Bert van Marwijk stressed the importance of winning the opening match after Holland began their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Denmark at Soccer City.

A second half own goal by Daniel Agger and a late Dirk Kuyt effort were enough for the highly-fancied Dutch, but it was not all plain sailing in Johannesburg.

"I've been thinking about this first game for a long, long time," said Van Marwijk. "I've always said that this was the most important match because a good beginning to a world championship is so important."