The Netherlands continued their impressive charge at the World Cup when they beat Cameroon 2-1 on Thursday to make it three wins out of three in Group E and advance to a last 16 meeting with Slovakia.
Having won all eight qualifiers, the Dutch, who have already beaten Denmark and Japan here, became the first team since Brazil in 1982 to win all their qualifying and group games.
They went into Thursday’s match already assured of progress and secured top spot with goals by Robin van Persie and Klaas Jan Huntelaar either side of a Samuel Eto’o penalty.
PHOTO: EPA
They also had the bonus of a return to action for winger Arjen Robben, who missed the first two games with a hamstring problem but delivered a late cameo off the bench.
Nicely balanced throughout the team, the Netherlands have qualified without ever needing to hit peak form and at present are flying the flag as Europe’s most impressive nation.
However, it was something of a mixed performance against Cameroon as they started slowly, took control, were again pushed back but finished strongly.
“In the first half I was relaxed but the second was very mediocre, I thought Cameroon might score and we might even lose,” Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said.
“Cameroon got a penalty and then we woke up ... this period of negligence is something we cannot afford and today was a lesson for the next match,” he said.
Cameroon can hold their heads high despite going home pointless — their worst showing in six World Cups.
After a few nervous moments in defense, Van Persie should have put the Netherlands ahead in the 19th minute when he chested down a lovely 40m pass by Giovanni van Bronckhorst but shot meekly at goalkeeper Hamidou Souleymanou.
However, the striker made sure in the 36th when a quick-fire one-two with Rafael van der Vaart put him through and he slotted the ball into the net through the goalkeeper’s legs.
The goal settled the Dutch and they began to fizz the ball around sharply on Green Point stadium’s high-speed surface.
Cameroon kept pressing though as Eto’o, Landry Nguemo, Jean Makoun and Aurelien Chedjou all had second-half chances.
Their pressure was rewarded when Van der Vaart, jumping in the wall, handled a Geremi free kick in the area and Eto’o equalized with a 65th-minute penalty.
Robben came on in the 73rd minute and, after looking lively from his first touch, set up the winner when his 20m shot rebounded from a post straight to substitute Huntelaar, who sidefooted it back into the empty net.
“I’m really pleased he played for 20 minutes and nothing happened [to the injury],” Van Marwijk said of Robben. “I expect he can play longer at the next match but I’m not sure if he will start.”
■LE GUEN STEPS DOWN
AFP, CAPE TOWN
Paul Le Guen revealed on Thursday that he would step down as coach of Cameroon but refused to be drawn on whether he would become the next man in charge of Australia.
The Frenchman made the announcement after the African side were eliminated from the World Cup following three straight defeats.
“We have lost all three matches and my contract with Cameroon is coming to an end,” he told a press conference after his team’s 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands at the Green Point Stadium. “It was planned all along that I would stop and I will stop with Cameroon.”
Le Guen, who took the Cameroon reins in July last year, has been linked with the head coaching role of the Australian national side but said that he has not yet made any decisions about his future.
“I’m going to think about the future and we will see,” he said.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS