Bito signals Dutch intent

While a draw with Denmark will be sufficient to confirm the Netherlands' passage into the last eight of UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ as Group A runners-up, right-back Dyanne Bito has pledged that the Oranje will "play on the front foot" at all times on Saturday.

Helsinki loss
The 28-year-old's stance will certainly strike a chord with those who were present at Helsinki's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, when Vera Pauw's team opted to sit back and accept a 2-1 defeat by Finland to protect their goal difference and ensure only a point is needed to qualify in Lahti. Bito, though, says all of the squad were supportive of Pauw's decision and is confident that the same thing will not happen again when they meet Denmark, with whom they are level on three points, for the first time in almost three years.

Title success
"There is a danger we could sit back too much but I don't think we will," Bito, an Eredivisie winner with AZ Alkmaar last season, told uefa.com. "We will try to play on the front foot − we are not playing for a draw that is for certain. The atmosphere in the squad was OK [after the Finland match] because we understood the coach's decision [to protect the goal difference] and we can live with it."

Watching brief
The Oranje's last meeting with Denmark was a 1-0 defeat in the Peace Queen Cup in Seoul, South Korea in October 2006, a result which stretched the Nordic nation's unbeaten record against the Netherlands to 13 matches. Unsurprisingly, given the time which has elapsed since they last met, Bito admits to not knowing much about Kenneth Heiner-Møller's squad. "We haven't seen too much of them but we will [watch their matches] later so we will know what they are like for tomorrow."

Too passive
Despite the gaps in her knowledge, Bito − who has started both matches at the finals so far − is certain the Netherlands must improve upon the performance they delivered against the hosts. "We have to rise above our normal level because Denmark are sixth in the world rankings," she said. "We played too passively the other day, not aggressive enough."