Monday June 14, 2010 Group Stage: Group E Finished Vodacom Park
-
Hero Honda makes Japan history
Japan recorded their first World Cup finals victory outside their own country as they defeated Cameroon 1-0 in Group E at the Free State Sta More
-
Live Commentary
Time:90'- Japan
- Cameroon
90+5' FULL-TIME! Japan have recorded their first World Cup finals victory outside their own country as they defeated Cameroon 1-0 in Group E at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.- 90+4' Kawashima plunges full length to push Webo's effort away but a foul has already been given for dangerous play by Eto'o.
- 90+3' Eto'o's drive is charged down by the impressive Tulio.
- 90+2' Assou-Ekotto's free-kick runs all the way through to Kawashima.
90+1' Abe booked for kicking the ball away.- 90' Four minutes of added time to be played.
88' Junichi Inamoto replaces Hasebe.- 87' Honda cuts inside and a skidding drive is fumbled by Souleymanou but no-one on hand to take advantage of the spill.
86' A wonderful 25-yard strike from Mbia strikes the crossbar. So close to an equaliser.- 85' Japan have dropped a little deep, it is a bombardment from Cameroon at the moment.
- 84' Mbia's cross is far too heavy and runs harmlessly out of play.
- 83' A powerful drive by Hasebe is pushed away by Souleymanou, the follow-up from Okazaki hits the post but the offside flag is already up.
- 82' Okubo replaced by Kisho Yano.
- 81' Geremi out on the right with Eto'o down the middle for the last 10.
- 80' Kawashima is decisive to punch Geremi's free-kick clear.
- 79' Only back-up keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (117) has more caps in the squad.
- 78' Nakazawa in his 106th game for Japan has probably been the most assured performer.
- 77' Idrissou has acres of space but a poor touch and Nakazawa comes across to clear.
- 76' Idrissou has scored 22 goals at Freiburg in the Bundesliga over the last two seasons.
- 75' No change in formation with Eto'o still out on the right.
- 74' A double change as Geremi replaces Makoun and big striker Mohamadou Idrissou comes on for Choupo-Moting.
- 73' Assou-Ekotto's cross is blocked by Hasebe who then wins the ball.
- 72' Endo's delivery from a promising position on the left is way overhit.
- 71' Nkoulou booked for a trip on Okazaki.
- 70' The Lions have 20 minutes to salvage something.
- 69' InfostradaLive: Cameroon have trailed five times at half-time in World Cup matches, only once have they came back to draw against Chile in 1998.
- 68' Okazaki replaces Matsui.
- 67' Shinji Okazaki preparing to come on.
- 66' A poor ball from Eyong with Assou-Ekotto on the overlap, the Tottenham man earns a corner but it could have been so much better with a better pass.
- 65' Real Betis' Emana wriggles into the penalty area but Japan clear.
- 64' No yellow cards in the match. Mbia slightly lucky as he kicks Okubo the face, attempting an overhead kick.
- 63' Achille Emana replaces the holding midfielder Joel Matip, an attacking move.
- 62' All 11 Japan players back and Tulio heads clear, taking a knock in the process.
- 61' Eto'o is brought down 40 yards out, Assou-Ekotto chips into the mixer and headed behind for a corner by Nakazawa.
- 60' Match Image A Japanese fan
- 59' Former Rangers boss Le Guen is preparing to make his first change.
- 58' Before they lost against Ivory Coast on June 4, Japan were undefeated in their last six matches against African teams. Since 2007, they had beaten Cameroon (2-0), Egypt (4-1), Ivory Coast (1-0), Ghana (4-3) and Togo (5-0) while drawing South Africa (0-0).
- 57' Good run from Choupo-Moting but an audacious effort from out on the left fails to test Kawashima.
- 56' Takeshi Okada also coached Japan in their first World Cup in 1998. He still hunts for his first World Cup win as Japan coach.
- 55' Good cross on the run from Mbia but Webo cannot direct his header on target.
