First off, congratulations for Holland as they have just become the second country after Argentina to successfully qualify to the last 16 of World Cup 2010 with the narrow 1-0 victory over Japan in Durban. OK, one personal note about Durban before I continue on with the match. When I was younger and “stupidier”, upon seeing the word “Durban”, the first and only thing that comes into my mind was male underwear. Before anyone starts to doubt my sexual orientation, it's because I saw that brand of the briefs quite frequently but as I grow up, I got to know that Durban is actually one of the big cities in South Africa. Continuing on with the match, the scoreline seemed so unflattering after fans have expected a continuation of the goal flood from the last few days in the tournament. Nevertheless, this match had its fair share of excitement as well as some interesting talking points.
Looking at both teams, starting off from Holland, in my opinion the most crucial player for the Oranje (the commentator pronounced it as Oran-gee, but I am not sure myself, so I might have to clarify with a Dutchman (or girl)) is Nigel de Jong and not Sneijder and Robben, who was on the bench and served more as Holland's insurance policy of sorts if they find themselves in a tough spot. This is not to take anything away from the Holland no. 10 and 11 (especially the former, the scorer of the winning goal in this match), but it can be argued that the Dutch team would not be so compact, organized, and at ease if de Jong is not present in the “Makelele” role. Perhaps this opinion of mine was formed from the fateful (I am a Madridista) memory about Real Madrid's catastrophic collapse when they unceremoniously sold Makelele to Chelsea in 2004 but still, I believe this Dutch team will not be the same without the Manchester City man. Another point to take note of for this Dutch team is that Robin van Persie seems to be unfit and out of sorts in this match as well as in the Denmark match. It's likely that his injury ravaged season with Arsenal has taken its toll.
As for the Japanese team, their main man is actually not Keisuke Hondas as many fans would be fiercely arguing especially with him scoring the winning goal against Cameroon in their first match in the competition but their indispensable key man was undoubtedly defender Tulio as the Brazilian born was an absolute tower in the Japanese defense thwarting waves after waves of the attack from the Dutch in this match and also Japan's biggest attacking threat through set pieces as well as when Tulio moved up front in the last 10 minutes to become a makeshift striker. Also, he's my personal choice for the man of the match in this match.
The first half started with a possible controversy when at 8th minute Robin van Persie seemed to kick out at Japan's Komano until the Japanese was stretchered off and received some treatments and at 25th minute when van Persie flailed his elbow on Nakazawa. It's difficult to ascertain whether those were intentional, but I'll just include those fr the record in case this debate surfaces tomorrow in the papers.
Holland generally dominated the match with the possession as much as 75% in Oranje's favor, but they were not able to score. In fact, the most precise shot in the first half was Keisuke Honda's free kick in which the ball managed to hit the camera behind the goal.
The second half as usual was eventful and also where the goal was. The Jabulani debate set to be re-ignited again after it has settled in the past few days as at the 52nd minute, Sneijder launched a blistering long range shot to score a super goal in which the Japanese goalkeeper didn't manage to keep out. Replay suggested that the Japanese keeper had anticipated the flight of the ball but the bal might have changed its flight abruptly in flight. In any case, 1-0 for Holland.
Right after the goal, sense of urgency crept into the Japanese side as they tried to be more attacking., and also bringing in Shunsuke Nakamura hoping to exploit his dead ball specialty to score. They also brought on two more strikers Okazaki and Tamada and for the last 10 minutes even employed defnder Tulio as a makeshift striker as mentioned above, but they didn't manage to threat Maarten Stekelenburg's goal at all.
As for the Dutch, their substitutions proved to be interesting with the introductions of Eljero Elia, Klaas jan Huntelaar, and Ibrahim Afellay. Afellay almost made instant impact twice as he almost scored in two occasions. Eljero Elia also further showed why fans have increasingly demanding Bert van Marwijk to play Elia right from the start. Huntelaar also proved one more time that indifferent club performance might not be a reliable yardstick as he almost set up Afellay in one of his two close calls. Huntelaar certainly made more impact than the aforementioned unfit and out of sorts van Persie did throughout the match.
