By Alvan Tay
Alvan Tay of RI. (Photo © Alvan Tay)
South Africa, Thursday, June 24, 2010 — In a match dominated by Holland, it must have been disappointing for them to emerge victorious with just a slight 2-1 win over Cameroon.
The Dutch were slick in their passing movements though they didn’t dominate possession as much. The brilliance of Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder ensured that the Oranje were a constant menace on the attack.
They took a well deserved lead through Robin van Persie after some neat passing interplay amongst the Dutch players. Though Cameroon did pull a goal back somewhat against the run of play through a Samuel Eto’o penalty, Holland always looked likely to grab another goal every time they poured forward.
Eventually, Holland got the goal they deserved through Klaas Jan-Huntelaar after a fortuitous rebound off the post from a shot by Arjen Robben. This result meant that Holland top Group E with maximum points while Cameroon exit the tournament at the bottom of the table with no wins recorded.
The Dutch have proven their winning credentials with a much more fluid performance thus it will be of little wonder should they lift the FIFA World Cup in two weeks’ time?
In the other Group E match, the Japanese put up a class act in a 3-1 rout of Denmark with star players Keisuke Honda and Daisuke Matsui running riot throughout the evening. Though a mere draw would see Japan qualify at Denmark’s expense, they went for their opponents’ jugular from the get-go and reaped their due dividends by storming to a 2-0 lead within 60 minutes.
Japan’s frantic and speedy style of play evidently left the Danish shell-shocked. Though they did grab a goal through Jon-Dahl Tomasson, Japan restored their two-goal lead and ended the game with a fantastic 3-1 scoreline. This fixture has shown that the Japanese will not show they are not afraid of anyone and that could bode well for them with a second round match against Group F winners Paraguay looming.
Meanwhile, as the Danes exit the tournament, they will be left pondering over what could have been had they taken their chances and played with more urgency?
| GROUP E | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HOLLAND  | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 |
JAPAN  | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
DENMARK  | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 3 |
CAMEROON  | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
those are very astute and well informed remarks. a fresh respite from the terror that are most newspaper editors who call themselves ‘pundits’ today.
keep up the good work Alvan!