- 54' Match Image Honda celebrates
- 53' Choupo-Moting has an effort blocked on the edge of the penalty area.
- 52' Cameroon far more lively since the break.
- 51' Cameroon's best chance by a distance and the first touch of class from Eto'o as he holds off Okubo, cuts inside Abe and pulls back to Choupo-Moting who looks to steer the ball into the top corner but his effort drifts wide of the far post.
- 50' Endo smashes the delivery over at pace but it strikes a defender and is cleared.
- 49' Nkoulou misses a long ball. Okubo retrieves it and Mbia brings him down on the edge of the penalty area, out on the left.
- 48' Choupo-Moting is penalised for a push.
- 47' Nagatomo chests a cross from the left behind and an early corner for the Lions - the first of the match.
46' No changes at the interval in personnel nor it seems formation with Eto'o standing out on the right once more.- 45+2' Half-time! A quite dreadful opening period is enlivened but one moment of quality from Honda and Paul Le Guen desperately needs to rev his side up at the interval.
- 45' Webo goes down too easily in the penalty area and Nagatomo clears.
- 44' A deep free-kick flicks of Tulio's ponytail but a goal kick is awarded.
- 43' Cameroon’s starting line-up vs Japan (25 years - 166 days) is the second youngest at the 2010 World Cup. They need some of the old hands to lead a revival.
- 42' Mbia's cross is headed clear.
- 41' Eto'o has barely had a touch out on the right-hand side and he really needs to move centrally to become the focal point.
- 40' The quality of the finish totally out of context with the rest of the game.
39' GOAL JAPAN!! Totally out of the blue, Keisuke Honda gives Japan the lead. A deep cross from the left from Matsui goes over the head of Nkoulou, Mbia has been sucked in on the cover and the CSKA Moscow m idfielder brings the ball down crisply and tucks home his finish.- 38' We have the first attempt on goal as Choupo-Moting lays off a throw-in into the path of Enoh Eyong whose shot is comfortably saved, low by Kawashima.
- 37' Assou-Ekotto's cross is pulled back to Makoun but hooked clear.
- 36' Eto'o finds Jean Makoun but Yuto Nagatomo is on the cover in the penalty area to deny Choupo-Moting and curtail a rare promising move.
- 35' Tulio looks for Hasebe over the top but offside once more.
- 34' Nicolas Nkoulou is lucky as he misses a straight forward defensive header but Assou-Ekotto eventually clear his lines.
- 33' Cameroon really need to increase the tempo and take a grip of the game.
- 32' A diagonal ball intended for Webo is way overhit.
- 31' Assou-Ekotto's long free-kick is fumbled by Kawashima. Japan clear the danger and the keeper needs treatment after a heavy fall.
- 30' Japan have earned two victories in World Cup finals history, and they both came in the group phase of the 2002 Cup, which Japan hosted together with Korea Republic.
- 29' Japan have never won a World Cup match outside their own country. You can see why on this outing.
- 28' Honda looks to whip the ball in from the by-line but it is harshly adjudged to have run out of play.
- 27' Honda's checks back onto his left foot and his cross is headed away.
- 26' A dangerous looking ball over the top but Matsui has strayed offside.
- 25' Yuki Abe is all over Eto'o as he soon as he receives the ball.
- 24' Eto'o and Webo look to combine on the edge of the penalty area but the moves break down.
- 23' Match Image Nakazawa fights for the ball against Cameroon's Mbia
- 22' The Mexican wave has started - a reflection of the opening quarter.
- 21' Souleymanou fumbles a routine cross but the Kayerispor keeper is lucky as the offside flag is already up.
- 20' Whenever Cameroon get the ball, a sea of blue shirts swarm back. Pretty negative stuff from Japan.
- 19' Cameroon are taking part in its sixth World Cup, a record for African nations. The Indomitable Lions have moved two participations clear of Morocco, Tunisia and Nigeria in this respect.
