- Holland : Nervous start. But picked up their game and tempo in the second half of their first match against Denmark. Very good strikers. Fast paced and attacking game of football. Defense is a tad weak and might get exposed against a tough opponent. With 2 wins in 2 matches, they are the group leaders and the first European country to qualify for the Knockout stage.
- Japan : Very strong defense. They did a great job against the mighty Cameroon attack. With a win in their first match, they have a very good chance of qualifying for the next round. Very organised in their approach and very methodical. Even a draw with Denmark will suffice to qualify for the Knockout stage.
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| Matches in Group E |
- Denmark : Poorest performance after Greece. Lack agility and very bad at passing the ball. May be they were still very nervous in their first match. They seem to have regrouped and found their rhythm in their second match against Cameroon. They now need to beat Japan by atleast one goal to qualify for the next round.
- Cameroon : Strong and tall personalities. Very good strikers but they need to improve quickly to find any hope of moving ahead to the next round. Good defense as well. Unfortunately, they lost both their initial matches and became the first African team to exit the World Cup. I was very disappointed by their dismal performance.
After a tough fight against Cameroon, Holland managed to progress to the Knockout stage with a clean sheet winning all 3 group games with a maximum of 9 points. They now meet the surprise package Slovakia from Group F.
ReplyDeleteThough Japan had the goal difference advantage in their favor, they still needed to win to qualify for the next stage. They scored 2 fabulous goals from free kicks and booked their place into the Knockout stage as the second Asian team. They now meet Group F leaders Paraguay in the Knockout stage.
Denmark were as lackluster as earlier. They did produce some flashes of brilliance but had no reply to the Japanese free kicks.
Cameroon had a dismal performance against group leaders Holland and exit this year's World Cup breaking all those African hearts.