Netherlands Ties Germany

The Netherlands tied Germany, 1-1, at the European Championship on Tuesday at Porto, Portugal, getting an acrobatic goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy with nine minutes left in a game featuring one of soccer’s great rivalries.

Germany, the 2002 World Cup runner-up and the host for 2006, has never lost an opening game in the European Championship.

“You know when you play Germany it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be compact,” Van Nistelrooy said.

In the day’s other Group D game, the Czech Republic beat Latvia, 2-1, in Aveiro. The Czechs avoided a big upset with goals in the last 17 minutes by Milan Baros and Marek Heinz. Latvia is playing in its first major championship.

“This match showed we can compete with top sides,” Latvia Coach Aleksandrs Starkovs said.

Van Nistelrooy scored after Andy Van der Meyde won the ball near the right corner and sent a perfect cross into the box. Van Nistelrooy, with his back to goal, connected with his right foot, putting the ball behind German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

“We finished this game on a high,” Van Nistelrooy said. “We got the most out of this game. A defeat would have been disastrous for us.”

Germany took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute on Torsten Frings’ free kick. The 30-yard shot flew across the goalmouth and went in off the post, beating goalie Edwin Van der Sar.

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