Final Score - WC2010 Group E, Cameroon vs Netherlands

Thursday 24th June 2010 - Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town - Att. 63,093
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

LINEUPS:
Cameroon (442): Souleymanou, Mbia, Assou-Ekotto, N'koulou, Bassong, Emana, Song (Aboubaker 84'), Makoun (Mandjeck 79'), Eto'o, Webo (Idrissou 66'), Enoh
Netherlands (451): Stekelenberg, van der Wiel, van Bronkchorst, Heitinga, Mathijsen (de Zeeuw 77'), de Jong, Sneijder, van Bommel, van Persie, Elia (Ooijer 77'), Robben (Vorm 53')

Eljero Elia had his turn to play for the injured Kuyt and he had a coupld of chances to score. The first came in the 20th minute when van Persie chipped it over the defence for him, but his shot was nicely saved, and then on the stroke of halftime when he got on the end of a very clever pull back from Sneijder but could only shoot over the bar. The Dutch already the lead before that second Elia shot when Robin van Persie scored his second World Cup goal on a rocket of a free kick that found a gap in the Cameroon wall and into the top corner.

The second half was highly charged and the aggressive play was started by Maarten Stekelenburg taking no prisoners on Pierre Webo, earning himself a red card and given Samuel Eto'o a chance he gratefully took from the penalty spot. The rough and tumble continued with more yellow cards dished out by Mr Pozo, but the game essentially died after the equalising goal sending the Netherlands through and Cameroon home.

Cameroon 1 - 1 Netherlands
Goalscorers:
NED van Persie 30'
CMR Eto'o 51'

Discipline:
CMR Enoh 32'
NED Stekelenberg 50'
NED de Jong 55'
CMR Webo 66'
CMR Essou-Akotto 85'
CMR Emana 90'

Man of the Match:
NED Robin van Persie

GROUP E
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	3	1	2	0	5	1	+4	5
Japan	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
Denmark	3	1	0	2	2	7	-5	3
Cameroon	3	0	2	1	3	4	-1	2

Final Score - WC2010 Group E, Denmark vs Japan

Thursday 24th June 2010 - Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenberg - Att. 27,967
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)

LINEUPS:
Denmark (451): Sorensen, Jacobsen, Poulsen, Agger, Kjaer, Gronkjaer (Beckmann 81'), Joregensen (Kvist 62'), Tomasson, Bendtner (Enevoldsen 53'), Kahlenberg, Rommendahl
Japan (433): Kawashima, Komano, Nagatomo, Nakazawa, Tanaka, Abe, Endo (Nakamura 62'), Hasebe, Honda, Okubo, Matsui (Okazaki 79')

A dismal first half thankfully had an end to it with both sides scoreless as neither team could manufacture a quality cross with very limited opportunities to put a ball into the box. Denmark made a change before the match, Pouslen's suspension allowed Gronkjaer to take his place in midfield but it was the Japanese midfielders that controlled much of the game.

The second half was much more enjoyable to watch and the first goal was not long in coming. Just seven minutes after the restart Honda's cross found Okubo who headed the ball into the corner. Shortly after they feel behind Denmark then threatened the goal with Enevoldsen, just on from the bench, shooting too close to the keeper after Kjaer's run and defense-splitting pass gave him a great look at goal.

The next goal then cemented Japan's place into the second round and sunk Denmark's chances of progressing further. Keisuke Honda did all the work himself by intercepting the ball, running past defenders and thundering his shot past a helpless Sorensen.

