GROUP E
NETHERLANDS
FIFA World Ranking: 4
Team Colours: Orange shirts with black and white trim, black shorts, orange socks. Away kit is white shirts with blue trim and two thin Vs across the chest, one blue and one orange, blue shorts, white socks.
Manager: Bert van Marwijk took Rotterdam club Feyenoord to an unlikely UEFA Cup (remember that?) win in 2002 after a second-place Eredivisie finish in 2001, briefly returning there in 2007-08 before being appointed as Marco van Basten’s successor. Van Marwijk has maintained essentially the same formation as van Basten but the style has been turned down a notch to help protect a somewhat wobbly defence. He is well liked by the Dutch fans for his quiet and sensible approach.
Form: The Dutch swept their (admittedly not that testing) qualifying group with a 100 per cent winning record, scoring 17 goals and conceding just 2 in their eight games, and were impressive throughout with no signs of faltering. Their subsequent friendlies have been similarly promising, with one draw against Paraguay last November and wins over the USA, Mexico, Ghana and Hungary in the build up to the World Cup, the 4-1 and 6-1 victories in the latter two games being particularly fearsome. They look in very good shape.
Captain: Long-serving left-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst will retire at the end of the tournament after a fourteen-year international career, 454 club appearances and a trophy cabinet containing Scottish and English Premier Leagues, La Liga and Champions League medals. At 35, though, “Gio” has lost most of his pace and vigour to the extent that he is sometimes used in a defensive midfield role rather than the more demanding left-back position for which he is best known. Netherlands fans will hope that his experience and nous will make up for his physical shortcomings.
Key Man: Wesley Sneijder has had a gold star season at the forefront of Inter’s charge to a treble and will be the playmaker-in-chief for the Dutch side. Voted by 70% of Dutch fans as being the best free-kick taker in the country, Sneijder can spray passes with pinpoint accuracy to any of the forward three and is in arguably the form of his life.
Man to Watch: Exciting young right-back Gregory van der Wiel is the latest in a long line of products of the Ajax youth academy. The 22-year-old has attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester United as a result of a season which saw him win the Johan Cruyff Young Player of the Year award in Holland, and has been hailed by team-mate John Heitinga as the spiritual successor to Michael Reiziger.
Prediction: The Netherlands look very strong this year, with the only real worry being a slightly shaky-looking back line. The ongoing worries over Arjen Robben’s participation are a problem, as well, and while young Hamburg winger Eljero Elia could step up in his place, Robben’s absence would be a real blow to a settled, cohesive attacking quartet. They should be able to overcome the challenges in this group but face a tricky road to the final stages, probably meeting Paraguay or Italy in the second round and likely Brazil in the quarters. I can see them edging past whoever they meet in the last 16, and they could give Brazil a heck of a match, but I don’t see them being able to undo their organised defence. Quarter finals.
Squad List:
Goalkeepers
1. Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)
16. Michel Vorm (Utrecht)
22. Sander Boschker (FC Twente)
Defenders
2. Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax)
3. John Heitinga (Everton)
4. Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg)
5. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, captain (Feyenoord)
12. Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart)
13. Andre Ooijer (PSV)
15. Edson Braafheid (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders
6. Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich)
8. Nigel de Jong (Manchester City)
10. Wesley Sneijder (Inter)
14. Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax)
18. Stijn Schaars (FC Twente)
20. Ibrahim Afellay (PSV)
23. Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid)
Forwards
7. Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
9. Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
11. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
17. Eljero Elia (Hamburg)
19. Ryan Babel (Liverpool)
21. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (A.C. Milan)
DENMARK
FIFA World Ranking: 36
Team Colours: Red shirts with white trim and a white checkered strip horizontal across the chest, white shorts with red trim, red socks with white trim. Away kit is white shirts with red trim, red shorts with white trim, white socks with red trim.
Manager: 60-year-old Morten Olsen is one of the longest-serving managers at this World Cup, having taken the Denmark job back in 2000. Since then he’s led his team to qualification for the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and now South Africa. He is best loved, though, for being the captain of the Danish team through much of the 1980s, a team much admired by the fans and considered the best in their history. Some say Olsen is the most important player in the history of Danish football, and so it’s no surprise that support for his management has always been high.
Form: Denmark defied the odds to top their group at the expense of Portugal and Sweden, only losing once on their way to qualification and completing a double over rivals Sweden to the delight of their fans. They also scored three goals in the last ten minutes to secure a vital victory in Lisbon over the group favourites. In friendlies they’ve been inconsistent, though – a reasonably assured win over Senegal was followed by a defeat to Australia.