As mentioned, Holland has managed to qualify to the last 16 with 2 wins out of 2 while Japan will now have to win against Denmark if they want to qualify to the last 16 as well and keep Takeshi Okada's brave target of semi-finals alive. How easy or hard Japan's task would depend on the result of the match between Denmark and Cameroon. In any case, all over the Netherlands is sure to be painted orange in celebration of Holland's achievement!
Showing posts with label Group E WC10. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Group E WC10. Show all posts
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Japan 1-0 Cameroon World Cup 2010 Group E
Stand aside Africa, this is Asia's year! Since World Cup 2010 is held in Africa for the first time, the six African teams participating in the World Cup as well as African football in general are under the microscope. Everyone expecting something special from the African teams. But, it is Asia, or more specifically East Asia of all continents which is flourishing really rapidly in the Rainbow Nation. After South Korea had defeated Greece quite comfortably by 2-0 scoreline, now it's Japan's turn to defeat Cameroon, a team which I predicted to do well in this World Cup 1-0, and now Cameroon is in a grave danger of not being able to go through the Group Stage. It was an utterly frustrating night for Cameroon, filled with extremely stupid tactical set-up right from the start of the match, as well as another stupid and irrational tactics when they are trailing all the way to the end of the match. It was Cameroon self-destructed actually, to be fair to the Cameroon players. It was simply frustrating to watch how Cameroon's talented and supposedly great squad was turned to a squad of clowns in front of the gallant samurais.
As all of us have accustomed by now, the first half of this match was just like any first half from the other matches. A very cautious, drab, insomnia-curing, as well as cagey affair. Both teams simply canceled each other almost throughout the first half except for when Cameroon's defenders made a huge and extremely costly mistake in allowing Keisuke Honda to be unmarked and had all the time in the world to score the goal which turned out to be the one separating both teams. To start off the Honda puns which would fill the next day's headlines all over the world, I would love to be the first to declare that Honda car has beaten the indomitable lions in a race to victory! I had a gut feeling prior to the match that if Honda scores the winning goal, there will sure be a plethora of Honda car puns the next day, and it turned out to be just that. Amazing.
When the second half started, I was for one really disgusted and equally baffled by the fact that Paul le Guen did not alter his irrational strategy of the first half when he played Eto'o as a right winger. It was such a waste of a world beating player at the peak of his powers and that his strong point in the game is scoring goals and to lift the teams. This is compounded by the fact that Eto'o is Cameroon's star player and captain who carries the whole nation on his shoulders. It was puzzling that Eto'o was left to rot on the right flank. Also, when they are trailing, Cameroon decided to play the long ball game in search of the equalizer. Smart move against a group of supposedly short and fragile Japanese players? Hell no, with tall and bulky defenders such as Tulio, Yuki Abe, and Nakazawa, their long ball approach was totally redundant and utterly useless. To add to the baffling facts, Cameroon players, including Eto'o who was wasted on the right flank are short and thus playing the long ball against the tall Japanese defenders was a suicidal move to say the least.
Japan clearly did the proverbial parking the bus in front of the goal, and there might have been an invisible bus parked in front of their goal, and one more bus in front of it. Cameroon was totally clueless. No matter how many redundant and useless long balls they launched into the penalty box, the tall Japanese players easily head the ball away. Strange thing? Still no change at all in terms of tactics. Eto'o still being wasted on the right and long ball tactics continued.
Another strange thing was that, maybe the Japanese players were indeed fragile, or was it a time wasting and cunning tactics, but when the Cameroon players come near the Japanese players, they fell down so easily like flies being exposed to insecticide. Totally no way through for Cameroon even though they did hit the bar late on. So unfortunate, but they destroyed themselves in the match.
Cameroon is now totally in danger of being knocked out in the Group Stage as they face Denmark and the Netherlands for their remaining matches. Judging from their ridiculous tactics and their weak play in this match, I don't think they will be able to get anything from Denmark and Netherlands. Goodbye Cameroon... and congratulations to Japan for winning their first ever World Cup game outside of their country and they just need to at least get a point from Denmark and Holland to progress and creep ever closer to Takeshi Okada, their manager's targets of reaching the semi-finals. The manager was laughed at from all over. But now, who dares to laugh at him now? For that matter, who dares to laugh at the East Asians, with North Korea expected to surprise Brazil as well if the Samba boys are not careful in their Group G opening match.
