Charles Klein
The nations in Group E get to finally play their first game in South Africa tomorrow, with the Netherlands and Denmark set to kickoff at 7 A.M eastern time. This group is comprised of the really good (Netherlands) the average (Denmark), the inconsistent (Cameroon) and the damned lucky (Japan). The Dutch ought to be the clear winners of this group, but like many of the others in this tournament, the real battle will be for second place.
The Netherlands enter this World Cup on the back of a brilliant qualifying campaign, one in which they registered a 100% record and surrendered the fewest goals (surprise, surprise). As usual, the Oranje are loaded with attacking options that any nation in the world wished suited up for them. The attacking quartet of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Robin Van Persie are talented enough to give any defense nightmares. Even the vaunted Catenaccio style of Italy was no match for the Total Football of the Netherlands in Euro 2008.
But there are more than a few questions for the fourth best team in the world (according to the FIFA rankings). Who will step up on the left side of the Oranje attack in the absence of Robben? Will Robben play any part in this world cup? Can the Dutch keep the other team from scoring?
The one place the Dutch could afford to lose a key man is in the final third. The Dutch are blessed with an absolute dearth of attacking talent that goes beyond the big four. HSV's Eljero Elia's pace has inspired its own NASA investigation. By the end of this tournament, more than just the football nuts will know that name. Aside from Elia, Dutch manager Bert Van Marwijk, has other options, which include Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt and PSV's Ibrahim Afellay. And from all of the reports I have been reading, it appears as though Robben will be able to recover from his hamstring injury in time for the last group match, if not sooner.
After the Netherlands, there is a major drop off in terms of talent and skill. It has been nearly two decades since Denmark were relevant on the world stage. The Danes are strong down the middle, with steady goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson (Stoke City), defenders Simon Kjaer (Palermo) and Daniel Agger (Liverpool), midfielder Christian Poulsen (Juventus) and striker Niklas Bendtner (Arsenal). Their wingers are both on the wrong side of 30 and width will be a real problem for the Scadinavians. But they could pose a few problems for the rest of the teams in their group with their stout defense and height in the final third.
Cameroon are a decent side as well, if they could maintain a run of consistent good form they could be the African team that progresses furthest in this competition. Samuel Eto'o will have to play the games of his life if Cameroon are to advance as far as they did on that magical run in Italy in 1990 (quaterfinals). The Indomitable Lions will need their midfield to match their name and sirs Alex Song (Arsenal) and Jean Makoun (Olympique Lyonnaise) will need to provide the steel in the middle of the park. Cameroon's defense has been shaky, especially during qualification, and goalkeeper Idriss Kameni will need to step up for the Lions to progress.
Japan, quite frankly, should be happy to just be in the field of 32. They had a relatively easy path to qualification (due to the lack of class in Asia) but lack the talent necessary to make any kind of waves in this group. Japan does have some skilled players in Shunsuke Nakamura (Espanyol) and Yasuhito Endo. Takeshi Okada also has Keisuke Honda, a talented young midfielder with plenty of potential. The biggest problem for Japan is too few of their players have proven themselves in foreign leagues of any consequence. Big numbers in the J-League prove little on the international level and Japan will have to attempt to punch well above their weight in this group. And I expect them to get knocked out cold.
Predicted Starting XI's
Netherlands
GK: Maarten Stekelenburg
DEF: Gregory Van Der Wiel, John Heintinga, Joris Mathijsen, Gio Van Bronckhorst (C)
MF: Rafael Van Der Vaart (LAM) Nigel De Jong (LDM), Wesley Sneijder (CAM), Mark Van Bommel (RDM), Dirk Kuyt (RAM)
ST: Robin Van Persie
Cameroon
GK: Idriss Kameni
DEF: Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Sebastien Bassong, Rigobert Song, Geremi
MF: Eyong Enoh, Alex Song, Jean Makoun, Aurelien Chedjou
ST: Samuel Eto'o, Pierre Webo
Denmark
GK: Thomas Sorenson
DEF: Per Kroldrup, Daniel Agger, Simon Kjaer, Lars Jacobsen
MF: Dennis Rommedahl, Christian Poulsen, Jakob Poulsen, Martin Jorgensen, Jesper Gronkjaer
ST: Nicklas Bendtner
Japan
GK: Eiji Kawashima
DEF: Yuji Nakazawa, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuto Nagatomo
MF: Yasuhito Endo, Yuki Abe, Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda
ST: Yoshito Okubo, Shinji Okazaki
Players To Watch: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Rafael Van Der Vaart (Netherlands), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands), Eljero Elia (Netherlands), Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark), Simon Kjaer (Denmark), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Alex Song (Cameroon), Idriss Kameni (Cameroon), Keisuke Honda (Japan).
Predicted Group Standings
1. Netherlands
2. Cameroon
3. Denmark
4. Japan
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