Group E: A whole lot of questions...

Cameroon, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands

The Netherlands are a great team. On paper. For some reason, when it comes time to perform at the highest international level, they have recently become massive choke artists.

Take Euro 2008: they absolutely dominated their group, which contained Italy, France and Romania, and was considered the group of death for that tournament. However, once the group stage was complete, they completely rolled over and died. Why?

The Oranje are heading into South Africa with too many wingers, not enough dynamic strikers and a very questionable back line this year. There are also concerns about the fitness of star midfielder Arjen Robben, for the coach has already quoted him as “irreplaceable”.

The Oranje are once again a very meticulous team, and despite lacking a real superstar striker, their discipline should serve them well in this group. Watch for Wesley Sneijder to impress, and as long as their passing remains precise and they can keep the ball away form their defenders, they should have no problem advancing.

I think Cameroon has a great chance to be the second team to advance in this group. As the most successful African team ever in international competition, they have struggled in recent years however, they possess a very seasoned squad this year lead by none other than Samuel Eto’o.

Led by an attack-minded coach, Cameroon should have little trouble in front of the net, their main concern will be whether their defenders can keep up with the game’s faster wingers. While I doubt they will re-capture the magic of their 1990 run to the quarterfinals, I think they may prove to be one of the surprises this year.

Despite qualifying for South Africa with a 5-0-1 record, they have failed to impress since. The Danes have an advantage in this group, as being the biggest and most physical presence on the pitch.

Questions surround the availability of goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson after dislocating his elbow playing for Stoke City at the end of the Premier League season, and this could very well be the Achilles heel of the team.

The key match will be their second game against Cameroon on June 19, one I will highly recommend watching, as I feel it will determine the order of finish in group E.

Japan has never won a World Cup game on foreign turf, and I don’t predict that will change much this year. The team lacks significant offence, and in a group comprised mainly of weaker defense, this is not going to favour them at all.

The Blue Samurai’s main strength comes in the form of their midfielders, however, I don’t think that will help them here.