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The Danes were already looking tired when Bender, replacing suspended right back Jerome Boateng, picked up a pass from Mesut Oezil and made it 2-1.
Coach Morten Olsen said the Spanish referee missed a penalty call when Bendtner was pulled down in the area but praised the Germans, saying they deserved to win the game and the group.
He dismissed suggestions his team should have tried to push back the Germans more boldly in the second half.
"They are dynamic and they are fast, so you need to watch out and not play too naively," Olsen said.
It was the first competitive match between the two countries since the 1992 European Championship final, when the Danes stunned the Germans with a 2-0 win to become champions.
Hoping for another upset, Olsen changed his lineup by moving playmaker Christian Eriksen to the right flank, replacing injured winger Dennis Rommedahl in a five-man midfield.
But the move had little effect as Philipp Lahm effectively closed down the talented 20-year-old, who leaves Euro 2012 without fulfilling expectations of an international breakthrough.
"We can be satisfied with our effort but not with the result," Denmark midfielder William Kvist said.
"I think we proved that we can play against the big teams. We won (against the Netherlands) and we didn't lose big. We showed that we can play against the best."
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Lineups:
Denmark: Stephan Andersen, Lars Jacobsen, Simon Kjaer, Daniel Agger, Simon Poulsen, William Kvist, Christian Eriksen, Jakob Poulsen (Tobias Mikkelsen, 82), Niki Zimling (Christian Poulsen, 78), Michael Krohn-Dehli, Nicklas Bendtner.
Germany: Manuel Neuer, Lars Bender, Mats Hummels, Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Mueller (Toni Kroos, 84), Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Oezil, Lukas Podolski (Andre Schuerrle, 64) Mario Gomez (Miroslav Klose, 74).
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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