Review: Day 4

Group E

        Holland   2-0   Denmark

The Dutch opened their World Cup campaign with a welcome, if not impressive, victory over European rivals Denmark.

Much is expected of a star studded Dutch line-up over the next four weeks. Their attacking options have the ability to strike fear into any opposition and that is what they did in their build up over the past three weeks. Mexico, Ghana and Hungary were all easily disposed of with flair and confidence, but Denmark were a far more rugged and organised opponent.

The best opportunity of the first half fell to Nicklas Bendtner but the Arsenal striker seemed to be between two minds of what to do with his header. The Netherlands, meanwhile, struggled to create opportunities from their intricate passing. Rafael van der Vaart mustered a couple of long range shots but neither were close to the target. Ultimately, the first half was a let down from the game that much was expected of.

Denmark may have been without Jon Dahl Tommason but they qualified impresively for the World Cup with some confident attacking performances. That form was not on show in Soccer City however.

One minute into the second half, a cross from Robin van Persie resulted in a comical own goal from the unfortunate Daniel Agger. Left-back Simon Poulsen headed the ball off the Liverpool defender's back and into the bottom corner of the goal. Poulsen greeted his horrific error with a smile, a response that would result in cruxifiction in England, although surely the Danes won't be impressed either.

The introduction of Hamburg's Eljero Elia changed the tempo of the game. The centrally confined passing of the first hour was traded in for some expansive attacking verve, which ultimately paid off for the late second goal. Ibrahim Afellay's late appearance also upset the Danes, as they failed to deal with the pace of the Dutch replacements.

If the Dutch are to live up to expectations then improvement will be needed in their forthcoming fixtures with Japan and Cameroon. Bert van Marvijk has been given a welcome headache however with the form of the players sprung from the bench, as well as the impending return of Arjen Robben.   

While the Dutch now have some room for experimentation and some freedom to express themselves, Morten Olsen's eleven will have no choice but to grind out a win from the second game with Cameroon. Both teams are on the verge of elimination so defeat is not an option.

          Cameroon   0-1   Japan

Japan's victory over Cameroon has opened up the fight for second place and has even enhanced Denmark's chances of claiming that coveted second place behind Holland.

Much was expected of the African outfit in this tournament. Paul le Guen's team were highly fancied to be Africa's best team considering they have "an easy group", but that theory has to be discarded following what is a magnificent result for the Japanese.

The game itself was yet another disappointing affair between two average teams, but Japan's best player, Keisuke Honda sealed the tie with a well taken goal in the first half. His quick feet put his side ahead as the Cameroon defence was left scrambling to close him down.

Asia's two representatives so far, excluding Australia, have now both won their first games. South Korea have taken a huge step toward the second round due to their impressive dismantling of Greece, while Japan have now won their first World Cup game away from home. Both sides were expected to bring up the rear in their groups, but both now may reach the knockout stages away from Asia for the first time.

These three points are not enough to guarantee a last 16 place but one more win or even one more point may even be enough. South Korea in particular will be quietly confident.

Cameroon meanwhile are in big trouble. Samuel Eto'o was playing out wide and Alex Song wasn't on the pitch. The francophone's paid the price and will now need to beat Denmark in their next game to stand any hope of pursuing their African dream, but judging from their lack of fight in Bloemfontein, that seems unlikely. 

Group F

            Italy   1-1   Paraguay

World Champions Italy got off to a sluggish start as they attempt to be the first team to defend the title since Brazil in 1962, and judging from this performance that statistic looks set to stand for another four years.

The Italians looked shaky at the back and devoid of ideas up front. Only Fabio Cannavarro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Gianluigi Buffon reamined from the starting line up the 2006 final and the 2010 replacements look inferior to that vintage. 

The defensive organisation that is expected of Italian teams was not evident and il capitano is clearly not the player of four years ago. In attack, Alberto Gilardino and Vincenxo Iaquinta offered little and barely produced a chance between them. 

For all the goals of Gilardino, Iaquinta and Toto di Natale in Serie 'A', that has not translated into goals for the Azzuri. The best chances that the Italian's created came from set pieces, and their equalizer finally came because of a goalkeeping error from a corner that let in Danielle de Rossi to tap home. 

The return of Andrea Pirlo may be the spark that will allow the Italian attack to shine, but that will not be until game three with Slovakia. With such a straightforward group, this team should be capable of qualifying anyway.

Paraguay, despite having taken the lead, were no better than their opposition. Once scoring, they rarely ventured forward and seemed happy to sit back and hope for the best, a tactic that didn't pay off. 

The injuries and lack of form of Oscar Cardozo and Roque Santa Cruz will need to be overcome if they are to impress against Slovakia. Italy were there for the taking but they failed to build on their first half advantage, playing some uninspired stuff in the process. 

The Paraguayans may somehow stumble through to the last 16 because of this point, but it wont be pretty.