Denmark 0 - 2 Japan
Goalscorers:
JPN Okubo 52'
JPN Honda 68'

Discipline:
JPN Okubo 47'

Man of the Match:
Yoshito Okubo

GROUP E
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Japan	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
Netherlands	2	1	1	0	4	0	+4	4
Denmark	3	1	0	2	2	7	-5	3
Cameroon	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1

Final Score - WC2010 Group E, Cameroon vs Denmark

Saturday 19th June 2010 - Loftus Versfield Stadium, Pretoria - Att. 38,074
Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)

LINEUPS:
Cameroon (442): Souleymanon, Mbia, Assou-Ekotto, N'Koulou, Bassong, Emana, A. Song, Makoun (N'Guemo 45'), Eto'o (Idrissou 60'), Webo, Enoh )Choupo-Moting 84')
Denmark (451): Sorensen, Jacobsen, S. Poulsen, Agger, Kjaer (Jensen 65'), Pouslen, Jorgensen, Tomasson, Bendtner (Larsen 65'), Kahlenberg, Rommendahl (J. Poulsen 78')

Achille Emana's second goal in as many games, to go with his second Man of the Match award, was not enough to gain a point on this occasion as Denmark put themselves right into the mix for a second round place after they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The warning signs were there early on with Pouslen shooting into the side netting and Khalenberg weakly heading on target, so it was no surprise that the Danes took the lead. Nicklas Bandtner squeezed the ball inside the near post on a tough angle shot after a good run from Jorgensen, and the lead was doubled three minutes later when Jon Dahl Tomasson ripped his free kick clean through the wall.

The first half essentially died out there but there was another wasted chance for Khalenberg before the break. Cameroon came out looking brighter in the second half with Emana generating a chance of his own by evading a tackle and shooting wide of the post. Twelve minutes later and a bad backpass allowed Emana to move in alone, round the goalkeeper and pull Cameroon within one. The game opened up a little more with both keepers saving well. Souleymanon from Jacobsen's thirty yarder, and Stekelenberg stopping Enoh after his good play with Alex Song.

Cameroon 1 - 2 Denmark
Goalscorers:
DEN Bendtner 21'
DEN Tomasson 24'
CMR Emana 59'

Discipline:
DEN Bendtner 24'
DEN Kjaer 52'
DEN Agger 52'
DEN Pouslen 84'

Man of the Match:
CMR Achille Emana

GROUP E
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	2	1	1	0	4	0	+4	4
Denmark	2	1	0	1	2	5	-3	3
Japan	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
Cameroon	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1

Final Score - WC2010 Group E, Netherlands vs Japan

Saturday 19th June 2010 - Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban - Att.62,010
Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)

LINEUPS:
Netherlands (451): Stekelenburg, van der Wiel, van Bronckhorst, Heitinga, Mathijsen, de Jong, Schnijder, van Bommel (de Zeeuw 62'), van Persie (Schaars 87'), Huntelaar (Elia 72'), Robben
Japan (433): Kawashima, Komaro, Nagatomo, Nakazawa, Tanaka, Abe (K. Nakamura 54'), Endo, Hasebe (Inamoto 62'), Honda, Okubo, Matsui (Yano 83')

When Dirk Kuyt limped off an hour into Holland's big win over Denmark few suspected the injury would be severe enough to put him out for the remainder of the tournament. Klaas Jan Huntelaar got the start in his place today, and he came the closest to scoring when in the 31st minutevan Bommel pulled the ball back to him but an excellent save from Kawashima foiled that effort. The Japanese goalie also stopped Huntelaar in the second half with van Bronckhorst following up to send the rebound a yard wide.

Stekelenberg had little to do at the other end. His biggest test came off the foot of Endo after an excellent feed from Matsui found him alone in the box, but the shot was too close to the Dutch keeper. Nigel de Jong put in a strong performance in midfield, breaking up attacks and making some impressive passes, but in the end the difference maker in the match was in the Japan goal.

