For some odd reason a ton of the threads are locked in here? Any reason why. I just was wondering what the geneal opinion is on whats going on w/this group. I really thought Italy was too old and tired to really accomplish anything after they finished off their horrid group but after seeing E today, they may get even more luck than they had last tournament (when they got a virtual free pass to the semi's if they could win their group). Holland: Until i saw the draw I really thought this was a tournament that Holland could make a deep run in. But then they got set up with a quarterfinal date with Brazil if all goes according to expectations. I wasn't impressed w/them for much of the game until Denmark got desperate. Denmark did a nice job of holding firm for quite a long time. I also have no idea how De Jong is going to make it through even a two game stretch w/o a yellow card accumulation suspension or a straight red. It's like he's completely forgotten he broke Stuart Holden's leg with his thuggery three months ago and already reenegaged in the business against the Danes. I still think Holland will be fine, I just think the Brazil game may be a bridge too far, but we'll see. Maybe they get lucky and draw Portugal or Ivory Coast instead. They need Robben back and Van Persie to get back on his game, he was off today. Denmark: Need to shake this game off and glory in the fact Cameroon fell flat, and are second place is very much in play. Great defensive game for a half, had a few chances, but didnt take care of business, that miracle save late may come in play on tiebreakers. Cameroon: Good God. What in the hell was that? That looked more like the Cameroon that nearly lost their ticket to Gabon, and then lost to Gabon in the nations cup a few months later. They're awful. I had them upsetting Italy in the Round of 16, now? Now I don't know what to think. Japan: They are going to be easily finished off by Denmark and Holland. This win was a nice moment for them, but I think Denmark will take advantage of what this win meant rather than Japan. This game will still come down to Cameroon-Denmark in my view. If Cameroon wins that, the final matchday is huge, if Cameroon loses, they may still have a shot because Holland will be on 6 after next weekend. That Denmark-Cameroon game will be HUGE. What do the rest of you see?
Re: OT: How will E play out now? Dude your analysis of Cameroon is spot on man! but why on earth you would have thought for a second that Cameroon will even make the 16th finals defeats me. Most of us who "really" follow that team had started crying foul since January. As the months went by, u could see other teams improving but Cameroon did "du sur place" (as we say in French) Why on earth any coach will think Makoun is anything close to a pro footballer is a mystery to me! Why on earth you play a 4-3-3 with no true offensive midfielders is another mystery. Someone has been mysteriously missing all day -MARUTI. Where are u? Come here and le’s analyze some of those ridiculous claims you made a few months back! That team is clueless man! It’s a shame they actually had a great bunch of players but choose to play a style that has never & will never be theirs!! I see Denmark giving them a thumping & Netherlands just humiliating them...After all looks more & more like Milla was right all along! I am so disgusted at them that I can hardly even watch any games anymore. I think I will just cancel my vacation & resume work lol
Re: OT: How will E play out now? Yes the Denmark Cameroon match will be huge, but I don't think Cameroon has the power to break the Danes down, and I think Olsen's tactical approach will expose Cameroon's weaknesses even more. You're saying the Dutch will have 6 pts after the weekend? Well I do hope you're right but the match against Japan is far from a sure win for us. Their midfield is able to cause us headaches, our last friendly against Japan ended 3-0 for us I believe but it was flattering and didn't quite tell the whole story. Don't underestimate Japan, I've been saying this for quite some time. Their midfield can be amazing and if they finally find a way to finish their chances, well, better watch out. As it is now, I see the Japan-Denmark game as the main decider in this group. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt that Cameroon can find a way to improve drastically over such a short time. I don't like to talk about the quarterfinal, as it is too far away and anything can happen, but out of all your picks I'd rather face Ivory Coast, then Brazil, then Portugal. Yes, that's right, Portugal last. Strange shite always happens when we play them, and we somehow always lose. Maybe put them instead of IC because of revenge, I don't know. It's just that nightmare of a game in 2006 that is still haunting me.
Re: OT: How will E play out now? We're managing each of the Group E stages in the following sequence: 1) Pre-Match -> 2) Game Thread -> 3) Post Match. All relevant threads for Group E are open for posting given their respective chronological progress. Hope that helps - thanks for the post too, it was a good overview of the group.
Re: OT: How will E play out now? I assumed that, but when I went to post in the post game threads for each game, both were locked. Was it just a momentary goof up? Or some weird issue? As to some of the other mentions. Just color me ignorant on Cameroon, hhadn't seen them play much, and just overrated them and underrated Denmark because their play from August '09-now was significantly inferior to what they were doing from January-July of '09. I thought Cameroon under the leadership of Eto'o, and w/the support of Africa behind them would put something together. Instead they looked ghastly, nearly as bad as Algeria. Just horrible. If not for Ghana, Africa would be currently outplayed in all of their matchday 1 performances. But Ghana played very well yesterday, "sparing the continent a lifetime of blushes", lol, can't believe i used that phrase. I was very disappointed in CAF. Mexico dominated S. Africa, but couldn't finish, and then S. Africa finally woke up, and nearly played a relatively even match. But Nigeria, Algeria, and Cameroon were absolutely ghastly w/the exception of that fantastic performance from the Nigerian goalie, and Martins turning in a nice game after subbing on. Hopefully Ivory Coast will be able to play well w/o Drogba. If they can emulate the toughness and desire of Angola from 4 years ago, they could squeeze a point out of that game against Portugal, but I fear they will crumble under the pressure. We'll see. Portugal has a history of handling pressure terribly as well so its a very interesting matchup. Anyway, back to the group. I think you're far too worried about Japan, Holland fan. Holland will crush them, it will be an off game if you don't win by at least 2. I'm figuring 2-0 to 4-0 for Holland. Cameroon absolutely has to get something out of that Denmark game, but after what we saw today can we see that happening? Well, that game, for Cameroon, is akin to the last 10 minutes of a game that you absolutely must score in. If they dont get a result, they are done, they have to play like they feel that pressure, and are confident they can handle it. I don't think they can. Japan, well, they'll advance if they can beat Denmark, but i dont think there's a hope in hell that they can beat Denmark, so they're gonna have to hope to tie Denmark, and that Denmark slips up against Cameroon garning only a tie, something I think is possible, but in truth, i think its far more likely that Cameroon actually advances than Japan, even w/this loss, as I think Japan doesnt stand a chance of getting any points off of Holland or Denmark.
