Netherlands V Japan kicked the day off and once again the Dutch kept the ball for fun but did not put the Japanese defence under pressure. It was a cagey affair which Japan worked hard and made it difficult for the Dutch. The game was decided by a great strike from outside the box by Wesley Sneijder, which swerved in front of the Japanese keeper. It was a great strike but the goalkeeper should have done a lot better. The Dutch have started slowly but have 6 points, in Euro 2008 they started with a bang and went out with a whimper, they will hope that this campaign is built or more solid foundations.


The second game of the day saw the great African hope of the tournament, Ghana and the ageing Australians. I felt that Australia started well and had gotten over the hangover from the Germany hammering. They could have had a penalty early on when Kewell went over in the box They scored not long after that when the Ghanaian goalkeeper spilled a strike from Briciano and Holden was quickest to react and gave Australia a deserved lead. Ghana then started to create some chances and got in behind the Australian defence once or twice and this led to a incident where the ball hit Kewells arm on the line. The referee had no doubts and gave a penalty and also sent Kewell off. One could feel a little sorry for Kewell but it was the correct decision by the referee. Once again Australians were faced to play the game with 10 men. Gyan finished from the spot for the second game running, however Ghana failed to kick on from here and in fact the best chances in the rest of the game fell to Australia. It was a good disciplined performance by Australia and they have given themselves a chance against Serbia in this tightest of groups. They will have another day out in the Woolshed.


The final game of the evening was a thoroughly enjoyable affair and I think the best game of the tournament so far although Slovenia V USA gives it a good run for its money. Cameroon recovered from the terrible performance in the 1st game to produce a display of attacking football and bad defending. The Danes were a bit more well organised by a few sloppy moments meant both teams gave up numerous chances throughout the game. An early error by the whole Danish defence led to Eto's opener and Cameroon had chances to extend their lead. However Denmark got back on terms with a great counter attack set up by bright young hope Simon Kjaer with his sensational raking 60-yard cross-field pass for elder statesman Rommedahl and he crossed for Arsenal striker Bendtnar to finish inside the 6 yard box. The pattern of the game was chances at both end and the game was decided by a great individual goal by the forever young Rommedahl who turned the clock back to cut inside his marker and finished with his left foot. So Cameroon are out and Holland are through and Japan and Denmark meet in the last game to decide who comes second. I felt a bit sorry for Cameroon who put in a very good display and must kick themselves about how bad they were in the opening match. Sadly the World Cup has lost an African team and it looks like more to follow pretty quickly. What effect this will have on the support at the games is hard to tell but there is a possibility that it may take away from the atmosphere and buzz around the games. Lets hope not as the games have really started to improve in entertainment value in the last few days.