- 18' Both teams displaying a lack of confidence. Since April, Japan have been defeated by Serbia (0-3), South Korea (0-2), England (1-2) and Ivory Coast (0-2).
- 17' Good tackle from Webo and he breaks forward but the pass is wasteful.
- 16' Hasebe tries to dink the ball over Bassong but the Tottenham man heads clear.
- 15' Webo goes down on the edge of the penalty area and Eric Choupo-Moting's follow-up shot is blocked.
- 14' Keisuke Honda tries to wriggle around Sebastien Bassong but Souleymanou is off his line to claim.
- 13' Barely three passes strung together so far.
- 12' A spell of possession by Japan in the Cameroon half but Assou-Ekotto plays the ball against Yuichi Komano to deny the Asian side a corner.
- 11' Cameroon share the best World Cup finish by an African nation with Senegal. In 1990, Cameroon made it to the quarter-finals, in 2002 Senegal matched that feat.
- 10' A pretty uneventful opening 10 minutes.
- 9' Eiji Kawashima comes and completely misses but Makoto Hasebe heads away before a free-kick is awarded.
- 8' A free-kick out on the left flank will allow Cameroon to use their physical advantage.
- 7' First hint of goal action as Achille Webo finds himself in space in the right-hand side of the area but Japan clear the cross.
- 6' Japan are taking part in their fourth successive World Cup. This streak started in 1998, when they made their debut. Their best performance came in 2002, when they reached the last 16.
- 5' Benoit Assou-Ekotto's long punt down the field runs out of play. Let's hope for a pick-up in the quality soon.
- 4' Yuji Nakazawa's clearance runs all the way through to Hamidou Souleymanou - a tepid start.
- 3' Cameroon have never lost their opening match at a World Cup, compiling one win and four draws in five outings.
- 2' Stephane Mbia goes down clutching his face after Yasuhito Endo puts his arm across the face of the full-back.
1' We are underway with Japan lining up in a 4-1-4-1 and Cameroon in a 4-3-3 formation.- 14:55 A very disappointing turn-out as the teams step out, the ground is little more than half full.
- 14:50 Today's referee is Olegario Benquerenca from Portugal.
- 14:45 Japan and Cameroon have met three times before and Japan have never lost. Japan have beaten Cameroon twice by a 2-0 score and one match finished in a scoreless draw, leaving Cameroon without a single goal scored against Japan.
- 14:40 Nevertheless, Okada, whose side have lost four of their last five matches and scored just once, has steeled his players for the Inter Milan forward's presence. "Our players should be well informed enough about how he plays. We would like to have several players to cover him," he said.
- 14:35 Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o is good but he is not "perfect", Japan coach Takeshi Okada said. With 42 goals in 92 appearances for Cameroon, Eto'o is exactly the sort of scoring threat Okada's side have lacked in recent months.
- 14:30 Coach Paul Le Guen conceded the Netherlands are likely to top Group E with Cameroon and Denmark likely to fight it out for second, providing Japan do not spring an unlikely surprise. "I feel happiness to lead the team of Cameroon. I feel the huge expectation of the country and we have certainly done everything to make sure the preparation is well underway. I think we are ready to showcase our talents," he said.
- 14:25 Talented playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura had to settle for a place on the substitutes bench in Takeshi Okada's side.
- 14:20 Japan, who have never won a World Cup match on foreign soil, kept Keisuke Honda in midfield having pondered starting him up front. Yoshito Okubo plays as a lone striker.
- 14:15 New first-choice goalkeeper Hamidou Souleymanou will also start in place of Idriss Carlos Kameni who had commanded the position for the past seven years.
- 14:10 Cameroon midfielder Alexandre Song was omitted from Paul Le Guen's starting line-up. The Arsenal man misses out after Le Guen gave Joel Matip the nod in a three-man midfield.
