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Sunday, 25 July 2010

Group E


The Dutch team is making its ninth World Cup finals appearance, and surely they must have enough quality to get through the group (and further).

Wesley Sneijder has had a great season for Inter and could be man of the tournament. Japan is undoubtedly the most dominant of the Asian teams but still struggles to prove it consistently. Denmark and Cameroon are both strong candidates for a second-round spot, but Cameroon have the benefit of being on African soil – albeit some way from home.

Cameroon

FIFA ranking: 19
Head coach: Paul le Guen (since July 2009)
Big issue: Cameroon tend to draw games rather than lose, but the forwards are a bit erratic too. And is Inter’s Samuel Eto’o, scorer of nine from 11 games in qualifying, as good as he was a couple of years ago?
One to watch: Alexandre Song (midfield, Arsenal)
We predict: Group stage exit
Chances: 100/1

Match schedule (group stage)

Date Time City Versus
Mon 14 Jun 18:00 Manguang / Bloemfontein japanJapan
Sat 19 Jun 22:30 Tshwane / Pretoria denmarkDenmark
Thu 24 Jun 22:30 Cape Town netherlandsNetherlands

Denmark

FIFA ranking: 36
Head coach: Morten Olsen (since July 2000)
Big issue: Is Denmark big enough to supply enough quality players? And can the longevity of Olsen’s reign provide enough discipline and team spirit to counter that?
One to watch: Martin Jorgensen (midfield, AGF Aarhus)
We predict: Quarter-finals
Chances: 150/1

Match schedule (group stage)

Date Time City Versus
Mon 14 Jun 15:30 Johannesburg netherlandsNetherlands
Sat 19 Jun 22:30 Tshwane / Pretoria cameroonCameroon
Thu 24 Jun 22:30 Rustenburg japanJapan

Japan

FIFA ranking: 45
Head coach: Takeshi Okada (since December 2007)
Big issue: Japan qualified comfortably, probably because of the increasing strength of the national J-League that now provides most of the squad. But during qualifying the forwards contributed too few goals.
One to watch: Yatsuhito Endo (midfield, Gamba Osaka)
We predict: Group stage exit
Chances: 400/1

Match schedule (group stage)

Date Time City Versus
Mon 14 Jun 18:00 Manguang / Bloemfontein cameroonCameroon
Sat 19 Jun 15:30 Durban netherlandsNetherlands
Thu 24 Jun 22:30 Rustenburg denmarkDenmark

Netherlands

FIFA ranking: 4
Head coach: Bert van Marwijk (since December 2007) Big issue: The back row is getting on a bit, and how do you get the best out of which two or three from van Persie, Robben, Kuyt and Huntelaar with youngsters like Elia also eager for a chance?
One to watch: Wesley Sneijder (midfield, Inter Milan)
We predict: Second
Chances: 10/1

Match schedule (group stage)

Date Time City Versus
Mon 14 Jun 15:30 Johannesburg denmarkDenmark
Sat 19 Jun 15:30 Durban japanJapan
Thu 24 Jun 22:30 Cape Town cameroonCameroon
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