Match Review & Highlights: Japan 1-0 Cameroon

June 14th, 2010 | by: Daryl | View Comments

Ladies and gentlemen we have our first upset of World Cup 2010. Cameroon were (and maybe still are) many people’s pick to take second place in Group E and advance to the knockouts. Almost no one picked Japan, in part because the team had never won a World Cup match outside Japan. But all that changed today as the Blue Samurai beat the not so Indomitable Lions 1-0 in Bloemfontein.

Before I praise Japan, I want to underline just how disappointing Cameroon were. Much was expected of the only African team to have its superstar player fit and in form, but Samuel Eto’o disappointed and the team as a whole didn’t really wake up until the last 20 minutes or so, when the situation became score or lose. Seems to me that coach Paul Le Guen got his tactics and selection wrong. The double managerial failure combo. Much to the dismay of Cameroon fans, Le Guen dropped keeper Carlos Kameni, Achille Emana, and both Alex and Rigobert Song. Worse, he had Cameroon playing a 4-3-3, but a 4-3-3 that somehow had no width, mostly because Cameroon seemed intent on playing the ball directly forwards, which Japan’s defenders were happy to head away.

Enough complaining about Cameroon. Let’s praise Japan. Not much was expected of the Blue Samurai, who had struggled to either score or defend effectively in recent friendlies. But coach Takeshi Okada deployed star midfielder Keisuke Honda in a surprise forward role, from where he tormented Cameroon almost single handedly. Daisuke Matsui also impressed, getting down the right wing fairly regularly, and in the 39th minute his cross found Honda at the far post to make it 1-0.

Nice first touch, lucky second touch (unless he was deliberately playing the ball with his knee) and then a smart poke to finish. However, what’s extra impressive about this goal is that you can see right at the start of the above clip that Honda was also integral to build up, winning and controlling a long ball, turning inside to play to a teammate and then sprinting into the box ready to get on the end of the move he started. Buy, but effective. Typical of his day really. I’m so impressed, I’m going to resist the surprisingly tempting urge to make easy automotive puns.

Cameroon brought on Achille Emana to give them some fresh ideas, and he looked dangerous. But seems Emana’s ideas mostly involved him dribbling at Japanese defenders until losing possession. Which isn’t a great plan of attack. Cameroon’s best late chance was a long range effort from Stéphane Mbia in the 86th minute, which bounced off the frame of the goal. Other than that it was a barren afternoon for Eto’o and co.

Congratulations to Japan then on their first foreign World Cup win, and overturning expectation and recording the first upset of World Cup 2010. The next game is against the Netherlands, but with three points in the bag they can relax a little look forward to that encounter. For Cameroon it’s a question of what next. Le Guen has tried benching the big names and has come up short. So does he now recall both Songs, Kameni and Emana? Does he get rid of the abysmal 4-3-3? Big decisions, because next game is against Denmark and the loser of that will almost certainly be eliminated.

Man of the Match As decided by Liveblog readers, it’s Keisuke Honda.

Photo: Getty Images