Group E is a very interesting group from my perspective. It features one clear favorite, an African team that may be in the process of crumbling, a European team that is underrated and an Asian team that is extremely organized. For me, the contrasting styles and expectations makes it an interesting group from the perspective of if the teams with anticipation of advancing actually do it, or crumble as teams with no hope at all proceed into the next round. The four teams who reside in this group are Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon.
No team is coming into the World Cup with more confidence than the Dutch. They’re brand of attacking and beautiful football appears unstoppable, having not lost since September 6, 2008 to Australia in a meaningless friendly. Since that game, the Dutch have been on a tear especially during World Cup qualification, where they won every game they played. Their impressive streak is led by the amount of flair they have up top in the form of Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, Rafael Van der Vaart, Elijero Elia, Klas Jan Huntelar and Wesley Snejider. Sneijder for me is the key, running the show from the midfield and setting up all the attacks going forward. While there are questions at the back for the Dutch, it’s hard to imagine a situation where they will have to allow less than two goals a game in order for a victory to be possible. That is how potent the Dutch attack; whenever they take the field they look like they could score double digit goals. This attack could take a potential hit in the form of an injury to Arjen Robben, but even if Robben cannot partake in South Africa, the Dutch have players who they can replace Robben with like Elia and even Ryan Babel, who despite not having good form for Liverpool, always looks dangerous in the orange jerseys of the Netherlands. What the Dutch also have is a very good midfield in the likes of Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong. The defense and goalkeeper position is average at best yes, but the midfield and attack are so top class that I can’t see that really mattering, especially in the group stages. If the Dutch do not advance, I will be beyond shocked.
Denmark is the other European team in the group along with the Dutch. The Danes had a quiet but very successful qualifying campaign. In a group where Portugal, Sweden and Hungary struggled, the Danes cruised to the top of the table, with an impressive record of six wins, three draws and one loss, with that one loss being a meaningless game against Hungary after they had already qualified. This includes a memorable 3-2 victory over Portugal in Lisbon, an astonishing feat for a team who doesn’t have a strong soccer history. It is strange how overlooked the Danish are right now as one could argue they won the most difficult group in all of European qualifying. A major reason for this is their lack of a true star player. Striker Nicklas Bendtner, property of Arsenal, has the potential to be that guy, but he is young and this is his first world cup; it would be tough to expect Bendtner to be the go-to-guy in his first major international tournament. They also have a solid goalie in Thomas Sorensen and a talented defender in Daniel Agger who anchors a very tough and experienced defense. The questions for the Dutch are up top, where thirty three year old forward Jon Dahl Tomasson is expected to start, despite having an average year for Feyenoord in the Dutch league. If his play is poor, than questions as to why a player his age is starting will be brought up, but Morten Olsen really has no other options besides Bendtner. Tomasson is expected to provide the inspirational spark going forward, but he does not appear to be a very dangerous player at his current age. If Denmark scores goals they will be a tough team to beat because I don’t see them conceding many goals to any team in this group but the Netherlands, but that is a big if.
Japan is the third team in this group, and is considered by many to be the whipping boys of it. It’s hard to blame people who do this, as the Japanese have not won a world cup game outside of Japan, when they hosted it in 2002. Still, the Blue Samurai have a squad featuring some decent players in it particularly in the midfield. The midfield boasts extremely disciplined and experienced players who will not make many mental errors, like Yasuhito Endo, Keisuke Honda and Shunsuke Nakamura. Endo will have large amounts of pressure heaped on him as he is expected to provide creativity in the offensive sector of the pitch, something Japan has trouble with. While they are able to maintain much of the ball, and their defense is very organized, they do not have a terrifying scoring threat. No player on the Blue Samurai is a guarantee to find the back of the net during their time in South Africa. There are two forwards who will have the tough task of scoring, Keiji Tomada and Yoshito Okubo, but there is a better chance of neither of them scoring than both of them. The defense is not a weak link, but it isn’t a brick wall, featuring tough players like Brazilian-born center back Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuzi Nakazawa, but this is a unit with more heart and organization than actual talent. It also does not help when they do not have a reliable goalie behind them in Seigo Narazaki. Simply put, the Japanese can be expected to try more than any team in this group to make up for their lack of skill, but their desire should be expected to outweigh their actual talent.
Cameroon rounds out this group. For me, the Indomitable Lions are one of the toughest squads to read heading into this tournament. They have an extremely potent front line, a good defensive midfield unit and the best keeper Africa boasts, but they’re appears to be unrest amongst this team. It hasn’t been outright stated in the newspapers, but talented striker Samuel Eto’o has made very disturbing comments lately. He claims to not want to go to South Africa because of quotes stated by Cameroonian legend Roger Milla, who does not believe Eto’o has done enough for Cameroon at the international level, despite his accomplishments with Barcelona and Inter Milan. I have no doubt Eto’o will play in South Africa, but when the captain of the team is saying he doesn’t want to go to the tournament his team is about to partake in, I get a funny feeling of unrest in the dressing room. I don’t know if this is the case, but it is a hunch of mine. It reminds me of how unhappy Emmanuel Adebayor was prior to the World Cup four years ago, and how horrendous it made the rest of his Togolese team play. It’s unfortunate because I do favor Cameroon on paper, with Eto’o, goalie Carlos Kameni, midfielder Alex Song and forward Pierre Webo, they do have the makings of a decent team. I was 100% on the Cameroon bandwagon before stories of this unrest came out, now I am not sure.
Conclusion:
I have the Netherlands advancing comfortable, and after much consideration, I’ve decided to stick with Cameroon. Japan I see getting no points and being the whipping boys everyone expects, and Denmark not doing quite enough to steal second place from the Indomitable Lions. Despite all the unrest Samuel Eto’o may have caused, I still predict Cameroon beating Japan, and tying the Dutch and Danes. Cameroon has the benefit of playing the Netherlands on the final day of the group stage, and I expect the Dutch to rest many of their players because they will have already qualified. I think Cameroon can tie the Dutch backups, with Eto’o playing a big role in the draw. The Netherlands will win their other two games easily, and the Danes will beat the Japanese, missing out on the knockout rounds by one point. Here is the table, schedule and how I see the group playing out:
Game 1: Netherlands 5 vs. 1 Denmark
Game 2: Japan 1 vs. 3 Cameroon
Game 3: Netherlands 4 vs. 0 Japan
Game 4: Cameroon 1 vs. 1 Denmark
Game 5: Denmark 2 vs. 1 Japan
Game 6: Cameroon 2 vs. 2 Netherlands
Standings:
Netherlands 7 pts
Cameroon 5 pts
Denmark 4 pts
Japan 0 pts
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