World Cup 2010 Previews: Group E

E for Effort

The draw for World Cup 2010 (South Africa!) is complete, and now we must wait for 6 months until the matches begin. But here at UF we are incredibly impatient, and have no fear of being proven idiots, so we are launching our Group previews. Who plays who, and where? Which players will we identify as vital to their country’s advancement only for them to be left off the roster in the next few months? Which country will we tab as the surprise of the group only to see them fail to earn a single point in the group stage?

Join me after the jump for generalizations, highly inaccurate predictions, and straight-up misinformation, won’t you?

(All times EST)

June 14
Netherlands v. Denmark — Soccer City, Johannesburg — 8.30am
Japan v. Cameroon — Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein — 11am

June 19
Netherlands v. Japan — Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban — 8.30am
Cameroon v. Denmark — Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria — 3.30pm

June 24
Denmark v. Japan — Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenberg — 3.30pm
Cameroon v. Netherlands — Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town — 3.30pm

Now onto the teams…

Country: Netherlands (Brilliant Orange)
Coach: Bert van Marwijk
Current FIFA ranking: 3
WC history: Runner-up in 1974 and 1978, Fourth Place in 1998, and f*ck all else beyond that. Didn’t even qualify for three of the last seven World Cups since 1982.
How they qualified: Unbeaten in their group, going 8-0-0 against Norway, Scotland, Macedonia and Iceland, scoring 17 goals and conceding just two.
Players of note: Ageless captain Gio van Bronckhorst, who showed in Euro ’08 that he was still dangerous in his 30s. Nigel de Jong, the midfield enforcer and haunter of nightmares. The absurdly gifted attacking midfield triumvirate of Ibrahim Afellay, Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder. Workhorse Dirk Kuyt. The erratic, emotional forwards Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Arjen Robben.
Important notes: They’re not exactly a team known for intestinal fortitude in international competitions, and thus will need to temper their attacking panache with the kind of defensive brutality that you need at a World Cup, where it’s seven games from start to finish. Will Robin van Persie be healthy in time? He’s arguably the best striker they have at present, and trying to tussle in South Africa will be tough without his instinctual work in and around the penalty area.

Country: Denmark (Danish Dynamite, Olsen’s Eleven)
Coach: Morten Olsen
Current FIFA ranking: 26
WC history: Quarter-finals in 1998. Made the Round of 16 in 1986 and 2002. Failed to qualify for, or didn’t enter, 15 World Cups.
How they qualified: Topped a tricky ground that included Sweden, Hungary, and Portugal, going 6-3-1, scoring 16 and conceding just 5.
Players of note: Midfield anchor Christian Poulsen. Crazy-old strikers Jesper Gronkjaer, Jon-Dahl Tomasson, Martin Jorgenson, and Dennis Rommedahl. Pink-booted forward Nicklas Bendtner. Defensive powerhouses Simon Kjaer, Per Kroldrup, and Simon Agger.
Important notes: The Danes suffer from an identity crisis, caused in large part by management and their failure to adequately prepare for the retirement of several key players. They are capable of flowing football, but will most likely resort to the usual skulduggery that is needed to escape the group.

Country: Japan (Samurai Blue)

Coach: Takeshi Okada
Current FIFA ranking: 43
WC history: Round of 16 in 2002, the only time they’ve escaped the group stages. Qualified for every WC since 1998, having missed every tournament before that.
How they qualified: Finished 2nd in their AFC Qualifying Group behind Australia, going 4-3-1 with 11 goals scored.
Players of note: Wily veteran midfielders Junichi Inamoto, Yasuhito Endo, and Shunsuke Nakamura. Fleet-footed Makoto Hasebe. Slender scorer Keiji Tamada. Robust center-back Yuji Nakazawa.
Important notes: The prevailing cliche about the Asian teams is their lack of physicality. At the World Cup, some degree of muscle and ruthlessness is essential, especially to win those 120-minute wars of attrition that conclude with the mental drain of penalties. This Japanese team will be no different; for all their pace and energy, the inability to impose themselves physically on the game will prove their downfall.

Country: Cameroon (Indomitable Lions)
Coach: Paul Le Guen
Current FIFA ranking: 11
WC history: Quarter-finals in 1990, where they fell to England 3-2 in extra-time. Failed to escape the group stages in ’82, ’94, ’98, and ’02.
How they qualified: Went 4-1-1 in qualifying to top their group.
Players of note: Red-card liability Rigobert Song. Pacy malcontent Samuel Eto’o. Left-back who doesn’t love soccer Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Savvy defensive midfielder Jean Makoun. Elderly tackler Geremi. Aloof utility man Alex Song.
Important notes: The perennial wild-card from the African continent, it remains to be seen whether they can successfully elude elimination at the first hurdle once again. With a squad stacked full of experienced, aggressive midfielders, capped off by a proven top-flight striker, they’re still trying to overcome the lapses in concentration that have dogged them in the past.

My group prediction might look obvious, but I feel like this group holds little in the way of surprise. Things should hold to form, with a resolute and well-marshaled Danish side able to pip a frenzied Cameroon for that second spot.

Netherlands
Denmark
Cameroon
Japan