more pain for Danes; joy for Japan

here are the results from the first round matches of Group E.



Holland 2-0 Denmark
it wasnt the prettiest of football matches, but Holland held on for a fortuitous win over Denmark. it began drearily like all the other first round matches: long balls, strong defending, and keeping possession of the ball for long periods. but the deadlock was finally broken by guess what? an own goal. Robin van Persie left Dane goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson stranded away from the goalmouth and crossed the ball, only for Simon Poulsen's header to hit team-mate Daniel Agger's back and dribble into the unguarded Danish goal. the Danes tried to find the equaliser, but when Dirk Kuyt made the game safe for the Dutch by slamming home his 85th minute effort, the Danish players looked tired and wished the referee would blow the final whistle ASAP. OVERALL - not the most convincing performance by Holland, but the determination was there. Denmark need to give a good showing in their next few matches to show that they deserve to go through to the last 16.



Japan 1-0 Cameroon
ah, Japan. serial underachievers on the international stage. somehow coach Takeshi Okada strangely insisted his side can make it to the semi-finals, but recent performances have shown that his Japan side are not capable of scoring goals and defending well. will his team improve and prove him right, or will Japan fail to get through to the last 16 and make him eat his words? well, this first game against Cameroon was not exactly the easiest match, but if Okada can boast of making it to the semis, he must surely have the tactics to counter the African side that includes players like Samuel Eto'o and Alex Song. true enough, Japan's defenders roughed it out and held back attacks from Cameroon and were rewarded for their hard work when, in the 39th minute, Keisuke Honda smashed home a near range shot to score the only goal in the match. in the second half though, it was dominated by Cameroon, but they just could not prise open the tough-as-nails Japanese defence. OVERALL - a good showing by Japan to prove their doubters wrong. it was their first victory on foreign soil. Cameroon need to be more cohesive in attack.