World Cup Live game analysis:
Live score: Holland 1 - Japan 0
Goal scorers: Wesley Sneijder
Venue: Moses Mabhida stadium, Durban
Match timing: June 19, 4:55 PM
My prediction: Holland 3 - Japan 0
Holland squad: Stekelenburg (GK), Van Der Wiel, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst (Captain), Heitinga, Van Bommel, De Jong, Van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Van Persie and Dirk Kuyt.
Japan squad: Eiji Kawashima (GK), Abe, Komano, Kulio, Nagatomo, Matsui, Yasuhito Endo, Okubo, Hasebe (Captain), Keisuke Honda and Nakazawa.
Click here to read my preview on Holland Vs Japan game.
Live World Cup analysis:
03:42 PM IST: Wecome to first game of the day. Strong favourite Holland will take on Japan. I am expecting one sided game despite Japan’s victory over Cameroon.
04:10 PM IST: Elia is once again on bench despite wonderful performance against Japan. Most coaches are rigid in their tactics. Most of them do not believe in young players. Just see how Javier Hernandez changed Mexico fortunes. Elia found place in the Bundesliga team of the season.
04:24 PM IST: Both teams scored just 1 goal in their opening games. Holland’s other goal is Denmark’s own goal.
04:29 PM IST: Eiji Kawashima and Honda are best players for Japan against Cameroon.
04:32 PM IST: Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder is the best midfielder in the tournament along with Mesut Ozil of Germany. Sneijder is in great form but Van Persie failed to utilise good chances against Denmark.
04:42 PM IST: Netherlands scored 16 goals and conceded 4 goals in last 5 games. They have not lost a single game in 2009 and 2010. They conceded just 2 goals in world cup qualifiers.
04:45 PM IST: Japan’s victory over Cameroon is the first in last 5 international games. Japan is the first team to qualify for 2010 world cup after South Africa(host).
Game Kicks off at Durban.
8 minute: Is it Jabulani magic? Sneijder freekick missed target narrowly. Movement of ball is really unpredictable.
13 minute: Japan is living dangerously in its penalty area. De Jong and Persie are already on yellows – another means they will miss game against Cameroon.
20 minute: So far, Japanese are defending well. Holland surely missed Elia. It is difficult to understand these coaches and their rigid game plans. Absence of Robben and Elia created too much pressure on Sneijder.
25 minute: Is Van Persie playing boxing or football? Holland is famous for freeflowing attacking football but Van Persie is playing physical game.
27 minute: Good tackle by Holland captain, Van Bronckhorst.
In this world cup, Holland is playing like Germany while Germany is playing like Holland. It is good if it helps them to win trophy otherwise they are without either fans or trophies.
32 minutes: Small teams mastered the art of containing or defeating top teams in this world cup. Except Argentina, all are struggling to break those tactics including Brazil. Too much dependence of short passes by topt eams and absence of Ronaldo like forward who can take on defenders helped small teams to stick to these targets.
35 minute: Yellow card to Van Der Weil (Holland).
37 minute: In this world cup, small teams like Chile, Slovenia, Mexico, New Zealand and North Korea played better than many top teams.
Japan has one shot on target while none for Netherlands.
42 minute: Japan is creating lot of chances but they are missing that final ball. About Holland, nothing to say. Another poor performance from a top European nation.
First half ends. Poor performance from Holland.
Holland 0 – Japan 0
70% possession by Holland – 2 shots on goal.
30% possession by Japan – 5 shots on goal.
That is the summary of first half. Just like Spain, Holland is too much one sided in their game plan. Japan mastered their game plan. They needed a player like Eila or Robben who can run and take on them with ball.
Second half kicks off. Holland is looking more lively.
47 minute: Van Persie is poor in front of goal. What happened to him?
52 minute: GOAL by Wesley Sneijder.
Holland 1 – Japan 0
56 minute: This is football. Both teams are now attacking especially Japan.
60 minute: I don’t know why Asian teams do not try for a goal unless they concede one. Why should they try for draw initially? Lack of beief.
Japan is playing much better than South Korea (against Argentina).
63 minute: Japan substitution. Nakamura in – Matsui out.
67 minute: Where is Dirk Kuyt? Is he a striker? What is he doing in this game?
68 minute: Wonderful move by Japan – narrowly missed goal. Good football – wonderful game.
71 minute: Elia in – Van der Vaart out. Good move.
82 minute: Sneijder out – Afellay in.
84 minute: Afellay made good run but goalkeeper is upto the task.
87 minute: Van Persie out – Huntelaar
90 minute: Nakazawa missed glorious chance in front of goal – may be last chance for Japan.
Final result: Holland 1 – Japan 0
But, Japan can still make it to the second round if it defeats Denmark.
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