Van Persie scores. -Photo by Reuters
CAPE TOWN: Netherlands advanced to a second-round meeting with Slovakia after they did just about enough to beat Cameroon 2-1 on Thursday to make it three wins out of three and secure top spot in Group E.
After victories over Denmark and Japan, the Dutch were already assured of progressing and the win secured with goals by Robin van Persie and Klaas Jan Huntelaar guaranteed they took the honours with Japan second after a 3-1 win over Denmark.
The Dutch also had the bonus of a return to action for winger Arjen Robben, who missed the first two games with a hamstring problem but delivered a 17 minute cameo off the bench to add extra zest and invention to their attack.
However, Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk was not entirely happy with their overall performance saying: “Let me say that today I wasn’t 100 per cent satisfied. I was with the fact that we won but the second half was very moderate.
“In the previous two games we controlled the game more. Only after the (score was) 1-1 did we start to play and you could see we can play and didn’t give it away,” he added.
Nicely balanced throughout the team, Netherlands qualified without ever needing to hit peak form and at present are flying the flag as Europe’s most impressive nation.
Cameroon finished last in the group and failed to achieve their goal of not going home pointless although they can hold their heads high after a spirited second half display.
Netherlands had to be on their mettle in the early stages as Cameroon, somewhat unlucky to lose 2-1 to Denmark, made a positive start but the precise passing of the Dutch always made them look the more dangerous side.
FIRST GOAL
Van Persie should have put Netherlands ahead after 19 minutes when he chested down a lovely 40-metre ball by Giovanni van Bronckhorst but shot meekly at keeper Hamidou Souleymanou.
After Dirk Kuyt had dragged another effort across the face of goal, Van Persie eventually broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when a quick-fire one-two with Rafael van der Vaart put him through and he slotted the ball through the keeper’s legs.
It was Van Persie’s first goal of this tournament and he was delighted, saying afterwards: “It is always good to score. In the previous two games I didn’t reach my level. Today I did. I played well, That is what I am most satisfied about.”
The goal settled the Dutch and they began to fizz the ball around sharply on Green Point stadium’s high-speed surface.
Cameroon kept pressing though as Samuel Eto’o, Landry Nguemo, Jean Makoun and Aurelien Chedjou, a late change to the starting lineup for Alexandre Song, all had second-half chances.
Their pressure was rewarded when Van der Vaart handled a Geremi free kick in the area and Eto’o equalised with a well-struck 65th-minute penalty.
Substitute Huntelaar pounced seven minutes from time after Robben made an immediate impact when his shot from edge of the box hit a post and rebounded into the path of the striker who scored to give the Dutch a 100 per cent record.
Asked about Robben, Van Marwijk said: “I’m really pleased he played for 20 minutes and nothing happened. I expect he can play longer at the next match but I’m not sure if he’ll start.”
Netherlands, who won all their eight qualifying games, became the first team since Brazil in 1982 to win all their qualifying matches and all their group games.
RUSTENBERG
First-half free kick goals from Keisuke Honda and Yusuhito Endo helped give Japan a 3-1 win over Denmark on Thursday and send the Asian country into the round of 16 of the World Cup.
The Danes replied in the 81st when Jon Dahl Tomasson tapped in the rebound from his own penalty kick, but Shinji Okazaki slotted into an empty net in the 87th to seal the win.
Japan took a 2-0 lead after goals from free kicks within a space of less than 15 minutes as the Japanese collected their second win in Group E. They ended on six points compared with three for Denmark.
The Japanese reached the knockout round for the second time. They also progressed in 2002 when they were co-hosts, but missed out in two other editions.
Honda got his and Japan’s second goal of the tournament in the 17th with a blistering free kick from the right of the Danish area which went over the wall and swerved beyond Thomas Sorensen’s reach into the far corner. The Danish goalkeeper seemed to misjudge the ball, diving late and failing to get his hands on it.
Endo’s free kick was from directly in front of the Danish goal and he curled his shot around the wall. Despite leaping to his left, Sorensen couldn’t get to it.
Denmark was awarded a penalty when Makoto Hasebe brought down Daniel Agger. Tomasson hit the ball at Eiji Kawashima but the goalkeeer couldn’t hold it and the Danish captain tapped in the rebound.
Honda tormented the Danish defense with his tight dribbling before passing sideways for Okazaki, a substitute, to put the result beyond Denmark’s reach.
The final group match decided the second team to advance, as the Netherlands had already ensured progression. The Dutch beat Cameroon 2-1 in the other group game for its third win.
Japan opened its group campaign with a 1-0 win over Cameroon, when Honda also found the net, before losing 1-0 to the Netherlands.
Japan, using the same starting lineup for the third straight game, was the shrewder team at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium where Denmark needed a win to stay in the tournament.
The Japanese defended stoutly against Denmark’s high-ball tactics while making their own advantages in pace and agility tell by forcing the Danes to commit fouls around their penalty box.
From the outset the Danes looked to profit from their considerable height advantage, hitting frequent crosses from the flanks for forward pair Nicklas Bendtner and Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The industrious Japanese defense mostly crowded out the Denmark attack, though, while the pace of Hasebe and Honda was a constant threat for the Danish defense.
The Danes soon ran out of ideas going forward and became bogged down in midfield.
Three minutes after the restart, Endo almost extended Japan’s lead from another free kick, floating a long shot towards a misplaced Sorensen, who failed to grab the ball which bounced off the post.
Bendtner, starting his third straight game despite a lingering groin injury, and Tomasson, who has also been carrying a hamstring problem, probed forward but lacked a clinical touch inside the box.
Denmark coach Morten Olsen brought on forward Soren Larsen and midfielder Christian Eriksen but the busy Japanese forward line meant the Danes also had to be cautious.
