Netherlands to take on Japan for top-of-table clash in Group E
DURBAN, South Africa, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Saturday brings a top- of-the-table clash in World Cup Group E as leaders the Netherlands lock horns with Japan, just one goal behind clip on hair extensions in second place.
On the back of their spirited 1-0 win over Cameroon in their opening match, the Blue Samurai enter their second outing aiming to stun their highly-rated rivals in the World Cup for the first time in the African continent.
The two sides are meeting for the second time in just 10 months, having squared off in a friendly last September, when the Netherlands coasted to a 3-0 win.
Bert van Marwijk's Dutch side will start as strong favourites as they appear to have an edge, having won seven and drawn one of their eight match-ups against Asian teams. However, Takeshi Okada's charges will be hopeful of denting this record.
On route to the World Cup finals, the Netherlands become the first team to join hosts South Africa, and Japan booked their fourth consecutive appearance with two games to spare.
The Dutch continued the rampant form in the build-up, rounding off their preparations with four wins, including a 6-1 mauling of Hungary. Japan, on the other hand, arrived in Africa on the back of three friendly losses.
ralph lauren polosWith star winger Arjen Robben ruled out of the first game due to injury, Van Marwijk's side still managed a 2-0 comfortable win over Denmark. Okada also left out one of his stars, Shunsuke Nakamura, and pushed Kesuke Honda up front, a decision that was vindicated by a hard-fought opening win.
After inspiring his side to victory over the Danes, Wesley Sneijder has further underlined his status as the conductor of the Oranje orchestra. The Inter Milan midfielder also played a pivotal role in their 3-0 friendly win over the Japanese.
Kesuke Honda, meanwhile, is thriving in his new attacking role and grabbed his team's all-important goal against Cameroon. Having spent a season with VVV-Venlo, he will hope to utilise his knowledge of Dutch football to impress against the illustrious opponents.
On statistics, the Netherlands have riot in their previous three meetings with Asian sides, scoring a total of 10 goals, with the highlight a 5-0 dismantling of South Korea at France 1998.
However, "The Japan game won't be easy as they play a good style of football, running a lot and combining Replica Omega Watches well. In our last meeting they put us under pressure for an hour but eventually we won. The second match is crucial for both sides and we will go all out to win," said Dutch midfielder Sneijder.
Japanese midfielder Daisuke Matsui said that "The Netherlands test is important for us if we are to get through the group phase. We lost our last meeting with them, so we are motivated to win this time around. It remains to be seen whether we can get a good result but we won' t give up without a fight."
And here comes the question -- Can Japan become the first Asian team to beat the Netherlands?
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