As all of us have accustomed by now, the first half of this match was just like any first half from the other matches. A very cautious, drab, insomnia-curing, as well as cagey affair. Both teams simply canceled each other almost throughout the first half except for when Cameroon's defenders made a huge and extremely costly mistake in allowing Keisuke Honda to be unmarked and had all the time in the world to score the goal which turned out to be the one separating both teams. To start off the Honda puns which would fill the next day's headlines all over the world, I would love to be the first to declare that Honda car has beaten the indomitable lions in a race to victory! I had a gut feeling prior to the match that if Honda scores the winning goal, there will sure be a plethora of Honda car puns the next day, and it turned out to be just that. Amazing.
When the second half started, I was for one really disgusted and equally baffled by the fact that Paul le Guen did not alter his irrational strategy of the first half when he played Eto'o as a right winger. It was such a waste of a world beating player at the peak of his powers and that his strong point in the game is scoring goals and to lift the teams. This is compounded by the fact that Eto'o is Cameroon's star player and captain who carries the whole nation on his shoulders. It was puzzling that Eto'o was left to rot on the right flank. Also, when they are trailing, Cameroon decided to play the long ball game in search of the equalizer. Smart move against a group of supposedly short and fragile Japanese players? Hell no, with tall and bulky defenders such as Tulio, Yuki Abe, and Nakazawa, their long ball approach was totally redundant and utterly useless. To add to the baffling facts, Cameroon players, including Eto'o who was wasted on the right flank are short and thus playing the long ball against the tall Japanese defenders was a suicidal move to say the least.
Japan clearly did the proverbial parking the bus in front of the goal, and there might have been an invisible bus parked in front of their goal, and one more bus in front of it. Cameroon was totally clueless. No matter how many redundant and useless long balls they launched into the penalty box, the tall Japanese players easily head the ball away. Strange thing? Still no change at all in terms of tactics. Eto'o still being wasted on the right and long ball tactics continued.
Another strange thing was that, maybe the Japanese players were indeed fragile, or was it a time wasting and cunning tactics, but when the Cameroon players come near the Japanese players, they fell down so easily like flies being exposed to insecticide. Totally no way through for Cameroon even though they did hit the bar late on. So unfortunate, but they destroyed themselves in the match.
Cameroon is now totally in danger of being knocked out in the Group Stage as they face Denmark and the Netherlands for their remaining matches. Judging from their ridiculous tactics and their weak play in this match, I don't think they will be able to get anything from Denmark and Netherlands. Goodbye Cameroon... and congratulations to Japan for winning their first ever World Cup game outside of their country and they just need to at least get a point from Denmark and Holland to progress and creep ever closer to Takeshi Okada, their manager's targets of reaching the semi-finals. The manager was laughed at from all over. But now, who dares to laugh at him now? For that matter, who dares to laugh at the East Asians, with North Korea expected to surprise Brazil as well if the Samba boys are not careful in their Group G opening match.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Holland 2-0 Denmark World Cup 2010 Group E
Holland against Denmark, arguably the biggest and most even match in the Group Stage so far. It was played on a sunny Johannesburg afternoon. However, just like what the commentator, who seemed to be shivering as he occasionally seethes throughout the match that even though it's sunny, the match was played at an altitude and that it's winter time in South Africa, unlike summer time in the northern hemisphere. The first half started in a very uneventful way as both teams failed to break the deadlock in the half. The only notable exception in the first half was the fueling of the continuation of the Jabulani debate in which both Holland and Denmark always blast the ball over the bar in long shots and most notably during direct free kicks in which it is almost impossible to get past the opponent's defensive wall and to get it on target at the same time.
Nevertheless, Holland looked the better team in the first half as Holland looked like a very well drilled team even though they had to make do without Arjen Robben who won't feature in this match but they seemed to have no problems getting their acts together besides scoring a goal of course. Their general domination was shown by their 60% share of possession of the ball on the first half. Dirk Kuyt also showed how he has been successfully converted to a good right winger as he sent quite a few decent crosses into the Danish penalty box throughout the first half. Meanwhile, Denmark played the dreaded 4-5-1 formation in which Nicklas Bendtner is the lone ranger up front with no support whatsoever when he does get the ball. Clearly, in the first half at least that Denmark are already focusing on Japan and Cameroon and only play this game to snatch a point against Holland, the strongest team in Group E.
