Netherlands' hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds were hanging by a thread after a Mario Gomez double sent the World Cup finalists to a 2-1 defeat to Germany.
Gomez, who scored the only goal in his team's 1-0 win over Portugal, grabbed two wonderfully taken goals in the first half. Robin Van Persie pulled one back for the Dutch with just under 20 minutes left, but could not find an equaliser.
However, the Netherlands still have a chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals after Portugal beat Denmark 3-2. If the Netherlands beat Portugal and Germany get the better of Denmark, the Dutch could still go through as runners-up.
Netherlands started the better of the two teams, with Van Persie coming close on a couple of occasions. However, the Arsenal striker, who missed a series of chances in the previous game against Denmark, was still finding it hard to beat the opponent's goalkeeper.
Gomez opened the scoring in the 24th minute, latching onto a through pass from Bastian Schweinsteiger and coolly slotting it past the Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
It was 2-0, fourteen minutes later. Gomez received the ball from Schweinsteiger on the right and the Bayern Munich striker slammed an unstoppable strike from an acute angle.
The Dutch pressed hard in the second half and missed a bucket-load of chances, before Van Persie fired in a fine goal with his right foot from outside the box. Netherlands were now completely in control, but their old failings of not being able to finish came to haunt them again as Germany took full control of the group.
Dutch coach Bert Van Marwijk was disappointed with his side's defending. "We simply defended very poorly, and the cooperation between the defense and the two holding midfielders was disappointing," he told NOS after the game.
"We put in a good performance in the opening 20 minutes and got some decent chances. But you have to be at your very best if you want to beat Germany. Some of the players are struggling with their form.
"The German goal came out of nothing; it was a fault from us. We were too open in the centre. We gave them too much space."
Van Marwijk, however, said his side could still qualify. "No, our tournament isn't over just yet.
"I don't think that Germany will throw the game against Denmark. That doesn't happen at this level. We have to come up with something to beat Portugal 2-0."
Germany coach Joachim Low praised the influence of Schweinsteiger. Speaking to ZDF, Low said: "Bastian Schweinsteiger is getting better with every game and is growing in influence.
"He is strong and wins a lot of duels.
"Winning the group is important so we can stay in Danzig which would help us in the quarter final."
