Denmark vs Portugal LIVE Commentary

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A header midway through the half from Pepe, and then a superb strike from Helder Postiga looked to have sewn up the game for Portugal. But a late header from Nicklas Bendtner means we really have got a game on our hands. As always do send in your comments via the chat box. And that's it. Nani's cross was the last action of the half, with the scoreline here in Lviv: Denmark 1-2 Portugal. 45′ Nani travels forward down the right. He gets a low cross in, but Andersen gets down and collects the ball. In the meantime, Helder Postiga is on the halfway line, holding his face. 44′ Betting editor Jim Knight is here again: "It's 2-1 and Denmark hit back, Nicklas Bendtner gets himself in on the goalfest with a header from close range. Where will the pendulum swing next? Denmark are 17/20 for the next goal, Denmark are a tempting 21/10." 43′ OH! It really is end-to-end stuff here. Nani, from the right-hand side, crosses to the near post, but Helder Postiga can't quite get across Kjaer enough to head home. What a game this is turning out to be. 41′ Assist Michael Krohn-Dehli 41′ Goal Nicklas Bendtner GOALL! And Denmark are back in it! A cross from J. Poulsen goes to Krohn-Dehli on the left-hand post, who heads it back across goal for Nicklas Bendtner to nod in from two yards out! From nothing, the Danes are back. 39′ Denmark expert Michael Hansen is not happy: "More bad defending from Denmark. They look frustrated and the defenders seems to have no confidence, not being able to clear the ball and marking the players they are instructed to mark." 38′ Denmark look to get back in the game almost immediately. Christian Eriksen, on the edge of the area, hit a scorching effort at goal, but Rui Patricio was on hand to save low to his left. 36′ Assist Nani 36′ Goal Hélder Postiga GOALL! And it's 2-0 to Portugal. Helder Postiga this time with the strike. Nani, on the right-hand side of the area, strokes a ball across the box, and into the path of the Zaragoza man, who just passes it into the top right-hand corner of the net from eight yards out. 35′ The corner comes in from Meireles on the right-hand side, but Andersen seems to have recovered from earlier, and collects the ball well. 35′ OFFFF! The Real Madrid man strikes it, but it comes off the edge of the wall and out for a corner. 34′ It's Ronaldo running directly at the Denmark defence, again. He comes to the edge of the box, but Jacobsen bundles him over and concedes a free kick. This could be dangerous. 33′ Our betting editor Jim Knight is here with all the live odds: "Pepe opens the scoring with yet another header! They're the flavour of the tournament so far. Denmark now 12/1 for victory while Portugal are 1/4. The draw is 9/2. Can the Danes find a way back or is this Portugal kick starting their campaign? A long way to go yet." 31′ Clark Whitney on a collision between Rommedahl and Bruno Alves during that free kick: "Rommedahl seems to have picked up a knock on his ankle after that collision with Bruno Alves. Away from the ball, he's made one or two attempts to run but has quite a limp. Tobias Mikkelsen is warming up now on the touchline." 29′ Yellow Card Raúl Meireles 29′ The free kick is pumped in by Eriksen, but the Portuguese defence stay strong, and manage to clear away the danger. 28′ Andersen fires a long kick upfield, where Meireles handballs and gives away a free kick in a dangerous position, 40 yards from goal. 27′ The corner comes in, but Andersen collects easily this time. 26′ Portugal come forward almost immediately after kick off. Ronaldo has it in the centre of the pitch, looks up, and slips in Helder Postiga inside the box. The Zaragoza man takes a touch, but it tackled by Kjaer and the ball goes out for a corner. 25′ Something I missed whilst the goal went in from Clark Whitney: "Nani looks like he's taken a knock to the face during the goal celebration. He's on the touchline now and looks ok to continue, but is quite angry at someone!" 24′ Assist Joao Moutinho 24′ Goal Pepe GOALL! And it's Pepe for Portugal. The free kick was whipped in by Veloso, but was headed out for a corner by Kjaer. From the subsequent set piece, Moutinho this time curls it into the near post, where the Real Madrid man is there to head home. 1-0. 23′ Helder Postiga receives the ball near the halfway line, and tries to hold off the tackling attmepts of Agger. The Liverpool man gers a bit overexcited though, and concedes a free kick. 22′ Ronaldo shoots from the left-hand touchline, parallel with the 18 yard box. It's rubbish. And skies the bar by a mile. 21′ That's more like it from Ronaldo. On the left-hand touchline, he attacked the Danish defence, and forced a foul out of Simon Kjaer. Free kick to Portugal. 20′ Portugal expert Luis Mira on the game so far: "15 minutes are gone now, and this match is wide open. Denmark got off to a flying start and had four corner kicks in the opening minutes, but Portugal now seem to be reacting, though they are yet to test Stephan Andersen properly." 