Captain: Well-traveled veteran forward Jon Dahl Tomasson is as crafty as ever. The former Newcastle, A.C. Milan, Villarreal and Stuttgart player, now back for a second spell at Feyenoord, plays as a second striker behind Nicklas Bendtner for Denmark these days. His record for Denmark commands respect – 110 caps and 51 goals. He may be getting on a bit but is still dangerous and not to be underestimated.
Key Man: Nicklas Bendtner thinks it’s him, but the main cog in the Danish engine is Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen. The, shall we say, combative midfielder really gets stuck in and if Denmark are to compete with teams like the Netherlands who keep possession so well, they will need Poulsen to be at his irrepressible best to win back the ball whenever possible.
Man to Watch: You may have heard people talk about him already, but Palermo centre-back Simon Kjaer is a really promising player whose stock is rising fast in the world game. At just 21 years old he is already an assured and reliable presence at the heart of the defence who can confidently deal with any opponent. Clubs all over Europe are chasing his signature and he has a chance this summer to push his potential salary up by a digit or two.
Prediction: Even with the depth in this group Denmark look pretty interesting. They are arguably a better balanced squad than Cameroon in terms of ability in every position and could make life difficult for many a team in South Africa. I think they’ll make it out of this group and could even spring a surprise against Italy in the second round.
Squad List:
Goalkeepers
1. Thomas Sorensen (Stoke)
16. Stephan Andersen (Brondby)
22. Jesper Christiansen (FC Copenhagen)
Defenders
3. Simon Kjaer (Palermo)
4. Daniel Agger (Liverpool)
5. William Kvist (FC Copenhagen)
6. Lars Jacobsen (Blackburn Rovers)
13. Per Kroldrup (Fiorentina)
15. Simon Poulsen (AZ Alkmaar)
23. Patrick Mtiliga (Malaga)
Midfielders
2. Christian Poulsen (Juventus)
7. Daniel Jensen (Werder Bremen)
8. Jesper Gronkjaer (FC Copenhagen)
10. Martin Jorgensen (Aarhus)
12. Thomas Kahlenberg (Wolfsburg)
14. Jakob Poulsen (Aarhus)
19. Dennis Rommedahl (Ajax)
20. Thomas Enevoldsen (FC Groningen)
21. Christian Eriksen (Ajax)
Forwards
9. Jon Dahl Tomasson, captain (Feyenoord)
11. Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal)
17. Mikkel Beckmann (Randers)
18. Soren Larsen (Duisburg)
JAPAN
FIFA World Ranking: 45
Team Colours: Blue shirts with red and white trim, white shorts with blue trim, blue socks with white trim. Away kit is the inverse.
Manager: Takeshi Okada was briefly in charge of the national team at France 98 but left after the tournament. His second, more long-term spell started in 2007 when he replaced Ivica Osim who had suffered a stroke. He bears a certain resemblance to a Japanese Sven-Goran Eriksson, and would be happy to emulate Sven’s traditional quarter final finish.
Form: Japan cruised through the various Asian qualifying sections until the final phase, where they were twice frustrated by Australia and finished second, though they booked their plane tickets an hour earlier thanks to the quirks of kick-off times. Their preparations have been less than ideal, though, with four losses in four friendlies against Serbia, South Korea, England, and Ivory Coast. In the game against England they showed signs of quality but shot themselves in the foot with two late own goals.
Captain: This will be goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi’s fourth World Cup, and strangely though he has been named as captain for his experience he will not start as the first choice goalkeeper, with Seigo Narazaki having impressed in qualifying (he, too, is in his fourth tournament). Kawaguchi has amassed 116 caps and is just 7 away from the all-time Japanese record.
Key Man: 26-year-old central midfielder Makoto Hasebe is a candidate to wear the captain’s armband if, as expected, Kawaguchi starts on the bench. The Wolfsburg man is a disciplined, mostly defensive-minded central player with plenty of stamina and determination, but can pick a pass well if needed to play further forward or on the right flank.
Man to Watch: CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda became the first Japanese player to play in the Champions League quarter-finals this season and one of Okada’s main tasks this summer will be to find the best way to utilise him. Usually an advanced midfielder in the centre, Honda takes a powerful free-kick and likes to get forward and take a shot, and can also play at left-back if necessary.