Netherlands 0 - 0 Japan
Goalscorers:
None

Discipline:
NED van Bommel 34'
JAP Tanaka 71'
NED Robben 71'
JAP K. Nakamura 86'
JAP Yano 90'


Man of the Match:
JAP Eiji Kawashima

GROUP E
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	2	1	1	0	4	0	+4	4
Japan	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
Cameroon	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
Denmark	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0

Final Score - WC2010 Group E, Japan vs Cameroon

Monday 14th June 2010 - Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein. Att: 30,620
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

LINEUPS:
Japan (433): Kawahima, Komano, Nagatomo, Nakazawo, Tanaka, Abe, Endo (Inamoto 67'), Hasebe, Honda (Tamada 80'), Okubo, Matsui (Uchida 85')
Cameroon (442): Souleymanon, Mbia, Asson-Ekota, N'koulou, Bassong (Aboubaker 84'), Emana, Song (Matip 70'), Makoun, Eto'o, Webo (Idrissou 58'), Enoh

The draw was probably a fair result but it took a late wonder strike from Cameroon's Achille Emana to earn his side a point. Japan had taken an early lead when Hasabe won an aerial confrontation with Alex Song leading to Daisuke Matsui feeding Abe in. His shot was well saved but Matsui had followed up and calmly dispatched the rebound for a ninth minute Japanese lead. Keisuke Honda had a pair of chances late in the half but his first effort was well saved by Souleymanon and the later shot was easily for the keeper.

The best Cameroonian chance in the first half fell to Samuel Eto'o six minutes after they fell behind when he climbed highest for Assou-Ekotto's cross but Kawashima was on his toes to pull off a fine save. In the second half Cameroon looked more dangerous with Emana forcing the Japanese goalie to stop his free kick and Eto'o winning another cross but heading wide.

With twenty minutes to go the game slowed to a crawl with both teams making multiple substitutions and Japan looking to shut down the game and take all three points. So it was out of the blue when Emana first blocked a long feed from the Japanese defense and then performing an audacious lob that caught not only Kawashima out of position, but also the underside of the bar and in.

Japan 1 - 1 Cameroon
Goalscorers:
JPN Matsui 9'
CMR Emana 87'

Discipline:
JPN Honda 5'
JPN Komano 69'

Man of the Match:
CMR Achille Emana

GROUP E
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	3
Cameroon	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
Japan	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
Denmark	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0

Final Score - WC2101 Group E, Netherlands vs Denmark

Monday June 14th - Soccer City, Johannesburg. Att: 83,465
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)

LINEUPS:
Netherlands (451): Stekelenburg, van der Weil, van Bronckhorst, Heitinga, Mathijsen, de Jong, Sneijder (Afellay 84') van Bommel (van der Vaart 74'), van Persie, Kuyt (Babel 62'), Robben
Denmark (451): Sorensen, Jacobsen (Kroldrup 45'), Poulsen, Agger, Kjaer, Pouslen, Jorgensen, Tomasson, Bendtner (Beckmann 84'), Khalenberg (Larsen 45'), Rommendahl

This match was all one way traffic as only Jon Dahl Tomasson looked credible for the Danes, but even he was unable to hold back the orange tide becoming one of four Danish players to be booked as the Dutch trickery fooled them time and again. The Netherlands should have had the lead in the nineteenth minute when, after he was brought down in the box, Robin van Persie sent his spot kick wide. Only four minutes later though a corner was helped on by a defensive header only to fine Arjen Robben on the far side to score on a high shot from a narrow angle.

Another van Persie chance was blocked on the line but the Arsenal striker was quickest to react to the rebound and it was a 2-0 lead at half time. Denmark made a double substitution during the break but just five minutes after the restart the Dutch had extended their lead; Dirk Kuyt able to steer home a low corner kick. van Persie had two more clear chances to throw away by hitting the post and heading wide. The final goal came from Nigel de Jong as he ran the length of the pitch to get on the end of a van der Wiel cross before a final flurry led to both Babel and Robben hitting the woodwork.

Netherlands 4 - 0 Denmark
Goalscorers:
NED Robben 23'
NED van Persie 34'
NED Kuyt 50'
NED de Jong 83'

Discipline:
DEN Jorgensen 6'
DEN Jacobsen 20'
DEN Tomasson 20'
DEN Poulsen 59'
NED Heitinga 79'

Man of the Match:
NED Dirk Kuyt

GROUP E
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	3
Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cameroon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Denmark	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0