19′ OH DEAR! Ronaldo has his first chance to run at the Danish defence. From around 40 yards, he comes forward with the ball, plays a one-two with Meireles and then attempts to shoot at goal. The effort though, is a poor one, and goes well, well wide. 17′ Michael Hansen on the Zimling injury: "Jakob Poulsen was seen warming up before kick-off. Can it mean that Niki Zimling has not been fully fit today? He is coming off now, Morten Olsen took a gamble on him and it did not pay off." 16′ Substitution Niki Zimling Jakob Poulsen 16′ This doesn't look good for Zimling. He's not the sort to go down, and he certainly looks in some pain here. 15′ The right-hand side is going to be a big area of attack for Denmark. That time, Kvist tried to release Rommedahl, but the pass was slightly overhit and went out for a goal kick. Get that pass right though, and the Danes could cause all sorts of problems. 14′ The corner is whipped in by Veloso, and it's an absolutely stunning ball that is buzzed in from the Genoa man. Stephan Andersen, the Danish keeper, is equal to it though, and punches away the danger. 13′ Portugal come forward now with Nani down the right-hand side. The Manchester United man puts a cross in from the touchline, but Agger is there to head behind for a corner. 12′ More fan analysis from Clark Whitney: "Quite a sight in the stands as all the Danish supporters jump in unison - not only in their corner, but little pockets of red and white all throughout the area." 11′ Our Denmark expert Michael Hansen seems impressed with his team's start: "Chritian Eriksen is working much harder today than we are used to see from him. He is everywhere, trying to get the ball from the Portuguese. It seems like Morten Olsen has instructed him to roam freely. Denmark are attacking Portugal much more than expected but they are back defending as soon as they lose possession. Portugal look bewildered and haven't found a way to play in the usual fluent style. They are not allowed much time on the ball. Denmark are playing like the English team!" 10′ Clark Whitney has spotted something on the touchline: "Miguel Lopes is already off the bench warming up for Portugal. Perhaps Joao Pereira has pulled a muscle?" 8′ Portugal come forward now with Joao Pereira. The Sporting full-back tries a deep cross from the right, but the ball goes miles over the head of Ronaldo, and out the other side for a throw in. 7′ It's Rommedahl this time with the ball for Denmark. He tries to open his legs and get round Coentrao, but the Real Madrid man puts it out for another Danish corner. It comes in again from Krohn-Dehli, but again Portugal head away. 5′ The corner comes in from the left by Krohn-Dehli, but it's played short this time, and Portugal manage to get two men out to stop the cross. Is there anything more frustrating in football than a short corner that doesn't come off? 4′ Christian Eriksen gets his first notable touch of the ball, and wins a corner on the right-hand side, after his cross was deflected out by Coentrao. It's whipped in by Krohn-Dehli, but Bruno Alves heads away. The head isn't far enough though, and Denmark have a chance. Kvist, inside the area, takes a touch, but his shot is blocked out for another corner by Pepe. 3′ Not for long though. Krohn-Dehli wins a free kick, and Denmark have a set piece inside the centre circle. It's played quickly out to the left-hand side and Rommedahl, but the 33-year-old loses it to Pepe, and the Seleccao have it back again. 2′ It's played back to Daniel Agger at centre back, who pumps it upfield to the head of Nicklas Bendtner. The Sunderland man though, loses out to Bruno Alves, and Portugal have the ball for the first time in the match. 1′ Here we go then. The second round of matches in Group B are underway, and it's Denmark who kick us off, going from left-to-right. Denamrk pelt out their anthem now. With Nicklas Bendtner in full voice. Like always! First up is the Portuguese national anthem. And it turns out Nani is quite the singer. The teams are leaving the tunnel, and are lining up ahead of the anthems. Denmark expert Michael Hansen again: "Portugal need a win today. Hopefully Denmark can punish them on counter attacks before they can regroup. But we need to concentrate mainly on defending as I expect Portugal to come forward in numbers. If we survive the first twenty minutes we will settle down and gain a lot of confidence that we can keep Portugal from scoring." Jose Mourinho was here in Lviv on Saturday to watch Portugal against Germany. Today though, he's in Jakarta, apparently. Get him. Just over 10 minutes to go until kick off here in Lviv. And the atmosphere is already electric. Can Denmark cause another upset? Or will Portugal finally get their tournament underway? Make sure you stick around to find out. Mr Whitney again, and it seems Ronaldo hasn't yet turned up: "Cristiano Ronaldo has taken more than a dozen shots from distance, each further from goal than the last, but has yet to hit the target. Bruno Alves just showed him