Euro 2012: Olsen rues lost penalty as Denmark crash out

Lviv (Ukraine), June 18 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Denmark coach Morten Olsen said that his team should have earned a penalty in the 1-2 defeat to Germany that ended their Euro 2012 campaign.

Nicklas Bendter appeared to be pulled back by centre-back Holger Badstuber as the Danes went in search of a goal that would have made it 2-2 toward the end of the game here Sunday night.

“I think we should have had a penalty, it’s not allowed to pull the shirts in the box,” Olsen said. “You also have the fifth referee but he didn’t see it apparently.”

Denmark depart a competition in which no one had given them a chance in the “group of death”, but upon which they left an indelible mark, upsetting the Netherlands 1-0 in their opener, and narrowly losing out 2-3 to Portugal.

“We can look back and say that maybe if we had held the Portuguese, but it’s all about if and if. But when all’s said and done, we did well at this tournament,” Olsen said.

Captain Daniel Agger rued the errors that blighted an otherwise solid performance from his team.

“We made a few mistakes that you pay for at this level, but let’s give all the boys a pat on the back, because they did so well,” he said.

“We played well, we worked for each other, but we were up against a team that was just too good,” Agger added.

Olsen, meanwhile, is sure the Danes earned some new fans along the way.

“I compliment all the players, they played a great tournament. It’s the little details [that let us down] but they are also our fault. Overall we have given a good impression of Danish football.”

Lukas Podolski, winning his 100th cap, scored the opener for the Germans on 19 minutes, slamming home from six yards out after Thomas Muller’s low cross from the right was missed by Mario Gomez.

Denmark equalized on the 24th minute through Michael Krohn-Dehli, who leapt above Mats Hummels to redirect a Nicklas Bendter header into the net from close range.

Germany earn a quarter-final against Group A second-place team Greece, while the Portuguese, finishing second, will play Group A winners the Czech Republic.