graywolfe , Slovenia did not outplay Algeria, and Japan did not outplay Cameroon, those statements are simply false. Either way I am very dissapointed with the CAF teams. As to this group. The dutch should have it in the bag, although they were far from convincing today, and if not for the fluke own goal they may not have found a way through. Japan look the fittest of all teams in this group, that is why Cameroon struggled because the Japanese were closing them down and allowed them no space. Both Holland and Denmark looked very slow and sluggish today. Not convinced on Denmark either. I dont think they will beat Cameroon unless the Cameroonians self destruct, which they may do. Denmark seem very defensive and do not offer the hustle that Japan provided today. I believe the Cameroon Denmark game is key. If Denmark can win they have a good shot. If Cameroon wins or there is a draw, Japan is looking good.
I think we have a chance to get of this group against Denmark. Japan had almost lost all confidence before the world cup with so many defeats! But, this win will boost our team's confidence which is just what they need. I agree Japan didn't exactly look spectacular but we can beat anyone on anyday. Just you wait and see graywolfe81, who gives Japan no chance.
I predict that the Denmark vs. Cameroon match is most likely going to be a physical fight that end 0-0, 1-1 or 1-0 to the Danes... Denmark then outsmart Japan tactically and win easily by 2-0. .
I think it odd that people already start to make statements about the fact if Holland is able to make the semis or not or about they fact that they did not impress in their first game after 1 group game played. Tension is always high the first game, neither side wants to loose. Then there is the annoying vuvuzela sound and the ball which acts rather tricky at this altitude. Playing at this altitude is another factor. (Heitinga, who usually has a good cross didn’t hit one ball right yesterday. Furthermore the Danes topped their Q group with Sweden and Portugal and are in fact a really solid team in the back / midfield. It’s not like Holland will overrun every opponent they face. About Nigel de Jong, I think he is a solid defensive midfielder who tackles a bit too hard every now and then. If you look at the games at Euro 2008 you can see his importance in the Holland squad. Sure he might get suspended or get a red card one day but that’s to be expected for a defensive midfielder. All that bullshit about thuggery and breaking Holden´s leg is getting annoying. De Jong went for the ball and hit Holden his leg, it happens its football.
I don't think you should write Japan off. Not many expected Japan to beat Cameroon. Maybe something will happen.
I am not particularly giving Japan any props even after their victory. Their dsiplay was poor, & this even during their best spells of the game. Cameroon was just way overrated (a fact I had repeatedly pointed out in the pre match threads) ...even still Cameroon still dominated play (which was shocking considering that tactically, Cameroon had no plan! Cameroon was playing with no coach in my opinion. PLayers didnt know their positions on the pitch!!!. My bet is even a hurriedly assembled Erithrea team will beat Cameroon.
If there's one thing you can't do, it's outsmart us. Outpower us, outplay us, okay, but outsmart ... definitely no.
I would not underestimate Japan. This Japan squad may not be the most creative, but they look to be among the most tenacious.
We all know the Dutch got auto berth into the final round. I feel sorry for the rest of the teams in this group.
Dont feel sorry for us, we are happy to just be there =) and one of us will follow holland through this group.
Cameroon is out, and with the Netherlands having 6 points and a GD 3 goals better than Japan, they pretty much have 1st place. It comes down to Japan vs. Denmark, and because of Japan's better GD, they just need a tie.
I'll be rooting for you guys when playing against Japan as I am moving to Copenhagen in two months time!
Thank you We will probably a lot of support to avoid any more embarrasing personal errors.... Hope you will happy up here in Denmark!
Since Japan can settle for a draw I think they'll play the same way they did last game. Holding on to the draw and look for the counter. Best way for the Danes with so little space is using the flanks and bombarding the box with high passes. Japan hates playing against long ball passing over the top.
Actually, I doubt that Japan will play the way we played the Dutch. I think we showed that we actually can play some football after conceding against the Dutch. No disrespect to the Dane, but I think Japan will keep it tight in the back but open up a bit more and actually play the Japanese-style possession football.
For Japan to go through I think they need to take the game to the Danes, and look for a goal like you said. Trying to hold on to 0-0 probably is suicide, but to be honest you did a fine job doing just that against us untill we got a decent shot off coupled with a fair share of luck.
To be honest, Japanese usually do not play anti-football. The only reason, we employed such tactic against Cameroon was get a win under our belt and get some confidence. We were going into the first game with a four-game loosing streak. And against the Dutch....., well they were simply too superior and that was only way for us to get some type of a result, although eventaully we failed to do so. Now that it is do or die, we will probably see the real Japanese football, unless Manager Okada is thinking of someting else. But one thing for sure, Japanese never play for a draw, so hopefully Okada will keep the tradition.