EURO 2012 LIVE: Netherlands vs. Germany

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? Netherlands play Germany in Kharkiv, Ukraine in their second Group B match at the European Championship. Earlier, Portugal beat Denmark 3-2. Here is a running account of Wednesday's action. All times are local to Poland.

___

GOAL! NETHERLANDS 0 GERMANY 2 (GOMEZ AGAIN!)

___

2111: Arjen Robben tries to hit back straight away for the Netherlands, cutting in from the left and shooting from far out but Neuer is equal to it. Good attempt though from Robben.

___

2109: Great finish by Mario Gomez. Germany haven't looked as threatening as the Dutch going forward but Gomez is in clinical form - something Robin van Persie is not. Bastian Schweinsteiger picks him out with a neat through ball that Gomez takes on the turn with a great touch before threading the ball past Stekelenburg for his second goal of the tournament. Advantage Germany.

___

PhillipsIan: Germany go one up vs. Holland , Mario Gomez beating offside trap to calmly slot home. Great finish. (via Twitter)

___

GOAL! NETHERLANDS 0 GERMANY 1 (GOMEZ)

___

2057: Another chance for van Persie and another chance missed. Will it be another frustrating evening for the Dutch striker? Robben strides forward down the center of the pitch and finds van Persie with a through ball. The striker hits across the goal with his right foot but drags it way wide of the far post. The second good chance he has wasted inside the opening fifteen minutes.

___

2053: First chance of the game and it falls to Robin van Persie. A ball over the top catches the German defense flat footed and van Persie runs through, meeting the ball with an outstretched left foot. His connection is weak though and Neuer saves easily.

___

2050: Nicklas Bendtner could face UEFA action for ambush marketing after he scored his second goal in Denmark's 3-2 loss against Portugal. Bendtner's celebration included lifting his shirt and dropping his shorts slightly to reveal a gambling firm's name on his underpants. Minutes later, the bookmaker sent a Twitter message with a photograph claiming that Bendtner was wearing his lucky underwear. UEFA regulations for Euro 2012 require that "all kit items worn during the final tournament must be free of any sponsor advertising."

___

2047: Both sides enjoying a bit of early possession. Robin van Persie nearly receives the ball in the German penalty area but he stumbles over as the pass into him is runs through to Manuel Neuer.

___

2045: The Netherlands, playing in its famous all orange strip, kick off against Germany.

___

2035: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar remains on the bench for the Netherlands against Germany, despite Robin van Persie missing a series of chances against Denmark in their group opener. There is a fierce rivalry between these two nations. Let's hope we have a classic on our hands here. It is vital that the Netherlands take something from this game but Germany will know that a victory will see the team take top spot in Group B.

___

2030: Jonas Eriksson from Sweden will referee the game this evening.

___

2025: Teams: Germany: Neuer, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm, Boateng, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Mueller, Podolski, Gomez. Netherlands: Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Willems, Van Bommel, De Jong, Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie, Afellay.

___

2014: Croatia's culture ministry has told an employee to stop revealing her bare breasts at European Championship matches. Topless Internet photos of Jelena Miksa, a clerk at the culture ministry, and her relative Viktorija have been a hit on social networks and local media as they celebrated Croatia's 3-1 victory over Ireland on Sunday in Poznan, Poland. The ministry says Miksa has been told she should "take care of her behavior in the future." It said there will be no sanctions, for now. "The wild" women, as they have become known in Croatia, said they did it in support of the team.

___

2005: Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk sticks to his much-maligned forward line against Germany for the vital European Championship and left Bundesliga top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar off the starting lineup again. The only change for the Netherlands was the inclusion of Joris Mathijsen, who has recovered enough to retake his spot at the heart of the defense at the cost of Ron Vlaar. Van Marwijk had been criticized for sticking with Robin van Persie as center forward during the opening 1-0 loss to the Netherlands. German coach Joachim Loew relied on the same starting lineup as the one that earned Germany a 1-0 win over Denmark.

___

1957: Ronaldo hugs Varela after the full-time whistle goes and so he should. Portugal is now level on three points with Denmark and is back in control of its own destiny ahead of the last group game against the Netherlands on Sunday. That was one of the best matches of the tournament ? hopefully more of the same at Netherlands vs. Germany, which is coming up soon.

___

1951: FULL TIME: Denmark 2, Portugal 3

___

1947: What a game! Portugal is back in front and it's a goal by the substitute who has only been on the pitch for three minutes. Silvestre Varela is quite fortunate actually, mis-hitting his first attempt but he makes up for it with his second as he lashes a shot into the corner from 12 yards (meters).

(at)simonhaydon: Heartbreaker for Denmark, who thought they were on their way through thanks to Bendtner's two goals. euro2012 (via Twitter)

___

1945: GOAL! Denmark 2, Portugal 3 (Varela)

___

1941: Moments after Ronaldo missed the best of all his chances ? he was one on one with Andersen inside the area and sidefooted wide ? Bendtner grabs his second to make it 2-2. A ball is floated over from the right by Lars Jacobsen to the back post and Bendtner loses his defender and heads past goalkeeper Patricio, who gets a hand to the ball but can't keep it out. What must Ronaldo be thinking? He should have put Portugal out of sight by now.

(at)PhillipsIan: Shocking miss from Ronaldo. Does he ever play well for Portugal? In a white shirt still, but unrecognizable from the Real Madrid giant. (via Twitter)

___

1935: GOAL! Denmark 2, Portugal 2 (Bendtner)

___

1929: Just under 20 minutes for the Danes to find an equalizer here. They are enjoying a good spell of pressure but are lacking a cutting edge. The next goal could be massive for the outcome of Group B, let alone this game. And it almost comes from Bendtner, who drags a low shot wide from the edge of the area.

