A comical own goal set the Netherlands on their way to victory in the opening game in Group E as they beat Denmark 2-0 at Soccer City.
Agger's own goal, followed by Kuyt tap-in, earns the Dutch the points
A comical own goal set the Netherlands on their way to victory in the opening game in Group E as the tournament's dark horses beat Denmark 2-0 at Soccer City.
Denmark had matched their European rivals for the first half of a game that had struggled to ignite the imagination in Johannesburg.
But less than a minute into the second period and the Danes orchestrated their own demise as Simon Poulsen's attempted clearance hit the back of team-mate Daniel Agger to gift the Dutch the lead.
Poulsen responded to the mistake with a wistful grin and there was little else for Denmark to smile about as Morten Olsen's side failed to create a meaningful chance after falling behind.
Holland slowly tightened their grip on the game and the pionts were made safe in the closing five minutes when Dirk Kuyt reacted the quickest to tap home after substitute Eljero Elia's shot had struck the post.
Though it was not the most convincing of performances from the Oranje, they grew in stature as the match wore on to show why they are favourites to win the group, while Denmark will be seeking improvement in the games to come against Cameroon and Japan.
The opening 10 minutes saw Wesley Sneijder and Thomas Enevoldsen trade wayward free-kicks from distance, with both players seemingly hoping the Jabulani ball would deceive the goalkeeper.
Fumble
Denmark keeper Thomas Sorensen did fumble a Kuyt shot from the edge of the area, but was never in danger of suffering the humiliation that had caught Robert Green and Faouzi Chaouchi in its net over the weekend.
Rafael van der Vaart failed to find the target with a couple of half-chances from the edge of the area for the Dutch as both teams struggled to lift the tempo above a brisk stroll in the South African sunshine.
The best chance of the first half arrived on 27 minutes when Dennis Rommedahl played in a cross from the right which was nodded wide of the target by the unmarked Nicklas Bendtner.
Holland could have taken the lead in fortunate circumstances on 33 minutes when Kuyt's low cross deflected off a Danish defender and then ricocheted off Johnny Heitinga on its way over the bar.
Rommedahl drilled a fierce attempt at Maarten Stekelenburg before the Dutch shot-stopper was forced to parry away Thomas Kahlenberg's thumping effort for a corner.
Robin van Persie took too long to get his shot away in the 43rd minute before Nigel de Jong, who was fortunate not to be punished for a robust challenge on Martin Jorgensen earlier in the half, was booked for bringing down Bendtner.
The Netherlands were in front inside the opening minute of the second period and luck played a major part in the goal.
Simon Poulsen's laughable attempt to head clear Van Persie's cross merely bounced off the back of Agger before clipping the post on its way past a helpless Sorensen.
Rueful smile
Poulsen had a rueful smile on his lips after the mishap and the Danes could have swiftly found themselves 2-0 down if Van Persie had not produced a terrible first touch following a poor pass by Simon Kjaer.
Van Persie then sought to be the creator once again as his clipped pass into the box was turned towards goal by Van der Vaart, allowing Sorensen to produce an acrobatic save for the cameras.
That proved to be Van der Vaart's last contribution before he was replaced by the lively Elia, while Denmark had earlier brought on Jesper Gronkjaer and Mikkel Beckmann for Enevoldsen and Bendtner.
Holland continued to look the more likely to score, with Sorensen pushing Mark van Bommel's drive wide and Van Persie heading the resultant corner off target when found unmarked.
A second goal for Bert van Marwijk's side almost arrived eight minutes from time when Sneijder's shot deflected off Agger and looped on to the top of Sorensen's crossbar.
The Dutch wrapped up the points with five minutes to go when Kuyt tucked away the loose ball after Elia, who had injected some spark into the game after his introduction from the bench, had seen his delicately clipped shot come back off the post.
Simon Poulsen did at least prevent the score from becoming worse for Denmark when he acrobatically cleared the ball from underneath his own bar after substitute Ibrahim Afellay had beaten Sorensen to a cross, but it was a case of too little, too late.
