Key men: Arjen Robben, who is a a doubt for the finals, is a massive player for them. When he was fit for Bayern he was stunning. Robin Van Persie, another injury hit player, will lead their attack with van der Vaart and Sneijder behind him.
Story of qualifying: They cruised through their group, which had Scotland in it. They won all eight games and most impressively, only conceded two goals throughout.
How will they do?: They will probably put in a couple of very good performances, to build up the expectations when they probably fail in the knockout rounds. 1st
Key men: Eto'o will lead the line for them, for them to do well he needs to be in form. Alex Song was one of Arsenal's star players, and his cousin (not, not Uncle!) Rigobert will be playing.
Story of qualifying: They lost their first game against Togo, but turned it around to go undefeated for the rest of the campaign and finish four points clear of Gabon to win their group.
How will they do?: It will be close between them and Denmark. They have the players, and a very good team spirit. 2nd
Key men: If he makes it, Thomas Sorensen will be an important man in their team. They have Agger from Liverpool in their defence and they boast a decent forward line in Jon Dahl Tomasson and Nicklas Bendtner.
Story of qualifying: They did well to qualify in a tough group. They were drawn against Portugal and Sweden, but came out on top. They qualified with a game to spare, and lost their only game in the last one to Hungary. One amazing game I will point out, as the match they won 3-2 in Portugal. They equalised with six minutes to go, only to blow it two minutes later. They pulled back in the last minute, and two minutes into extra time Jensen got the winner.
How will they do?: As I said, I think it is out of them and Cameroon. They have a solid defence, and will hold some good teams out if they get through. I don't think they will. 3rd
Key men: ex Celtic man Shunsuke Nakamura will carry Japanese hopes on his shoulders. He is the experienced player in their team, watch out for his free kicks. Keisuke Honda impressed against England, and is another key players.
Story of qualifying: They were the second team to qualify. Only Australia , the team who finished top in the group qualified before. They lost their only game against them, and finished in second comfortably.
How will they do?: I thought they were excellent against England, they made them look very poor. They moved it about well, but I don't think they will be able to do that consistently. 4th
I think the Japanese team will surprise a few. They played really good football, Honda was especially good. The Dutch will scrape through
ReplyDeleteThe only reason Japan looked so good is because England were so bloody awful, we made them look good and gave them loads of time on the ball. Robben is out apparently, fantastic!
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