Netherlands v Denmark, Soccer City, Johannesburg
Netherlands began decent, creating a few chances through Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie. De Jong came close, as did Sneijder and van Persie. However, they couldn't finish in the first half against Denmark, who created hardly any chances all half. 0.0 halftime. As soon as the whistle blew for the 2nd half, Netherlands came down and got service, and an attempted clearence from the Danes was turned into their own net. Netherlands up one. Soon enough, they were through again, but Sorensen turned the ball onto his post. Dirk Kuyt beat all Danish defenders to the rebound and the Dutch were up two nil. The Netherlands came close to adding a third but couldn't finish, so the final score: Netherlands 2.0 Denmark
Japan v Cameroon, Free State Stadium, Bloemfentein
Early on, neither side could really get ahold of the ball. Japan settled 1st, and it set the tone for the half. In the 34th, a ball was whipped in for Japan, and Honda took a wonderful first touch, before putting Japan up 1.0 at half. Cameroon, after a dreadful first half, began to use their size to control the match. Eto'o was nearly through behind, but decent goalkeeping from Japan denied Cameroon from equalizing. In the 88th, a shot from around 25 yards smacked the bar, coming so close to save a point for the Indominable Lions. It was the first long shot on target of the tournament, and Japan were very fortunate to hold on to their first ever World Cup win on foreign soil. Final: Japan 1.0 Cameroon
Group E
Japan are in a great position to progress to the 2nd round after beating Cameroon. Netherlands are still favorites to win the group, following their win over Denmark. Denmark and Cameroon both have work to do if they to are advance.
Italy v Paraguay, Free State Stadium, Cape Town
Both sides started strong in the first Group F encounter, and both came close to opening the scoring. Then in the 39th minute, a free kick to Paraguay had great service and Alcaraz headed past Gianluigi Buffon. Halftime: Italy 0.1 Paraguay. Italy started better in the 2nd half, and in 63rd, a corner was not dealt with by Villar, and De Rossi scored at the back post for Italy. Italy were fortunate, and it wasn't a strong start for them, and the final score is: Italy 1.1 Paraguay
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