FIFA World Cup 2010 – Cameroon vs. Netherlands Preview
Netherlands, which was considered to be one the favourites in their group have failed to impress their fans despite bringing an amazing line up of stars. The line-up includes Arsenal star Van Persie along with Snmijder, Van der Vaart and not forgetting the in-form Bundusliga star Robin. With such a talented striking force, Netherlands is still unbeaten in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their first match was against Denmark where they could not show their best form but still managed to score two goals. One coming off the defender and ending up in his own net and second scored by an old Liverpool player, Dirk Kuyt. Their second match was against the Japanese who played a different style of football and are being criticized for being too defensive in their recent games. There is always a risk of being on the defence and the Netherlanders took full advantage of that by scoring a goal against the Japanese and winning their second match and confirming themselves in the round of 16.
The Netherlanders have nothing to lose due to the fact that they have already qualified for the next round. On the other hand, the Indomitable Lions, Cameroon, were the first team to be knocked out of the World Cup. They have not won or even drawn any of their share of matches in South Africa 2010. The Inter Milan star, Eto’o, could not do much for his team; too much was expected from him in this world cup, but sadly his team could not support his striking ability and go for a win. Cameroon faced Japan as their first opponents and failed to impress the fans in the first half. With only one shot on target, they failed miserably to possess the ball. On the other hand, the Japanese were too organized at the back and did not let Cameroon get inside the eighteen yard box. Soon, Honda scored a goal for Japan to make it one nil. Then the Japanese defended well, while the Cameroon side kept attacking, but it was too late for the Cameroonians to score a goal or come back. A shot from Samuel Eto’o struck the cross bar and that was the closest Cameroon could get to the goal.
Next week, Cameroon was set to face Denmark, who looked pretty well organized in the midfield. Denmark did pretty well against Netherlands as they kept more possession of the ball, but still lost the match. Eto’o did not totally fail to impress in this game as he struck the first goal in the 10th minute. But, since the Cameroonian side was not very well organized, they lost two goals to one. Denmark made a remarkable comeback within an hour when Rommedahl scored the second goal right after the one hour mark.
The Netherlands vs. Cameroon match can only affect this group if Cameroon beats Netherlands. Even then, the only thing that can be decided is whether the Dutch can win the group or not. The first two wins over Denmark and Japan have already given their side a pass to the next round. If Netherlands wins today, they’d be the second team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be unbeaten after Argentina.
Today, the Netherlanders are planning to put the struggling Cameroon side out of their misery. Cameroon did not win even a single game, although their side did not look that weak on paper. Either the Netherlanders are going to grab a win, and remain unbeaten in South Africa 2010. Otherwise, they can end up in a draw and still qualify for the next round by topping the group. Contrary to that thought, if Denmark or Japan wins and Netherland loses; then Netherland will still qualify for the next round. However, they would be the winners of the group or become the runner ups, considering the goal difference. Therefore, there’s not much to look forward to in this particular match since one of the two teams has already qualified and the other is already out of the World Cup.
Tags: