World Cup 2010: Group E

NETHERLANDS + DENMARK + CAMEROON + JAPAN

Fixtures:
ITV Mon June 14 Netherlands v Denmark Johannesburg 12.30
BBC Mon June 14 Japan v Cameroon Bloemfontein 15.00
ITV Sat June 19 Netherlands v Japan Durban 12.30
ITV Sat June 19 Cameroon v Denmark Pretoria 19.30
BBC Thu June 24 Denmark v Japan Rustenburg 19.30
BBC Thu June 24 Cameroon v Netherlands Cape Town 19.30


NETHERLANDS
Coach: Bert van Marwijk (since 2008)
FIFA World ranking: 4
World Cup best: Runners-up in 1974 and 1978
Last appearance: 2006 - Second Round
How they qualified: Last June, Netherlands became the first European team to qualify and they did so with a perfect record of eight wins out of eight in UEFA Qualifying Group Nine. The Oranje did not face much in the way of competition from Norway, Scotland, FYR Macedonia and Iceland, and they finished 14 points clear of the second-placed Norwegians. Qualification was secured with two games to spare after a 2-1 win in Iceland.
Premier League picks: Three Premier League forwards are in the Dutch squad with Liverpool pair Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel joined by Arsenal's Robin van Persie. Everton midfielder Johnny Heitinga and Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong have also made it into the final 23. But there was no place for 33-year-old former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, despite his move to Hamburg from Real Madrid in January in a bid for first-team football. Full squad.
Prediction: Quarter Finals
Four years ago, the feeling was that, barring a few players like Edwin van der Sar, Philip Cocu and Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Dutch squad was a little too young and inexperienced. Having made it through the group with ease, they got involved in a battle of attrition against Portugal in the last 16, and lost. A blinding start to the Euro 2008 finals with three-goal wins over France and Italy again promised much, but their charge was halted by an Andrei Arshavin-inspired Russia performance in the Quarter Finals. Russia did not qualify for World Cup 2010, of course, but Brazil did and the Oranje are scheduled to meet them at the Quarter Finals. Another exit in the last eight looks probable but only after what will surely be one of the games of the tournament.

DENMARK
Coach: Morten Olsen (since 2000)
FIFA World ranking: 36
World Cup best: Quarter Finals in 1998
Last appearance: 2002 - Second Round
How they qualified: Denmark upset the odds in UEFA Qualifying Group One to finish above the more-fancied Portugal and Sweden, and qualify automatically. A strong start was key to the Danes' campaign and, after an opening day 0-0 draw in Hungary, they went on to win five successive matches including away wins in Portugal (3-2) and Sweden (1-0). Denmark went on to beat rivals Sweden 1-0 again at home to secure their finals place with a game to spare.
Premier League picks: There are plenty of Premier League links in the Danish squad, starting with Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner who will lead the line along with former Newcastle forward Jon Dahl Tomasson, now at Feyenoord. In defence, Liverpool's Daniel Agger is joined by Blackburn Rovers' Lars Jacobsen while Stoke City's Thomas Sorensen will be first-choice goalkeeper if he recovers from a dislocated elbow, sustained in April. Creative spark will be expected to come from Dennis Rommedahl, formerly at Charlton Athletic, and Jesper Gronkjaer, who had spells at Chelsea and Birmingham City. Full squad.
Prediction: Second Round
Even just qualifying for the World Cup was a relief for Denmark after successive failures in 2006 and 2008. A result of their lack of finals action was them dropping into the third pot of seeds for the 2010 qualifying draw, and they were put against Portugal and Sweden. But coach Morten Olsen has remained popular with the Danish public, something that would have never happened in a larger European country. Support in him was vindicated by an excellent qualifying campaign and, if the experienced Tomasson and youthful Bendtner re-create that form this summer, then the Danes should at least get through their group.

CAMEROON
Coach: Paul Le Guen (since 2009)
FIFA World ranking: 19
World Cup best: Quarter Finals in 1990
Last appearance: 2002 - First Round
How they qualified: Cameroon recovered from a poor start to their final African Qualifying Group A to qualify for a sixth finals, a record for an African country. Just one point from their first two matches left the Indomitable Lions in danger of missing out, as they had done in the 2006 qualifiers. But the appointment of former Lyon coach Paul Le Guen proved a masterstroke as four successive wins helped them finish above Gabon, Togo and Morocco.
Premier League picks: Spurs pair Sebastien Bassong and Benoit Assou Ekotto will line up in defence for Cameroon with Arsenal's Alexandre Song in midfield. All three players are likely starters in a team led by Internazionale's Samuel Eto'o who has threatened not to go to the World Cup after criticism from Indomitable Lions legend Roger Milla. Reserve striker Vincent Aboubacar of Coton Sports is the only home-based player. Full squad.
Prediction: First Round
Cameroon's best World Cup finals performance is still back in 1990 when the Indomitable Lions led England 2-1 in a Quarter Final before two Gary Lineker penalties saved the day for the Three Lions in extra time. Since then, the Cameroonians have failed to impress, going out in the group stage in 1994, 1998 and 2002, and even failing to qualify in 2006. An exit at the Quarter Finals of the African Nations Cup in January has left the country even thirstier for success this summer. But, if defensive lapses continue to blight their game as they did in the Nations Cup, Eto'o and co up front will not get very far.

JAPAN
Coach: Takeshi Okada (since 2007)
FIFA World ranking: 45
World Cup best: Second Round in 2002
Last appearance: 2006 - First Round
How they qualified: Japan qualified automatically by finishing runners-up in final Asian Qualifying Group A but they failed to convince throughout much of the campaign, eventually finishing five points behind Australia. Nevertheless, the relative weakness of their other group opponents - Bahrain, Qatar and Uzbekistan - made this comfortable enough for the Japanese. Home draws against Qatar and Uzbekistan will not live long in the memory.
Premier League picks: There are no British-based players in the Japan squad and 19 of the 23 men play their club football in the J-League. However, Arsenal fans will recognise the name Junichi Inamoto and Celtic fans still adore the talents of Shunsuke Nakamura. They are now both back in their own domestic league, playing for Kawasaki Frontale and Yokohama F Marinos respectively. Full squad.
Prediction: First Round
Japan have never won a World Cup finals match outside of their own country, finishing with three defeats in 1998 and just one point in 2006. Based on their current form, Takeshi Okada's men will not improve that record this time. An unconvincing qualifying campaign was followed this year by a 3-1 home defeat against South Korea in the East Asian Championships before a 3-0 friendly defeat against Serbia in March. It is really difficult to envisage the few European-based Japanese players inspiring the team to victory and a third group stage exit out of four looks highly likely.