Group E

Introduction to group:
Group E is one of those groups that have a top team with 3 others all trying to be second best. The Dutch are head and shoulders above the other 3 teams, Denmark, Japan, and Cameroon. They have some of the top players in the world and play, as it is commonly said total football. The Dutch are the "dark horse" for me in this World Cup. Could they finally put it all together and win the cup? I believe so, and wouldn't be surprised one bit if they were the ones on the pedestal come July 11th. The rest of the group is, by no means, boring though. Don't get the wrong impression, the other teams are talented. Denmark is the quiet killer. They aren't the most attractive or notable European side but they do play some pretty soccer. They are somewhat physical but aren't going to slam you to the ground like a Serbia. They are a pretty middle of the road team that is capable of making some noise if the soccer gods smile down on them. Similar to them is Japan, a very quite but talented Asian team. Very capable of making a run at big teams and having no fear whatsoever about it. Last, but certainly not least, one of the prime African nations of Cameroon. Their shinning star is Eto'o. A brilliant forward who can run faster than a speeding bullet. The Dutch should be capable of getting 9 points in this group. The question will be, which of the other 3 plays well enough against the rest of the competition to take that last spot to advance.

Netherlands
The Oranje fans should be loud (both vocally and visually)in South Africa

The not orange enough home kit

A rather sweet road kit for the dutch, but where is the orange?!?!


Holland, the team that plays the best football but just can't seem to win it. You love to hate them and you hate to love them, but at the end of the day you find yourself cheering for them in some cases. The Dutch are, in my opinion, the team that comes into the tournament with the best players. All across Europe, Dutch players have been representing clubs at the top level and been the talk of the town. First and foremost, Wesley Sneijder. The Inter man has been quite amazing this year at the club level. He alone seemed capable of beating numerous teams. His performance during the Champions League campaign was superb and in the final he was, in my opinion, man of the match (not milito, shocking I know). The crafty midfielder, however, does have a bad side. His attitude screams primadona. If opposing teams are capable of getting in his head, he will get sucked out of the game and become a submarine. Let's just hope the refs aren't awarding Emmy’s this time around. Arjen Robben is another player that will strike fear in many opponents. While he did pick up a knock in a recent friendly, he should be fine to go by, at the latest, the end of the group stages. Holland won’t miss him while he is gone, that is how deep they are. The man that will be putting the ball in the net, and likely at an alarming rate, is Arsenal striker Van Persie. If you are an Arsenal supporter you love this man to death. If not, you hate his guts eternally. The man is pure class up top and finishes superbly. The Dutch, in my book, are the top team this world cup.
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Sander Boschker, Maarten Stekelenburg, Michel Vorm
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz, Edson Braafheid, Johnny Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Andre Ooijer, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Gregory Van Der Wiel
Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay, Nigel De Jong, Demy De Zeeuw, Stijn Schaars, Wesley Sneijder, Mark Van Bommel, Rafael Van der Vaart
Forwards: Ryan Babel, Eljero Elia, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie


Denmark
A lot will ride on the shoulders of Bendtner for the Danes

Red Home kit, no surprise there

A pretty classy road kit though


Denmark, what to say what to say. They are a team that you look at and go "how did they qualify". I don't mean to be rude, but they aren't loaded with talent and come from Europe, a place loaded with talent. In the back, however, they do have the talented Daniel Agger. The Liverpool man has some great attributes, but his glaring flaw is his ability in the air. For such a big man, he is constantly beat to headers by opposing forwards. Not a great thing to be said of a back, especially when the other 3 teams in the group like to get it wide and move it in on the occasion. The man up top, however, seems to have the whole nation on his shoulders. Nicklas Bendtner can go from amazing to complete crap in 3 seconds flat, just ask Arsenal fans. The kid is loaded with talent... and an ego. He thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and on the occasion, he backs it up. However, far too often, he suffers from making a million dollar touch and then a shot not even worth a penny. The position he plays is cruel, and seems to always be eating away at him. If he is on, Denmark can have high hopes. But if he is even slightly off, they should start packing to head home.
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Stephan Andersen, Jesper Christiansen, Thomas Sorensen
Defenders: Daniel Agger, Lars Jacobsen, Simon Kjaer, Per Kroldrup, Patrick Mtiliga
Midfielders: Mikkel Beckmann, Thomas Enevoldsen, Christian Eriksen, Jesper Gronkjaer, Daniel Jensen, Martin Jorgensen, Thomas Kahlenberg, William Kvist, Christian Poulsen, Jakob Poulsen, Simon Poulsen, Dennis Rommedahl
Forwards: Nicklas Bendtner, Søren Larsen, Jon Dahl Tomasson


