Euro Cup 2012: Portugal Pulls Out Miraculous Win Despite Ronaldo's Struggles

Facing a must-win situation, the Portugese National Soccer Team pulled out a dramatic 3-2 victory over Denmark at the 2012 UEFA Euro Championship.

Portugal's Silvestre Varela (C) celebrates his goal against Denmark with team mates during their Euro 2012 Group B soccer match at the new stadium in Lviv, June 13, 2012. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

After a crushing 1-0 loss to Germany on Saturday and Denmark's surprising upset over the Netherlands in the "Group of Death," Portugal needed to win. A loss would have given Denmark six points and left Portugal praying for Dutch victory against Germany. Everything turned out well for Portugal who not only won, but did not have to pray for a Netherlands victory that never came.

But the win was far from simple. It looked easy 40 minutes into the contest when the Portuguese held what seemed like a firm 2-0 lead on goals from Pepe in the 24^th minute and Helder Postiga in the 36^th. But the Danish would not give up and managed a goal in the 41^st minute by Niklas Bendtner off an incredible sequence. Danish forward Michael Krohn-Dehli headed the ball across to Bendtner who then headed the ball into the Portugese net to pull within one.

With just ten minutes to go in regulation, Denmark knotted the score at two off a second Bendtner goal. The goal would have essentially sealed Portugal's fate and left them packing for home.  But the miracle came from an unexpected source: Silvestre Varela, who had been subbed into the match just minutes earlier. Varela had only made eight appearances for the national team since 2010 and had only scored three goals for his club team Porto in the 2011-12 season. But with just three minutes left in regulation, he pounded a shot just inside the box and into the back of the net to give Portugal the goal in needed to stay alive.

Portugal had numerous opportunities to add to its 2-1 lead early on the second. The team tried to lean on its captain Cristiano Ronaldo for some his goal scoring ability, but  the world's most highly paid player was not ready to step up for his team when they needed him most. Moments after half-time, Ronaldo received a great pass from Postiga behind the Danish defense but Ronaldo shot the ball right at Denmark's goalkeeper Stephan Anderson. Then just 13 minutes from the end of the game, Ronaldo broke in alone one more time and shot the ball wide. Had Ronaldo been playing for FC Real Madrid of the Spanish league, both of those chances likely go in the back of the net.  Since 2009, Ronaldo has scored 112 goals for Real in just 101 appearances. For the national team, the superstar has only put the ball in the net 32 times in 92 games. In his "worst" season for Real, he scored 26 goals in 29 appearances. Failing to live up to expectations on the international stage is nothing new for the 27 year old. In the 2008 Euro, Ronaldo only finished with one goal in five games as Portugal was eliminated in the quarter finals of the tournament. He went scoreless in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup and scored only one goal, an inconsequential one, in a 7-0 blowout over North Korea.

Portugal will get a chance to move out of the group stage on Sunday against lowly Netherlands (0 points) who will also be looking to not only beat Portugal, but do so handily to overcome a -2 goal differential. As the group stands, Germany has six points and has all but guaranteed a seat in the next round. Portugal has three points and is tied with Denmark who also has three points and an equal goal differential, equal number of goals scored and allowed. In order for Portugal to pass, it will need to beat Netherlands and hope for a German victory or a German tie with Denmark. However, a Danish win, will not only force Portugal to win, but to score more goals than either Denmark or Germany, who currently has a +2 goal differential. If Portugal loses by more than one goal, then it will be eliminated. If Portugal loses by just one goal, then it needs to hope for a German trouncing of the Danish by at least two goals. A tie with Netherlands would put Portugal into the following round with a German victory or a tie that sees Denmark score fewer goals than Portugal does against the Netherlands. Denmark's scenario for getting to the next round is very similar to Portugal's.

Germany only needs a tie to advance to the next round, while the Netherlands must win by two or more goals and pray for a German defeat of the Danish in order to see the quarter finals. 

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