As the second half started, Holland shifted into the high gears as they attacked right off the bat and caught Denmark flat-footed and shocked. A cross into the Danish penalty box was headed by S. Poulsen the Danish full back into his own net. His header was so perfect just like a great targetman, just that he scored at the wrong end of the pitch. An interesting thing to note was how S. Poulsen managed to have the guts to smile after the atrocious own goal. We could imagine how the press in Denmark, a country ranked first in the Free Press Index would roast him in tomorrow's papers.
By the time it was 60th minute, Nicklas Bendtner was withdrawn for a winger Beckmann. It showed that Denmark had thrown in the towel and simply looking forward to the Cameroon match which is the next match and the Japan match, the last one for them in Group E. Thus, they had to save Bendtner for those two matches by bringing him off early. On the other hand, the Dutch looked for the second and killer goal by bringing in the livewire Eljero Elia for the static and rigid van der Vaart, and the Dutch was augmented by the electric pace of his.
Eventually at the 84th minute, after Sneijder had hit the bar a few minutes before, Eljero Elia managed to wriggle through the Danish penalty area, hitting the post before Dirk Kuyt scored a tap-in from the rebound to make it 2-0 and just like how the commentator put it, “Good night Denmark”. At the 87th minute, S. Poulsen managed to make amends for his earlier mistake by saving a certain goal acrobatically. Nevertheless, The Dutch won by two clear goals and are now at the top of Group E. Now, the matches with Cameroon and Japan will be very crucial for Denmark if they are to go through from the group. Another trivia to note is that the record continues for Denmark that until now, they have yet to play out a goalless draw in the World Cup finals.
Nevertheless, Holland looked the better team in the first half as Holland looked like a very well drilled team even though they had to make do without Arjen Robben who won't feature in this match but they seemed to have no problems getting their acts together besides scoring a goal of course. Their general domination was shown by their 60% share of possession of the ball on the first half. Dirk Kuyt also showed how he has been successfully converted to a good right winger as he sent quite a few decent crosses into the Danish penalty box throughout the first half. Meanwhile, Denmark played the dreaded 4-5-1 formation in which Nicklas Bendtner is the lone ranger up front with no support whatsoever when he does get the ball. Clearly, in the first half at least that Denmark are already focusing on Japan and Cameroon and only play this game to snatch a point against Holland, the strongest team in Group E.
As the second half started, Holland shifted into the high gears as they attacked right off the bat and caught Denmark flat-footed and shocked. A cross into the Danish penalty box was headed by S. Poulsen the Danish full back into his own net. His header was so perfect just like a great targetman, just that he scored at the wrong end of the pitch. An interesting thing to note was how S. Poulsen managed to have the guts to smile after the atrocious own goal. We could imagine how the press in Denmark, a country ranked first in the Free Press Index would roast him in tomorrow's papers.
By the time it was 60th minute, Nicklas Bendtner was withdrawn for a winger Beckmann. It showed that Denmark had thrown in the towel and simply looking forward to the Cameroon match which is the next match and the Japan match, the last one for them in Group E. Thus, they had to save Bendtner for those two matches by bringing him off early. On the other hand, the Dutch looked for the second and killer goal by bringing in the livewire Eljero Elia for the static and rigid van der Vaart, and the Dutch was augmented by the electric pace of his.
Eventually at the 84th minute, after Sneijder had hit the bar a few minutes before, Eljero Elia managed to wriggle through the Danish penalty area, hitting the post before Dirk Kuyt scored a tap-in from the rebound to make it 2-0 and just like how the commentator put it, “Good night Denmark”. At the 87th minute, S. Poulsen managed to make amends for his earlier mistake by saving a certain goal acrobatically. Nevertheless, The Dutch won by two clear goals and are now at the top of Group E. Now, the matches with Cameroon and Japan will be very crucial for Denmark if they are to go through from the group. Another trivia to note is that the record continues for Denmark that until now, they have yet to play out a goalless draw in the World Cup finals.
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