Prediction: Japan should be willing enough but will be too short of quality to get out of this difficult group. Their former talisman Shunsuke Nakamura has been in decline in the last few years since leaving Celtic for Espanyol and they look a little devoid of invention and creativity.
Squad List:
Goalkeepers
1. Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus)
21. Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)
23. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, captain (Jubilo Iwata)
Defenders
3. Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata)
4. Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus)
5. Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)
6. Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)
13. Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers)
15. Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)
22. Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama)
Midfielders
2. Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds)
7. Yasuhitu Endo (Gamba Osaka)
8. Daisuki Matsui (Grenoble)
10. Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama)
14. Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)
17. Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg)
18. Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow)
20. Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale)
Forwards
9. Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)
11. Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus)
12. Kishu Yano (Albirex Niigata)
16. Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe)
19. Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)
CAMEROON
FIFA World Ranking: 19
Team Colours: Green shirts with red trim, red shorts, yellow socks with red trim. Away kit is yellow shirts with thin vertical red stripes and trim, green shorts, red socks.
Manager: Paul Le Guen has been in charge of Cameroon for just one year after leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the 2009 season, whom he led to a Coupe de la Ligue victory but couldn’t bring out of the relegation zone. He quickly imposed himself on the team by dropping veteran defender Rigobert Song as captain and installing talismanic striker Samuel Eto’o, who then inspired the team to complete qualification for the finals. Le Guen was part of the Lyon success story, winning the second, third and fourth of their incredible seven straight French league wins, but struggled at Rangers and PSG. Has made a solid start with Cameroon, though.
Form: Under former boss Otto Pfister (one of the best names in sport) Cameroon made a slow start to their qualifying group, losing to Togo and drawing with Morocco, before Le Guen’s arrival perked things up. Both Song and Eto’o responded well to the change in captaincy, with Song winning back his place and Eto’o scoring the goals that put the Indomitable Lions through. Their friendlies haven’t been amazing – a come-from-behind one-all draw with Slovakia was followed by a routine loss to Portugal and an exciting but eventually disappointing defeat at the hands of Serbia, albeit without Eto’o.
Captain/Key Man: Samuel Eto’o was the subject of one of the strangest transfers of recent years when he was included along with £60 million in a deal to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the world’s most over-rated striker, to Barcelona from Inter. Under Jose Mourinho’s stewardship, Eto’o has been playing in a slightly unusual role out on the right wing as a hard-working inside forward to make room for Diego Milito in the centre, but has done pretty well in that position on the way to winning the treble in his first season. Still one of the world’s most devastating finishers, Eto’o is a striker feared the world over and will be Cameroon’s main chance of getting out of this group. If you take him out of the equation Cameroon just don’t have much in the way of firepower, but Eto’o knows that this may be his last chance of making the impact on the World Cup that we all know he is capable of.
Man to Watch: Stephane Mbia joined Didier Deschamps’ Marseille last summer and became an integral part of their title-winning side having repositioned himself from central midfield to centre half. The 24-year-old could yet start at right-back for Cameroon, though, with no player having made the position his own in qualifying. Strong, powerful and versatile, Mbia’s physical presence will make life difficult for forwards.
Prediction: Will run it close with Denmark to get out of the group, and while it could go either way, my money is on Cameroon being pipped at the post and having to settle for third in Group E. Their midfield is willing, but Alexandre Song aside, relatively limited and their strength in depth isn’t quite good enough, with everything depending on Samuel Eto’o being fit and firing. A lack of experience in defence past Song, Geremi and Mbia if he plays there may be telling as well.
Squad List:
Goalkeepers
1. Carlos Idriss Kameni (Espanyol)
16. Souleymanou Hamidou (Kayserispor)
22. Guy N’dy Assembe (Valenciennes)
Defenders
2. Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham)
3. Nicolas N’Koulou (Monaco)
4. Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)
5. Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham)
8. Geremi Nijtap (Ankaragucu)
12. Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes)
14. Aurelien Chedjou (Lille)
19. Stephane Mbia (Marseille)
Midfielders
6. Alexandre Song (Arsenal)
7. Landry N’Guemo (Celtic)
10. Achille Emana (Real Betis)
11. Jean Makoun (Lyon)
18. Eyong Enoh (Ajax)
20. Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslauten)
21. Joel Matip (Schalke)
Forwards
9. Samuel Eto’o, captain (Inter)
13. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Nuremberg)
15. Pierre Webo (Mallorca)
17. Mohammadou Idrissou (Freiburg)
23. Vincent Aboubakar (Cotonsport Garoua)
Posted by George Ankers 
georgeankers.com 