The Netherlands qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup on Saturday evening. In the day's early game, the Dutch beat Japan 1-0 in Durban. But definite qualification depended on the result of the evening game between Denmark and Cameroon.

As long as Cameroon didn't win, the Dutch were assured of their place. Denmark came from behind to win 2-1, putting Cameroon out of the tournament and ensuring that the immediate future is Orange.

The first Dutch group match against Denmark was overshadowed in terms of press coverage by the ambush marketing activities of a Dutch beer company. This time, it will hopefully be the football that will get all the space in the newspapers, as the company said prior to the match that due to FIFA’s overreaction it would not repeat the stunt.

Although Arjen Robben had declared himself fit to play, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, presumably on the advice of his medical team, decided to put him on the bench against Japan. His time to shine in the World Cup will hopefully come later in the tournament. Perhaps more surprising was the decision not to start with Eljero Elia, whose introduction in the second half of the match against Denmark created a significant improvement in the team’s performance. So the Netherlands had the same starting eleven as their first game:

Netherlands: 1-Maarten Stekelenburg. 2-Gregory van der Wiel, 3-John Heitinga, 4-Joris Mathijsen, 5-Giovanni van Bronckhorst, 7-Dirk Kuyt, 6-Mark van Bommel, 10-Wesley Sneijder, 8-Nigel de Jong, 23-Rafael van der Vaart, 9-Robin van Persie.

Robin van Persie was booked against Denmark, so was anxious not to pick up a second booking that would render him ineligible for the game against Cameroon next Thursday. As it turned out, this game will not be crucial for either team, and Bert van Marwijk might well decide to rest some of his key players.

The opposition
Japan coach Takeshi Okada was gushing in his praise for the Dutch prior to kickoff: "We will be playing against a wonderful team, which is one of the favourites for the title. We realise this is a sophisticated team but we believe we have a chance to win. We shouldn't feel small even though they have great name players in the team." His team lined up as follows:

Japan: 21-Eiji Kawashima, 2-Yuki Abe, 22-Yuji Nakazawa, 4-Tulio, 3-Yuichi Komano, 5-Yuto Nagatomo, 16-Yoshito Okubo, 7-Yasuhito Endo, 17-Makoto Hasebe, 8-Daisuke Matsui, 18-Keisuke Honda

The 'f' word
The first half of the match can be summed up with the 'f' word – frustration! It soon became clear that Mr Okada had told his men to play a defensive game and prevent the Dutch from playing their normal game, in the hope of getting at least a draw. The Dutch had around 70 percent of the possession, and there were some neat passes, but every time they managed to get into the final third, they were crowded out by the Japanese. The few chances that the Japanese created were all from free kicks, but each time the ball floated high and wide over the crossbar and provided no threat to Stekelenburg’s goal.

The longer the first half went on, the more obvious it became that the Dutch needed either Elia or Robben, or both, to provide some width that would help them get behind the Japanese defenders. A Dutch goal would force the Japanese to adopt more positive tactics. From their point of view, the first half went just the way they had hoped it would. For the rest of us, it was a bore draw.

Breakthrough
Fortunately for the Dutch and all the neutrals watching, the breakthrough came eight minutes after the re-start. A cross from the left wasn’t cleared properly by the Japanese, and Robin van Persie found Wesley Sneijder at the edge of the box. Sneijder hit a powerful shot, and the Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima put two hands out to push the ball away, but misjudged the flight of the the ball and it went beyond him into the net.

Bert van Marwijk made the same two substitutions he had made in the first game, bringing on Elia for Van der Vaart about 20 minutes from the end, then Ibrahim Afellay for goalscorer Wesley Sneijder. The Japanese had a few short spells of pressure in the second half, but the Dutch weathered the storm. In the last minute of normal time, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar came on for Robin van Persie. Ibrahim Afellay could have scored twice in the closing minutes, but on both occasions he was denied by the onrushing Japanese keeper Kawashima.

So the Dutch have six points out of six in their two opening matches, and have qualified for the last 16 with a game to spare. Like the first match against Denmark, this one will not live long in the memory, largely due to Japan’s negative tactics. But the Dutch have done enough, and can afford to relax in their next game, unlike several of their near-neighbours in Europe who still have a lot of work to do. And the Dutch are not yet playing anywhere near their best!