up with a 25-metre screamer into the top corner." There seems to be a lot of love for Ronaldo on Twitter and on our Facebook page. What do you think are the chances of him finally turning up to a major tournament? Let us know via the chat box. Clark Whitney again, on the ground in Lviv: "In warm-up, the Danes just had three consecutive shots rattle the woodwork before a fourth went just over the bar. Good news for Andersen that he can't be scored past? Or bad news for the outfielders, not finding the net?" This will be the 13th time these two sides have met, and Portugal have much the better record: winning seven, drawing two and losing three. And that fact is one of mine. Don't forget, we'd love to hear your comments on this afternoon's game by getting in touch via the chat box. That thing there on the right-hand side. With his place confirmed in the lineup today, Christian Eriksen has become the youngest Danish player ever to reach 25 caps. I would claim that marvellous fact for myself, but it's via Michael Hansen. He knows his stuff ladies and gentlemen. Clark Whitney, who's in the Media Centre in Lviv, gives us the lowdown on the fans this afternoon: "Seats are starting to fill up here in Lviv, and the players have just made their way onto the pitch for warm-up. Looking around the stadium there is a real cosmopolitan feel: flags from not only Denmark and Portugal, but Poland, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Ireland, Hungary, Germany Czech Republic, and many more can be found. The Danes seem to have carved out an enclave in one of the corners - their fan embassy expects between 3500 and 4000 supporters tonight." Equally, Michael Hansen, our Denmark expert, says this on the lineup: "Denmark start with the same players and formation as in the Netherlands game. Morten Olsen trusts his players and his tactics. But I think the players will have a more defensive attitude. The two full-backs will not be as attack-minded like they were on Saturday." Our Portugal expert Luis Mira has his say on the Seleccao's starting XI: "Paulo Bento chooses the same players and formation from the match against Germany, with Helder Postiga starting up front despite enduring a disappointing night on Saturday. The tactical system may be the same, but Portugal are expected to enter this game with a more attacking display as they are in desperate need of a win." Portugal (4-3-3): Rui Patricio; Joao Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Coentrao; Veloso, Moutinho, Meireles; Nani, Ronaldo, Helder Postiga. The lineups are in, and both teams have gone with the XI's that started in both their previous games. Denmark (4-3-3): Andersen; Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, S. Poulsen; Kvist, Eriksen, Zimling; Krohn-Dehli, Bendtner, Rommedahl. Our man on the ground in Lviv, Clark Whitney, has said tonight is 'make or break' for Cristiano Ronaldo if he is to prove himself worthy of this season's Ballon d'Or. What do you think? If Ronaldo has a good tournament, can he be considered the best player on the planet? Let me know by tweeting @goal_intl. Portugal, on the other hand, were thoroughly disappointing against pre-tournament favourites Germany. They clearly set out for the draw, and only when Mario Gomez headed home 15 minutes from time, did they look like causing a threat to Manuel Neuer's goal. There will be no such approach tonight though; lose, and Portugal are halfway to going out of the competition at the first stage. In their previous game last Saturday, Denmark were somewhat fortunate against an extremely wasteful Netherlands side, who attempted 28 shots on goal. It was a first half Michael Krohn-Dehli goal that eventually won it for De Rod-Hvide, but they will hope they're not so open defensively tonight. It's not just against the Danes that Portugal have had a tough time of it recently. They are yet to register a win in 2012, having won just once in their last seven games, scoring only once in ther last four. And when you boast a front three of Nani, Helder Postiga and Cristiano Ronaldo, that's pretty poor. The Euro '92 winners topped their qualification group ahead of tonight's opponents Portugal, beating them last October 2-1; goals from Krohn-Dehli and Bendtner that night took them clear of the Seleccao, and they never really looked back. In fact, the Danes have finished above the Portuguese in the last two qualification groups, having toppled them pre-World Cup 2010. Before the tournament, many assumed that Denmark would be the whipping boys of the Group of Death. But a win today for Morten Olsen's side, and they can theoretically assume that they'll be through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012. It would be a huge turn up for the books, but when you assess their recent form, it's perhaps not that much a surprise. Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to Goal.com's LIVE, play-by-play coverage, of Denmark vs Portugal from Lviv Arena. I'm Alex Mott, and I'll be your commentator for today's crucial Group B clash.