World Cup 2010 Day 8 Schedule, Preview, Predictions

On Saturday, Groups D and E complete their second matches of group play, with the Netherlands and Ghana the name teams on a day’s docket that has the unenviable task of trying to follow an exciting and surprising Friday of soccer.

Both the Dutch and the Ghanians will be looking to get to six points and stay at the top of their groups. For the Netherlands, their match against Japan gives the Oranje a chance to, for all intents and purposes, put Group E away. Ghana, on the other hand, could also move to six points, thought they may need to. Six points may be the minimum to have a chance at getting to the knockout stage out of a Group D.

Saturday’s matches from South Africa in World Cup 2010:

Where They Stand: At the top of Group E with three points each, the Netherlands or Japan could secure a place in the knockout round with a win Saturday morning and a draw in Pretoria. Japan is coming-off their first World Cup win on foreign soil, their 1-0 opening win over Cameroon, while the Netherlands posted a critically panned 2-0 win over Denmark. Dutch winger Arjen Robben has returned to training, having been sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring injury, but he is not expected to play.

Player to Watch, Netherlands: Japan does not have the Dutch’s talent in midfield but they do have depth, and if attacking midfielder Keisuke Honda starts as the ostensible striker again, Japan will outnumber the Dutch through the middle. Nigel De Jong, as the Netherlands’ ball-winning presence, can help offset that advantage. Where Japan can build upon the troubles Denmark caused the Dutch by combining Morten Olsen’s formation with Takeshi Okada’s personnel, a better game from De Jong on Saturday can make-up-for Japan’s 6-on-5 advantage in midfield.

Player to Watch, Japan: Like de Jong, Yashuhito Endo will play a destroyer’s role (with the fact that I’ve picked two defensive midfielders as players to watch hinting at how important I feel the midfield battle will be).

Endo is more Mark van Bommell than de Jong in that, if Japan is to be successful, Endo’s distribution will be as important as his ball-winning. Be it as an outlet value when Japan’s established possession or transitioning the Blue Samurai into attack, Endo will need to stabilize the Japanese amidst the Dutch attack. In that way, the 30-year-old’s leadership will also be vital for a team who, despite their talent, still seems to lack the belief needed to compete at this level.

Prediction: In a like-for-like battle with Japan, there’s a lot to like about the Netherlands. In one of the more attractive matches of the World Cup, there won’t be any ambiguity about which team is better. A Netherlands 2, Japan 0 result seems safe, but this one could also go downhill for the Japanese and end up 4-0.

Where They Stand: Australia is coming off a 4-0 loss and will be without their best player, with Pim Verbeek having made the type of defensive lineup changes for the Germany match (with no success) that often cause a team to question their belief. Joshua Kennedy and Mark Bresciano could be back in the lineup to play Ghana, but Verbeek has already hinted at his view of their capabilities.

Ghana got a key three points from Serbia but, thanks to the Serbs turning around and beating the Germans, the Ghanians need three from Oz. Closing the group on Wednesday against Germany, Ghana is looking at a situation here six points may not make it out of the group. Dropping points to Australia would be a major set-back.

Player to Watch, Ghana: Asamoah Gyan plays on his own at the top of Ghana’s 4-5-1 and is quietly one of the better players in that role in this tournament. Against an Australia back line that is stalwart but slow, his movement will cause problems for Lucas Neill and Craig Moore. Adept at picking the spots into which he can run and show himself for passes from Kwadwo Asamoah and Milovan Rajevac’s wingers, Gyan could be set for a big day, with Australia having nobody who can deal with the Rennes-man.

Player to Watch, Australia: Tim Cahill is suspended and Harry Kewell just happens to be healthy? That’s a coincidence that makes you wonder if Kewell isn’t being rushed back. But what choice does Australia have? Without Cahill, they need somebody capable of scoring goals, and although Joshua Kennedy is likely to return to the lineup, Verbeek may as well roll the dice on Kewell now. He selected the Galatasaray attacker knowing he was hurt, knowing that (at point) he would have to try Kewell. If not now, when?

Prediction: Rajevac has a tendency to play conservatively, but if Ghana starts the same team (with the same intensity) that opened the Serbia match, the Black Stars should get to three points. Out of respect for the fight I expect the Socceroos to bring to a must-win match, Ghana 1, Australia 0 feels like the most probable result.

Where They Stand: Cameroon is coming off a disappointing performance that falls in line with each of their other performances over the last six months. Now there is word of dissension within the Lions’ camp concerning how Paul Le Guen is deploying his team. Now - and this will be a huge surprise - Samuel Eto’o is not happy.

Denmark lost to the Netherlands but played well, showing the tactical discipline for which they have become known. That discipline could see the Danes pick apart a Cameroon team that, for lack of offering anything that threatens their opponents, is there for the taking.

Player to Watch, Denmark: A healthy Nicklas Bendtner can make live easier for the Danes just as he could have made things easier against the Dutch, when he missed an easy header in the first half that should have put Denmark up one. For a solid Denmark team that has neither weaknesses nor stand-out players, Bendtner’s ability to finish his chances will take the Danes from being an average team to a dangerous one.

Player to Watch, Cameroon: Bendtner’s counterpart, Samuel Eto’o, is Cameroon’s player to watch, but not because he is the team’s captain, leading scorer, or their most talented player. Eto’o demands our attention because his behavior has threatened to derail Cameroon’s World Cup, with his off-the-field problems threatening to transfer to the pitch.

In the run-up to the World Cup, he threatened to walk away from the team after criticism from Roger Milla. This week, he has said he no longer intends to play on the right wing, where he was deployed by Le Guen against Japan. Right or wrong about the deployment or the merits of Milla’s criticism, Eto’o is living up to his reputation as a truculent and reluctant star. Paul Le Guen has to regret taking the armband from Rigobert Song and giving it to Eto’o.

Prediction: If you are picking Cameroon, you are picking them with faith that they will transcend the mounting evidence that they are not World Cup-caliber. They have the talent to do that, but let’s not cast wishes. Denmark 1, Cameroon 0 with the note that the Lions are capable of more.