Euro 2012 - Germans Put Dutch on Brink of Elimination KHARKIV, Ukraine - Always, the Netherlands enters a tournament as a favorite, abundantly skilled and hopeful, but now expectation has left the Dutch fragile and nearly out of possibility. After two matches in the European soccer championships, this crafty team has scored exactly one goal. The ball must seem as ungainly and nearly impossible to put into the net as the giant inflatable orb that fans bat around pregame in the grandstand. Germany, on the other hand, appears to be rounding into form to challenge for a fourth European title after a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday. Mario Gomez scored goals in the 24th and 38th minutes on assists from Bastian Schweinsteiger as the Germans gained a 2-0 first-half lead through an unkempt defense. Gomez now has delivered all three of his team's goals at Euro 2012. Technically, Germany (2-0) has still not advanced to the quarterfinals, but that seems a formality. There is still a chance for the Dutch (0-2) to reach the quarterfinals with a victory over Portugal in the final group match on Sunday. But the Dutch were already riven by internal bickering about lineup choices and substitutions after a 1-0 defeat in the opener to Denmark. That petulance could now widen like a crack in a windshield. Again Coach Bert Van Marwijk will be questioned for his decision not to start forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who led the Bundesliga in scoring this past season. Robin Van Persie, the leading scorer in the English Premier League, had two early chances as the Dutch tried to go over the top of the German defense, but van Persie could not convert and Germany moved out of reach. Huntelaar joined Van Persie on the field after halftime. And, it must be said, the Dutch did not sulk and lose their ambition. In the 73rd minute, Van Persie found himself wide open amid a retreating German defense and blasted a low right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that appeared to go between the legs of defender Holger Badstuber. But Germany was already ahead by 2-0 and van Persie's goal could not be embellished with another that would have at least salvaged a point for the Netherlands. Perhaps the Dutch will take some comfort in this resilience. But again the Netherlands cannot shake a reputation of individual cleverness that, except for the 1988 European Championships, has never translated into ultimate team success. The Netherlands did finish second at the 2010 World Cup, but this team has so far shown none of the creativity, finishing power, edge and hardiness of that increasingly distant achievement. It was a scorching day, and by midmorning, strollers in the city were already trying to find relief in the shade. Wednesday's match started at 9:45 p.m., but while the heat had dissipated somewhat, Metalist Stadium was as airless as the Dutch attack for most of the game. Wednesday brought the renewal of a rivalry, born of the fraught history of World War II, that has been infused on the soccer field with great respect and contentiousness. Franz Beckenbauer once described the German-Dutch competition as one that "breathed football of class, emotion and unprecedented tension." One team has long been the opponent of the other in decisive, sometimes fractious moments. West Germany defeated the Dutch in the 1974 World Cup final. The Netherlands repaid the favor in the semifinals of the 1988 European championship, with Germany the penultimate climb in the Dutch's only major soccer summit. At the 1990 World Cup, with the big-hair days of the 1980s still lingering, the jheri-curled Frank Rijkaard spat on the mullet of Rudi Voller. Perhaps Rijkaard sensed an arid application of mousse by the German forward. In any case, both players were sent off after this great expectoration. Wednesday's meeting carried more professional regard than antagonism. And, for the Netherlands, desperation. Early on, it seemed as if this pressure to win might forge a reinvigorated purpose. In the 7th minute, a long pass from Mark van Bommel freed van Persie behind Mats Hummels in the center of the German defense. Van Persie stabbed at the ball with his left leg, but his shot rolled directly at the charging Manuel Neuer. In the 11th minute, a through ball from Arjen Robben released van Persie again, but his frustration continued and he put the shot across the goal mouth. These missed opportunities would be costly. In the 23rd minute, the Dutch defender John Heitinga grabbed Germany's Mesut Ozil and slung him in a move that would be allowed in Greco-Roman wrestling but not soccer. Germany did not waste the resulting possession. Thomas Mueller played the ball from the right flank to Schweinsteiger in acres of space outside the penalty area. And Schweinsteiger deftly nudged the ball through a tattered defense to Gomez. After scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Portugal on Saturday, Gomez has awakened from what had been a sleepy national team career. He spun beautifully around a flat-footed Heitinga and slotted the ball past a diving Maarten Stekelenburg from 12 yards in the 24th minute. Germany should have taken a 2-0 lead in the 37th minute on a free kick, but Stekelenburg used his thigh to parry a header by Badstuber. Still, the Dutch were hardly out of trouble. In the 38th minute, Gomez slashed free and again Schweinsteiger put the ball softly and precisely at his feet to the right of the goal. Gomez lashed a high shot on an acute angle from 15 yards, inside the left post, and perhaps Stekelenburg went to ground too early in futile anticipation.