Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk refused to admit defeat in his side's battle to reach the UEFA EURO 2012 knockout stages despite moving to the brink of elimination thanks to a 2-1 defeat to Germany. The second consecutive loss for the Dutch leaves them pointless at the bottom of Group B but still with a glimmer of hope if they beat Portugal by at least two goals and Germany beat Denmark in their final match. Van Marwijk clearly expects the impressive Germans to keep their side of the bargain and he insisted: "We cannot imagine that it is over when we are at this level." However Van Marwijk was damning in his verdict of his side's performance, with two Mario Gomez strikes giving Germany a two-goal half-time advantage before Robin van Persie pulled one back late on. Van Marwijk admitted the threat from his wide men was "too little" - partly a reference to Arjen Robben, who stomped off petulantly after being replaced by Dirt Kuyt in the 83rd minute. Van Marwijk added: "We defended moderately and the co-operation between our central midfielders and defence was poor. "I thought we played very well in the first 20 minutes and had a few decent chances, but you have to take them against Germany. In the final minutes we tried to force things but you have to be daring to get the second goal." Germany coach Joachim Low expressed delighted at his side's performance and challenged them to go on and beat the Danes in their final match to ensure they emerge as group winners. Low said: "The group winner would be important because we can stay in Gdansk and that would probably be to our advantage in the quarter-finals. "The temperatures were extreme and the game was competitive and intense. There were times when both teams lacked momentum. "But we were determined to take the step towards the quarter-finals." FIFA .