Group E

E is for excellent and that should be enough.

Group E
Cameroon, Denmark, Holland, Japan

The Japanese will be sacrificial lambs in this one and any two of the other three can go through without shocking anyone. Interesting group, but most of them are.

Cameroon- Cameroon are among the African nations with the best pedigree in big tournaments and after an absence this squad seems well equipped to carry the torch that began in 1990 when they made the best run of a team from their continent, a campaign that included a win over the defending champions in the group stage, a defeat of a Colombia on the rise, and taking England to overtime in the quarter finals. What I like about this team more than other African squads is the well rounded it seems going into next summer. Carlos Kameni is a solid keeper and the defensive and midfield corps are made up of players with valuable European club experience. Maybe not superstars but guys like Bassong and Alexander Song are certainly capable of doing what needs to be done to get results. And this will likely mean working in support of Samuel Eto'o, the current Spanish silver boot and Inter Milan goal machine.
PTW- Eto'o. He is not the most self-sufficient striker in the world and some of the criticism of him are valid, but when chances arise he seldom misses. I think he will open the campaign with a multiple goal performance against the Japanese. Whether he is able to maintain the output against the European squads will determine if Cameroon see the next phase of the tournament.

Holland- An axiom of international football should be to consider the Dutch contenders in any competition they enter. Their exit from Euro 2008 perhaps soured what they had accomplished to that point and maybe they are not flying quite as high 6 months out as other European giants, but don't sleep on them. Holland went through qualification a perfect 8-0 with a goal differential of plus 15. One of the virtues of the Dutch football is the supreme technical ability which allows any group that reach national team level to work as a highly efficient unit. Despite some of the players who will be in this squad currently experiencing difficult times at their clubs, the amount of talent they will bring to South Africa is impressive. Van Der Vaart, Snjeider, Van Nistleroy, Robben, Huntelaar, Van Percy... those are just some of the names. It will not be easy but I see Holland winning this group.
PTW- Klaas Jan Huntelaar. This might be going on a limb a bit due to his poor club form at Milan. He may not even be in the starting 11 in South Africa. But I am betting he is and will destroy group E. His fiasco of a half season at San Siro not withstanding Huntelaar is one of the deadliest pure goal scorers in the world. He has 14 goals in 29 caps for the national team and has scored well over a goal every other game in his club career.

Denmark- This team is seldom mentioned with the big boys on the old continent but it would be a mistake to overlook them. They earned qualification by winning a group that included Portugal, Sweden, and a resurgent Hungary. There is limited but threatening firepower in the Danish squad and the games I saw indicate they are willing to work for a common good and have impressive team cohesion. Nicklas Bendtner is one of those classic troubled-but-gifted strikers that can put a team over the top or disappear completely. On a big stage like this with the national team shirt on his back I think the former is more likely. Denmark have a track record of success at big tournaments and they will battle Cameroon for the second spot in this one.
PTW- Nicklas Bendtner. His size, strength, and technical ability will be just as key in breaking down a physical defense like Cameroon's as a technical one like Holland's. He is a truly gifted player that can be Denmark's weapon for passage.

Japan- I don't like to be negative but I really don't see them moving through a very tough group like this. The Japanese national team has never impressed me on the big stage and this edition does not look to be any better. It is comprised of so-so journeyman at European clubs and domestic players. I have seen a couple of a Japanese heavy teams at CWCs and none of them showed me anything. Maybe in a weaker group they could pull together and scrap out the needed points, but with Cameroon, Denmark, and Holland that is too much to ask.
PTW-Shunsuke Nakamura. He had a great career at Celtic but his time at Espanyol has been a disappointment so far. He has pace and skill and might be able to create some opportunities against the run of play. Like I said I don't think it is the cards for Japan, but if it is it will come through the feet of Nakamura.

Group E predictions:
1. Holland (7)
2. Denmark (5)
3. Cameroon (4)
4. Japan (0)