Do or die in group of death

World Cup finalists, top scorers in qualifying and one of the favourites to win Euro 2012, the Dutch now stand on the brink of a humiliating early exit from the European Championship.

 After two defeats on the bounce, the Oranje must beat Portugal by two clear goals and hope Germany defeat Denmark in order to escape from Group B.

  No team has ever reached the knockout phase at the Euros after losing their first two matches.

 Throw in the fact that it took Netherlands 46 shots to notch a solitary goal, never mind two, and Bert van Marwijk's side look destined to board an early flight back to Amsterdam. There's dissent in the ranks too.

 Striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who topped the Euro 2012 goalscoring charts in qualifying with 12 strikes, and playmaker Rafael van der Vaart have both voiced their frustration at starting games on the bench.

 The latter's exclusion has caused particular consternation in the Dutch media, which has repeatedly questioned the coach's decision to stick with Robin van Persie's wayward shooting during the tournament.

 The Huntelaar vs. Van Persie debate dominated the build up to Euro 2012 and Van Marwijk appears to have backed the wrong striker, even in light of his club form.

 On the plus side, the Dutch have a fully fit squad to choose from and circumstances mean that both front men could be handed a starting role.

 That would result in a rarely seen change of formation for Van Marwijk, with either one of his two beloved defensive midfielders - Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong - or Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay making way.

 Portugal, who need a win to be absolutely certain of going through, go into the game having recovered from an opening defeat to Germany with a 3-2 win over group dark-horses Denmark and did so with star-turn Cristiano Ronaldo yet to find top form.

 Pepe, substitute Silvestre Varela and Helder Postiga got the goals against the Danes and the latter is likely to keep his place in attack ahead of Hugo Almeida and Nelson Oliveira.

 Portugal boss Paulo Bento has a fully-fit squad to choose from and should stick with the same XI that featured in Lviv.

 Portugal player to watch: Joao Moutinho. The FC Porto star plays on the left of a midfield three for Portugal but still manages to orchestrate the game from his outside position. He tops the passing stats in terms of attempts and completion for Paulo Bento's side but more importantly he is incisive with his distribution.

 He is the man that creates goalscoring chances for his team-mates and he will be the key to unlocking the Dutch defence.

 Netherlands player to watch: Robin van Persie He may have had more than a quarter of Netherlands' shots, but he has also scored their only goal and is unlikely to be dropped against Portugal.

 His form was such for Arsenal this season that he was selected ahead of the Oranje's top scorer, Huntelaar, and he needs to rediscover his old finesse in front of goal if his side are to bag the two goals (at least) they need to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

 Key Battle: Fabio Coentrao v Arjen Robben. Real Madrid defender Coentrao has made his name as a marauding full-back but it is his defensive qualities that will be under scrutiny when he faces up to Bayern Munich's Dutch winger.

 Coentrao, 24, has made just a single tackle in the tournament so far and he'll certainly have to improve that statistic against Robben, who has point to prove after being hauled off in Netherlands' 2-1 defeat to Germany.

 Trivia: The last time Netherlands were knocked out at the group phase of the European Championship (1980) was two years after they finished runners-up at the World Cup (1978) - just as they did in 2010. Stats: The Dutch have failed to score in six of their ten meetings with Portugal. 

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