World Cup 2010: Group E Analysis
Group E and Group H are the only groups in the 2010 World Cup with no former world champion in them but this does not make these groups any less attractive. Unlike some of the other groups, Group E will be providing a close race amongst its teams for qualifying through to the Round of 16, which consists of Netherlands, Cameroon, Denmark and Japan.
Netherlands, ranked at 3rd position in the FIFA rankings, and will be making only their ninth appearance in the World Cup this summer. So that’s a first surprise from this talented footballing nation. Their first and second qualification came in 1934 and 1938 but the third came after a cruel wait of 36 years – and well they welcomed that opportunity in 1974. This is their best chance of progressing through the tournament since the Johan Cryuff era, when they ended the tournament as losing finalists in both 1974 and 1978. Netherlands won all their eight matches in the qualifiers and were very flamboyant going forward and solid at back. Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel de Jong will be crucial to the team’s overall performance.
Cameroon, ranked at 19th position in the FIFA rankings, is the most experienced of the African teams when it comes to the World Cups. They will be appearing in the sixth tournament this year after making their debut in 1982. Their best result came in 1990 when the qualified for the quarter-finals to become the first African team to reach this stage of the tournament. Cameroon had an early problem in the qualification round but then finished strongly with four straight wins after having their coaching duties taken over by Paul Le Guen. Samuel Eto’o, Alexandre Song and Jean II Makoun are important players for the team.
Denmark, ranked at 36th position in the FIFA rankings, will be participating in their fourth World Cup, having progressed through the group stage in each of their previous tournaments in 1986, 1998 and 2002. Denmark have also tasted success in the European championships when they came out victorious in the 1992 tournament after beating the strong defending champions and clear favourites Netherlands. The coach Morten Olsen is in charge of the team for the last 10 years and the team has benefited from this stability at the helm. This was obvious from their performance in the qualification round where they finished top of their group which also consisted of Portugal, Sweden and Hungary. The team’s attacking responsibilities will be shared by Jon Dahl Tomasson and Nicklas Bendtner while the defence relies on Daniel Agger and Thomas Sorensen.
Japan, ranked at 45th position in the FIFA rankings, and was the first team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. They will be making their fourth consecutive appearance in the World Cups since their debut in 1998, with their best result coming at home in 2002 when they were knocked out by the eventual champions Brazil in the Round of 16. The Asian powerhouse in terms of both economy and football has won three of the last five Asian championships. The team is coming to South Africa after having qualified through the same group as of Australia. Shunsuke Nakamura and Keisuke Honda are key players for the team.
Netherlands should be able to top the group while Cameroon will face stiff competition from Denmark and Japan for the second position. The winners from this group will face runners-up of Group F in the Round of 16 and the runners-up will tie up with winners of Group F which comprises of Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.
The Netherlands are the favourites to win this group. The battle for the runners-up spot would be interesting as Japan, Cameroon and Denmark all would count themselves second favourites in the group.
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