The Japanese came into this tournament on the back of a string of defeats and their first game was against Cameroon - a side whom many believe can be the first African country to win the World Cup. However, on the basis of yesterday's performance people might want to revise their predictions. The game was shockingly poor. As optimistic as I like to be about all the matches in the World Cup, I cannot deny that this game had no real quality to it. The Japanese were so structured and rigid in their shape - not one player was out of position and thus no one was willing to go forward and create something. Perhaps they could be accused of "anti-football" because they were set so defensively that it seemed as though they would be happy just to sit back, defend and get a point.
Cameroon were no better to be honest. For some strange reason, former Rangers boss, Paul Le Guen decided to play Eto'o on the right side of the field. Why? Who knows. It was really frustrating, because anyone that follows Eto'o knows that the best position for him is centre. That is where he is truly at his best and able to dictate the play. Surely Le Guen must have picked up on that? I mean, he should have made the change so that Cameroon at least had a chance because the way both teams were playing, the points were there for the taking for the side that dared to be even just a little adventurous. The goal for Japan came as a bit of a shock, against the run of play. Matsui crossed it to Honda in the box, who was unmarked and fired in the shot. Mbia almost equalised late on in the second half with a screamer of a shot from far out which rebounded off the bar.
Other than that, there was no real goal threat from either side and the game was really slow and laboured. There was just no urgency - a dominant feature, it seems, of these early games. Japan were able to see out the unlikely win and go into second place behind Holland. The games, for both of these sides, against Denmark will be crucial in deciding who will finish second.
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