Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen insists Denmark can shock Group E favourites the Netherlands when the two teams open their World Cup campaigns in Johannesburg on Monday.

The 30-year-old Dane will win his 75th cap at Soccer City against the star-studded Dutch who are amongst the favourites to win the World Cup.

But the Danes have been weakened by injuries with Werder Bremen midfielder Daniel Jensen, Feyenoord forward Jon Dahl Tomasson and Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner all unlikely to start.

However Poulsen insists the Danish are not here just to make up the numbers.

"We have had a lot of time to prepare and have watched many videos of the Dutch, but what is important is to be a team and play as a unit," said the veteran who played 882 of a possible 900 minutes in Denmark's qualifiers.

"We can create a surprise against them.

"It is a bonus match, they are one of the favourites for the World Cup and we are hoping to upset them.

"We are a small nation, but perhaps we can be a big surprise in this tournament."

While the Dutch have seen off Ghana, Hungary and the United States in their pre-World Cup friendlies, Denmark have beaten Senegal, but lost to both Australia and South Africa in their warm-up games here.

The Dutch have stars like Real Madrid's Rafael van der Vaart, Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder who are capable of winning games single-handedly, but Poulsen insists his team are ready.

"We have prepared very well and come to South Africa very early to get ready for the tournament," he said.

"We have had some good test matches, even if the results were not so good, and trained hard.

"As a minimum, we can match the Dutch team.

"We don't win matches by having one player who is outstanding, we can't do that, we have to play like a team and that is our strength."

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