Day 4 review

As the number of teams who had opened their account in the 2010 World Cup passed half, I was looking rather smug following my tip for the tournament, Holland, putting in an impressive performance in defeating a Denmark side who qualified comfortably ahead of Portugal and neighbours Sweden. However, the first-half was closer than the final score suggested, with the Dutch missing the incisive running of Arjen Robben. There was still a strong attack featuring Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart, but Denmark was strong in defence and snuffed out the majority of Dutch openings. Stoke keeper was rarely tested, and towards the end of the half, Denmark had three presentable opportunities of their own – Arsenal striker showed he was not ready to live up to his self-proclaimed prophecy of being the ‘best striker in the world’ by heading wide woefully from six yards, and Maarten Stekelenburg saved from Dennis Rohmmedahl and Thomas Khalenberg. But just a minute into the second-half, the game took a decisive turning point. Van Persie escaped down the left, and his cross was heading towards his own goal by Simon Poulsen – it was going wide before it hit Liverpool defender Daniel Agger on the back, diverting it into the net for a calamitous own goal. From here on in, Holland dominated. Denmark’s abilities definitely lie at the back, with the likes of Rommedahl, Martin Jorgensen, Jesper Gronkjaer and Jon Dahl Tommasson, veterans of the impressive class of 2002, no longer having the legs to perform at the highest level. Van der Vaart tested Sorensen, but they really came alive with the introduction of winger Eljero Elia. And what an impact he had, suggesting the World Cup had unearthed another potential superstar following the performance of Mezut Ozil on Sunday night. His direct running down the left caused problems for the defence, and he was also looking to beat the dodgy Danish offside trap. After Sneijder had a shot deflected onto the bar, Elia succeeded, and after his clever finish hit the post, Kuyt followed up to tap in, effectively ending the game. Substitute Ibrahim Affelay came close to scoring a third, but Holland had done more than enough to lay down an early marker.

Japan took a surprising step towards qualifying for the second round, following neighbours South Korea in winning their first World Cup match outside their home country, beating Cameroon 1-0. Asia can be more than happy with its start to this World Cup. The build-up to the match was overshadowed by a row between Cameroon legend Roger Milla and star striker and captain Samuel Eto’o. The star of Italy in 1990 has claimed that the Inter Milan striker doesn't produce his best for his country - an accusation which grated for Cameroon's record goalscorer. But the triple Champions League winner hardly let his feet do the talking, as Cameroon were desperately disappointing in falling to defeat to the unfancied Japanese. Both of these teams have been out of form in the build up, and this showed in a desperately dour encounter in Bloemfontein. Japan's three shots was the lowest by a country to win a World Cupmatch since 1966, when North Korea shocked Italy. The one which counted came from the brilliantly named Keisuke Honda, who finished well when Daisuke Matsui's cross found him in acres of space. There's probably a headline there somewhere! The choice of veteran Souleymanou Hamidou in goal ahead of the highly-rated Espanyol stopper Carlos Kameni was a surprise, and he couldn't keep it out. Cameroon rarely threatened, a shot from Stephane M'bia which hit the bar apart, and surrendered in rather limp fashion. Eto'o was employed on the right-wing in a curious tactical decision by coach Paul Le Guen, which effectively rendered the captain redundant. You would think the Africans would struggle to qualify with games against Europeans Holland and Denmark to come.

The final game of the day saw World Champions Italy get the defence of their title under way, with what looked like a winnable game against Paraguay. But the South Americans are nothing if not tenacious, and held Italy for a deserved point. Only Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta started the World Cup final four years ago, and this showed as Italy struggled for cohesion. Justo Villar was a virtual spectator in the Paraguay goal, as Italy enjoyed plenty of possession without really threatening. And on 38 minutes, the unthinkable happened - Aureliano Torres swing in a free-kick, where some un-Italian defending allowed Antolin Alcarez to squeeze between two defenders and head past Buffon. Things went from bad to worse for Italy, as Buffon had to be replaced by the inexperienced Federico Marchetti, of Cagliari, after suffering a back complaint. And Enrique Vera almost beat the substitute, firing narrowly over from the edge of the area. But the introduction of Mauro Camoranesi gave Italy a new lease of life, and within minutes, Daniele de Rossi had equalised. Villar will have to take most of the blame, as he got caught under a Simone Pepe corner, leaving the Roma midfielder with an easy tap in. After that aberration, Paraguay were more than content with a point, and the match reverted to type - with long shots the closest either team came to claiming the win neither merited.

PLAYER OF THE DAY - Eljero Elia.

He may have only been on the pitch for less than half an hour, but the young Hamburg winger made a real impact when he was introduced to the fray. He was quick, incisive and direct, and had an end product to match.He fired in a number of dangerous crosses and beat the Danish right-back on a regular basis, and his well timed run and shot led to the clinching second goal. If reports are to be believed, Liverpool fans will be delighted he could be a potential replacement for compatriot Ryan Babel.

GOAL OF THE DAY - Dirk Kuyt.

On a day when the majority of goals were mistakes - and they were few and far between - the second Dutch goal from Liverpool winger/striker Dirk Kuyt is the only real candidate. The finish might have been a tap in, but the build-up saw Wesley Sneijder slip a glorious pass through for substitute Elia, and he placed an excellent shot around Sorensen, only to see it bounce back off the post. Luckily, Kuyt was following up to clinch the win.

GAFFE OF THE DAY - Simon Poulsen and Daniel Agger.

Who knows how different the outcome would have been withoutn this calamity minutes into the second half. The Danes had given a good account of themselves in the first-half, and with a bit more luck culd have gone into the interval with a lead. But, when Robin van Persie escaped down the left and crossed into the six yard box, Poulsen inexplicably headed the ball back towards goal, where it diverted off Agger's back and into the net. Oh dear!

MOMENT OF THE DAY - Emmanuel Adebayor's phone rings in the studio.

On a rather dull day (and in probably the worst game of the tournament between Cameroon and Japan) we were given some light relief when the Manchester City and Togo striker had a call to field in the build up to the game. It's the last thing you want to happen when you're explaining the benefits of Samuel Eto'o and his teammates, but it certainly made Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer smile.

FANTASY TEAM

Again my chosen fantasy team continued to disappoint! Gianluca Zambrotta is denied a clean sheet by some poor defending against Paraguay, and Robin van Persie, despite some presentable chances, could not find his way past Thomas Sorensen. Wesley Sneijder, on the other hand, did bag himself an assist to claim ten points, so not all bad!