Group E, projected order of finish (top two, in bold, to advance):
Netherlands, Cameroon, Denmark, Japan.
Comments:
The Netherlands are the best nation never to have won a World Cup. They had one of the greatest teams in history in 1974 but lost to Germany. They were runners up again in 1978. The Netherlands, for a host of reasons, actually have a good deal of support in South Africa, and their own orange horde travels well and vocally. But they also have a history of coming up short — the only title of any significance the Dutch have won came in 1988 when they won the European Championship. I am toying with them as my pick in this year’s World Cup (hey, everyone can’t possibly pick Brazil or Spain, with the exception of the English, of course).
Yes, I am going with yet another African team to advance as well, which means I may well be wrong a lot, though I also do think this is going to be Africa’s best year ever in the World Cup. But Cameroon is not only the second highest ranked team in this group, they are also healthy compared to other African teams, which have lost stars to injury. Furthermore, the Indomitable Lions (African squads have the best nicknames) have had the most qualifying success of any African team in the history of the World Cup, having reached the tournament six times, making a nice run to the quarterfinals in 1990. Samuel Eto’o will lead his team to the knockout round, and perhaps beyond.
The Danish and Japanese both field good teams as well, and if not quite at the caliber of Group D or Group G, this is a strong quartet and any of them could easily advance. Japan is just not quite as strong as during their 2002-2004 (give or take) peak. The Danes are a good but unspectacular side in a group that may well require something spectacular to move on to the knockout stages.