Japan
The Japanese have the ability to play some amazing football

The interesting home kit

Followed by the road kit, nice to see some personality in the kits, finally


Japan jumped onto the soccer stage, like South Korea, when they hosted the 2002 world cup. They were a brilliant side that had a lot of work rate and some flair to bring excitement to the crowd. The Japanese have since developed some of the best players around the world. Shunsuke Nakamura is the man to watch. The former Celtic man is brilliant with his left foot and has the ability to dissect a defense with a single pass. The last thing any opposing team wants to do is to give up a set piece near the box against this team. Nakamura has the strength and precision to pick out the corner with relative ease. Following Nakamura is a cast of players with the ability to shine. The top of that list, to me at least, is the CSKA Moscow man Keisuke Honda. The talented midfielder has speed and skill not seen in many players. He works hard, does the spectacular, all with a smile on his face. Honda is one of my personal favorite emerging players. I think this world cup could be his platform to jump to a very big club (no offense to CSKA) and make a name for himself even more so.
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Eiji Kawashima, Seigo Narazaki
Defenders: Daiki Iwamasa, Yuichi Komano, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuto Nagatomo, Yuji Nakazawa, Tulio Tanaka, Atsuto Uchida
Midfielders: Yuki Abe, Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda, Junichi Inamoto, Daisuke Matsui, Kengo Nakamura, Shunsuke Nakamura
Forwards: Takayuki Morimoto, Shinji Okazaki, Yoshito Okubo, Keiji Tamada, Kisho Yano


Cameroon
Hopefully their play will be as bold as their jerseys

The very loud home kit

And a road kit that screams "we're fast"


The Lions of Cameroon look to take advantage of the African soil and spoil the show for Japan and Denmark. A relatively talented side, but they aren’t very deep. Cameroon has its work cut out for them, and thus will be relying heavily on their poster boy, Samuel Eto'o. The former Barca now Inter forward has speed and skill like no other. He will run past you and make it look like he is out for a walk. The guy is talented, but a reoccurring theme within this group, he is a bit of a head case. If he gets off his game he gets a bit of a hot head. He has skill unmatched, but an ego that not even Pele or Maradona could back up all the time. Eto'o can only do so much, though, and thus he needs a good supporting cast. He has a decent one, with the most notable player coming from the defense. Sebastien Bassong from Spurs had a decent season. He is a very sound center back with talent like the best of them. Spurs took 4th from Liverpool and City this season and a lot of credit rides on this man and the rest of his defense there in London. The key will be, of course, connecting these two. The man in the middle with that duty is the Arsenal standout Alexandre Song. He is a very talented midfielder with the ability to transition well. He will be the vital piece of their success I believe. Cameroon will be speedy and will fight to the end, but will it be enough?
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Souleymanou Hamidou, Carlos Kameni, Guy Ndy
Defenders: Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Sebastien Bassong, Gaetan Bong, Geremi, Joel Matip, Stéphane Mbia, Nicolas Nkoulou, Rigobert Song
Midfielders: Aurélien Chedjou, Achille Emana, Eyong Enoh, Jean Makoun, Georges Mandjeck, Landry N`Guemo, Alexandre Song
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar, Maxim Choupo-Moting, Samuel Eto'o, Mohamadou Idrissou, Pierre Webó


Matches:
6/14: Netherlands 3 - Denmark 0
6/14: Japan 1 - Cameroon 1
6/19: Netherlands 2 - Japan 1
6/19: Cameroon 2 - Denmark 1
6/24: Denmark 1 - Japan 3
6/24: Cameroon 2 - Netherlands 2

Derived Standings:
Netherlands 7 pts, +4 GD, 7 GF, 3 GA
Cameroon 5 pts, +1 GD, 5 GF, 4 GA
Japan 4 pts, +1 GD, 5 GF, 4 GA
Denmark 0 pts, -6 GD, 2 GF, 8 GA

Key:
pts = Points
GD = Goal Differential
GF = Goals For
GA = Goals Against

This could be one of the more fun groups to watch despite it having a team that walks through everyone. How will Holland play on the last day of the group stage? That’s the big question for Japan and Cameroon.

Best Kit in the group: Holland Road
- Really a great group in terms of kits, Holland Home, Cameroon's kits, Japan's kits and even the road kit for Denmark are all class

Worst kit in the group: Denmark Home
- No honorable mentions as all the other kits were class. Even Denmark's home kit was cool, just didn’t understand the white part on the front. Is that Morse code?

Cheers,
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