The Netherlands kept their name off the growing list of struggling European powers at the World Cup on Saturday, thanks to a second-half blast from Wesley Sneijder and a 1-0 win over Japan in Durban.
The win vaulted the Dutch comfortably atop the standings in Group E, with a favorable matchup against Cameroon in the finale on June 24 in Cape Town.
It also helped the Netherlands avoid suffering the same lapses some of their European brethren have in the past few days in South Africa. Spain, Germany and England have been less than impressive in recent starts, putting most fans on upset watch for some of the tournament’s traditional powers and heavy favorites.
The Dutch, however, lived up to their expectations after a sluggish first half for both sides.
Sneijder’s goal was a 53rd-minute rocket, taken from just outside the Japanese penalty box. Robin van Persie controlled a loose ball in the box and laid it off to a charging Sneider, who half-volleyed it off the outstretched hands of Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.
The goal was the first at a World Cup for the Inter Milan star. All three of Holland’s goals in this World Cup have come in the second half.
Japan’s best chance of the match came in the 90th minute, when substitute Shinji Okazaki lifted a left-footed volley dangerously over the bar.
Kawashima denied a late Dutch chance to double the lead, surging out with a sliding save on a breakaway for Netherlands reserve Ibrahim Afellay in the 85th minute. He added another brilliant save on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in the 88th.
Widely considered the underdog of the group, Japan proved they were mostly game for the Dutch challenge after an upset of Cameroon in the opener. They seriously threatened to score only briefly in the second half and CSK Moscow standout Keisuke Honda was held largely in check, but Holland never pulled away as expected, and sweated out chunks of the second half even after Sneijder’s tally.
Japan managed just two shots on goal in the match, and roughly one third of the ball possession, but make no mistake. The Japanese asserted they’ll likely be a handful for Denmark in the teams’ finale on June 24.
The Dutch once again played without star playmaker Arjen Robben, who watched from the bench while nursing his nagging hamstring injury.
LINEUPS
NETHERLANDS: Stekelenburg, Mathijsen, van Bronckhorst, Heitinga, Van der Wiel, Van der Vaart (Elia, 72’), de Jong, Sneijder (Afellay, 83’), van Bommel, van Persie (Huntelaar, 88’), Kuyt
JAPAN: Kawashima, Nagatomo, Tanaka, Komano, Nakazawa, Abe, Honda, Hasebe (Okazaki, 77’), Matsui (Nakamura, 64’), Endo, Okubo (Tamada, 77’)