___

1924: Not a great way for Rommedahl to celebrate winning his 118th cap. Denmark is undeterred, however, and William Kvist goes close with fierce strike from outside the penalty area that goes just wide. Postiga is substituted for 20-year-old Nelson Oliveira, who made a lively appearance from the bench against Germany in the first group game.

___

1917: Jakob Poulsen is booked for a foul on Nani, who knocked the ball on before Poulsen came across and wiped him out with a late barge. Easy decision for the referee. Denmark is forced to make another injury-enforced substitution ? Rommedahl looks to have pulled his hamstring and is replaced by Tobias Mikkelsen.

___

1910: Poor old Ronaldo's not having the best of days. He's finding himself in a lot of space but just can't score that first goal of the tournament. This time, he is set free by Nani and closes in on goal, only to shoot straight at Andersen. Disappointing by his very high standards.

___

1903: Second half begins. Here's one for you stats fans out there: Postiga's goal made him the sixth player to score at three different Euros. The other players are Vladimir Smicer, Thierry Henry, Juergen Klinsmann, Nuno Gomes and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

___

1847: That's halftime. 2-1 to Portugal but Pepe is shaking his head as he walks off the pitch ? he will be livid at conceding a goal so close to the interval. Denmark, which has had 58 percent possession, is back in this game.

___

1842: Denmark is back in this with four minutes left in the first half. Nicklas Bendtner nods in from close range after Krohn-Dehli cleverly loops a header across the face of goal.

___

1838: Breathing space for Portugal. Denmark's defending is poor as Nani receives the ball and picks out Helder Postiga, who beats his marker to the ball at the near post and blasts home an unforgiving finish. That's his 20th international goal. But, hold on ...

GOAL! Denmark 1, Portugal 2 (Bendtner)

___

1835: GOAL! Denmark 0, Portugal 2 (Postiga)

___

1832: Yellow card for Raul Meireles for a cynical handball. Andersen releases the ball quickly over the halfway line and it is going past Meireles and into the path of Krohn-Dehli when the Chelsea midfielder illegally stops the ball. Meireles can't have any complaints with that. Incidentally, Meireles has a new fulltime manager at Chelsea. Roberto Di Matteo, who guided the London club to a first Champions League title last month as interim manager, has been given the job on a permanent basis today on a two-year deal.

___

1826: The Portuguese have stepped it up a bit here in the last five minutes and get a goal for their efforts. A curling corner from the left is aimed at the near post and Pepe meets it first, flicking the ball past goalkeeper Stephan Andersen. An unlikely source for the goal but Portugal will take it.

___

1822: GOAL! Denmark 0, Portugal 1 (Pepe)

___

1816: The heavily tattooed Niki Zimling of Denmark is struggling. He has gone down holding his left calf and the trainer has had to help him off the pitch. Jakob Poulsen replaces him. Ronaldo then drags a shot wide. It's a bright opening here.

___

1811: The Danes have started brightly here. Speedy winger Dennis Rommedahl wins a fourth corner for them, which Michael Krohn-Dehli takes but can't find a teammate. Portugal legend Eusebio is in the crowd. What a striker he was.

___

1806: Denmark, which won the tournament against all the odds in 1992, has the first chance. Simon Poulsen drills the ball into the penalty area and it finds its way to highly rated midfielder Christian Eriksen. He turns and tries to get his shot away but Raul Meireles slides in and blocks.

(at)Karl_Ritter Banner held up by Danish fans: 1992-2012 Same Story. Bold prediction after just 1 game (via Twitter)

___

1800: Denmark gets us under way. Craig Thomson of Scotland is the referee.

___

1754: Ronaldo is fired up for this one. He went round knocking fists with all his teammates on the pitch during the warmup, talking very animatedly to each one of them. The Portugal captain knows what a massive game this is for his side. Once again, there are plenty of fans in the colors of co-hosts Poland and Ukraine in the stadium. The local fans really seem to be enjoying having the European Championship in their country and they are always out in force at every match. The players are singing the national anthems.

___

1740: In their first games, Denmark beat the Netherlands 1-0 and Portugal lost 1-0 to Germany. If the Danes win today and Germany beats the Netherlands later Wednesday, they will qualify for the quarterfinals and Portugal will be eliminated with one group game still to play. And that would mean no Cristiano Ronaldo in the knockout stages.

___

1730: Here are the lineups for Denmark vs. Portugal in Lviv, Ukraine:

Denmark: Andersen, Kjaer, Agger, Poulsen, Jacobsen, Kvist, Eriksen, Krohn-Dehli, Rommedahl, Bendtner, Zimling. Substitutes: Lindegaard, Christian Poulsen, Bjelland, Okore, Schone, Silberbauer, Pedersen, Wass, Jakob Poulsen, Kahlenberg, Mikkelsen, Schmeichel.

Portugal: Rui Patricio, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Miguel Veloso, Fabio Coentrao, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho, Raul Meireles, Nani, Joao Pereira, Helder Postiga. Substitutes: Eduardo, Custodio, Almeida, Quaresma, Nelson Oliveira, Ricardo Costa, Rolando, Ruben Micael, Varela, Miguel Lopes, Hugo Viana, Beto.

jonathan frid pujols watchmen hitch justin beiber lamar odom perfect game