GROUP E DENMARK v NETHERLANDS (Soccer City, Johannesburg, 12.30, RTÉ 2, UTV)THE PLIGHT of the Dutchmen is becoming chronic. Through World Cup after World Cup they have flattered to deceive but still the world will not quit on them. Today, they make their debut in Johannesburg with the usual bouquets thrown at their feet.

The best Orange squad ever? Perhaps. But can they deliver? After all the colour and exotic match ups of the past few days, there is an old world meeting between two Northern European perennials. The Dutch are almost morally obliged to go about winning their games in aesthetically pleasing ways. The Danes have come here doing their best cap-in-hand-routine, humbly allowing that when this match is broken down to individual skill, they cannot hope to compete.

“Fair enough,” shrugged defender Daniel Agger after the Danes had enjoyed an easy kick-around in Soccer City yesterday afternoon.

“We know that we are a team. We play a good game together and it remains to be seen if we can do that against the Dutch.”

The eve-of-match drama revolved around the availability of Arjen Robben for the Netherlands and Nicklas Bendtner for the Danes. Bert von Marjwik, the Dutch coach, is mischievously insistent Bendtner will take the field tomorrow despite the Danes having publicly ruled the Arsenal man unfit for this match.

“Well, then, I say Robben will play,” Morten Olsen retorted. “You say it’s bluffing. I don’t know who is bluffing who. But the way it is looking now, Bendtner cannot play.”

Either way, the Danes are quite happy to occupy the support role in this match, relying on their solidity and preparation to frustrate the Orange technique that Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder and Gregory van der Weil, the exciting young right back from Ajax are expected to exhibit in this tournament.

Van der Weil can consider himself lucky to be here after showing up at a Lil Wayne concert having informed van Marjwik he could not travel to Australia for a friendly match as he needed to rest an injury.

The Netherlands’ flawless qualification record and the belated arrival of Robben after pre-tournament injury fears allied to the shimmering Orange tradition has led to an intense speculation that the Dutch could reclaim their old colonial posting through the sheer delight of their football over the next month. As ever, moodiness and internal bickering is a factor, with van Persie and Sneijder allegedly unable to agree on anything ever since van Persie clattered his team mate with a training-match tackle two years ago.

Since then, they have rowed like teenagers about the right to take free kicks and sporadically release mutual complaints. For all that, they must play in the same team – and well – if the Netherlands are to realise their potential. They are just about expressive football: in Dirk Kuyt and Nigel de Wong they have a pair of willing cart-horses who will lead their team mates in industry.

Mark van Bommel, who went into exile when Marco van Basten was manager, is back on board and it may be that Ryan Babel will use this tournament to exorcise the frustrations of his tenure at Liverpool. Apart from these tensions, the main question centres on the depth of the Dutch defence and the Danes will look to test that line through set-pieces in the hope of stealing a goal.

“It is kind of a brilliant game for us. The Dutch are saying they are one of the favourites of the World Cup and rightly so,” said Christian Paulson. “We can only surprise. If we have a good day, we can.”

Goalless defeats to South Africa and Australia do not bode well for the Danes but the return to fitness of goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson is timely and he is likely to have a busy afternoon today. The Danes will be liberated by the fact that nothing is really expected of them here. Led by Poulsen, the Danes will be tough and durable and it could be that their 2-0 win over Senegal is a truer mark of their form than their last two forgettable outings. But unless the Netherlands get into one of their funks, this match should see them announce their latest quixotic bid for world football dominance in typically pleasing style.