Group E Decided! Oranje And Blue Advance

How different can a month make?  About three weeks ago, Japanese coach Takeshi Okada was under so much fire that he had offered his resignation after a dreadful defeat to South Korea. Japan went into the World Cup at the back of four matches and were low in confidence. But Okada knew he had a good team and was confident with his team. The best decision he has made is to push Keisuke Honda into a lone striker position. This is what he said at the time,

"The good thing about him is his ability to create goalscoring situations and his physical strength. He can probably be more lively through the middle."

Honda has scored two goals already in this World Cup, as Japan cruise into the last 16. He scored a Ronaldo-esque free kick against Denmark and generally terrorized the Danish defence. Japan's other deadball specialist, Yasuhito Endo also displayed his skill, using the Jabulani's unpredictability to great effect.

Keisuke Honda is revelling being at the sharp end of Japan's attack. His intelligent movement is a great complement for the passing skills of Endo, Matsui and even Nakamura. He also cuts a self confident figure, telling Shinji Okazaki,

“I will score a goal and you have to score another after you are sent in,’”

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Indomitable Lions Exits South Africa After Loss To Denmark

Samuel Eto'o was restored to his customary centreforward position. Imposing midfielder, Alex Song was back in the Lions' midfield. Geremi as well was reinstated into the starting lineup. Paul Le Guen acquiesced to player pressure and went back to a more comfortable lineup.

Cameroon were rewarded when Poulsen's defensive error allowed Eto'o to open his account in South Africa. At that point it looked as if the Lions were on their way to victory as they were the team most likely to score. But Dennis Rommedahl had other ideas. The Ajax winger had the better of Benoit Assou-Ekoto all match and was clearly the best player on the field yesterday.

Thanks to Rommedahl, Denmark were level by the stroke of halftime when he supplied a precise low cross for Bendtner to sweep home. This followed a fantastic cross field pass from Simon Kjaer. Cameroon continued to show more desire to get the win, and that desire led them open to counter attacks from the Olsen-Banden.

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Nigel de Jong Was Key To Oranjemen's Win

Legendary Dutch midfield enforcer, Edgar Davids would have been pleased to see Nigel de Jong's performance against Denmark. The Netherlands need an inspired Nigel de Jong as much as Argentina relies on Javier Mascherano. De Jong's first half performance was awesome as he broke up play after Danish play. He gave the Danish midfield no time at all, disrupting their rhythm. Martin Joergensen and Christian Poulsen looked extremely nervous with De Jong snapping at their heels.

His hard tackling style will get him into card trouble but a suspect Dutch defence will always need a defensive shield ahead of them. Thus his athleticism and ability to recover the ball are qualities which makes him an important feature in this Dutch side loaded with natural attacking talents who do not like defending.

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2010 World Cup Group E Head To Head

Japan enters Group E with a run of four consecutive defeats in their World Cup preparations. Generally, that's good news as it means that the players are peaking at the right time i.e. just before the World Cup. With talent like Yasuhito Endo, Shunsuke Nakamura and Keisuke Honda, Japan has the technical ability to compete with Cameroon and Denmark.

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