- 14:05 Teams - 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. /// Cameroon: 16-Hamidou Souleymanou; 19-Stephane Mbia, 5-Sebastien Bassong, 3-Nicolas Nkoulou, 2-Benoit Assou-Ekotto, 11-Jean Makoun, 18-Enoh Eyong, 15-Achille Webo, 21-Joel Matip, 9-Samuel Eto'o, 13-Eric Choupo-Moting.
- 14:00 Cameroon open their World Cup campaign against Japan in Group E at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
-
Summary
- 86' A wonderful 25-yard strike from Mbia strikes the crossbar. So close to an equaliser.
- 83' A powerful drive by Hasebe is pushed away by Souleymanou, the follow-up from Okazaki hits the post but the offside flag is already up.
- 55' Good cross on the run from Mbia but Webo cannot direct his header on target.
- 51' Cameroon's best chance by a distance and the first touch of class from Eto'o as he holds off Okubo, cuts inside Abe and pulls back to Choupo-Moting who looks to steer the ball into the top corner but his effort drifts wide of the far post.
- 39' GOAL JAPAN!! Totally out of the blue, Keisuke Honda gives Japan the lead. A deep cross from the left from Matsui goes over the head of Nkoulou, Mbia has been sucked in on the cover and the CSKA Moscow m idfielder brings the ball down crisply and tucks home his finish.
- 38' We have the first attempt on goal as Choupo-Moting lays off a throw-in into the path of Enoh Eyong whose shot is comfortably saved, low by Kawashima.
Team Line-up & Ratings
-
Line-up
Live Team Line-Up
Starting line-up
- E. Kawashima
- Y. Komano
- Y. Nakazawa
- M. Tanaka
- Y. Nagatomo
- M. Hasebe
- Y. Abe
- Y. Endo
- D. Matsui
- Y. Okubo
- K. Honda
Subs
- J. Inamoto
88′ - Y. Kawaguchi
- S. Narazaki
- S. Nakamura
- K. Tamada
- T. Morimoto
- S. Okazaki 69′
- A. Uchida
- K. Yano 82′
- Y. Konno
- K. Nakamura
- D. Iwamasa
Starting line-up
- S. Hamidou
- S. M'Bia
- N. N'Koulou
- S. Bassong
- B. Assou-Ekotto
- J. Matip
- J. Makoun
- E. Enoh
- S. Eto'o
- E. Choupo-Moting
- P. Webó
Subs
- R. Song
- M. Idrissou 75′
- A. Emana 63′
- L. N'Guemo
- G. Mandjeck
- A. Chedjou
- G. Bong
- G. Njitap 75′
- I. Kaméni
- A. Song
- G. N'Dy Assembé
- V. Aboubakar
-
Rate Players
Cameroon is synonym for doom and past glories. Hopeless football team
To be honest, Denmark is not strong. Japan will be able to win. Netherland also has problems in the team. Japan can win both of them.
Up Miller!! you said the right thing and Etoo thought you were comparing wealth. Today we are living witnesses of this truth. Thank you for doing africa proud in your day we miss your dazzling performaces. Ann nebo
good luck to japan and england in this group!
sorry for cameroon but this was a match to get at least a point from...
Good players but no coordination,no team work,no appropriate coaching,no results at the end.Watch out am seeing an all disapponting appearance for Cameron through and through.
Mushavi
Coaching...Coaching....Coaching....Algeria and Cameroon desperately need a good coach. What a waste with such good players on both teams.
All African countries, with no exception, have a coaching problem. Algeria and Cameroon with great players are badly coached; they both missed a chance to move forward on the first game. Algeria plays defensively (?) and Cameroon players were lost in Mr. Leguen's strange system. Ghana is the best school of football in Africa; they have talent and intelligence. Winning without Essien and Muntari shows that Ghana is a TEAM, not a group of individual stars. Ghana plays pure football, they're the closest to Brazil and Argentina in football quality. Expect Ghana to dominate African football for many years to come. On their next matches, Nigeria, Algeria, and Cameroon must play better and win. I believe Cameroon will go through. Algeria and Nigeria have very little chance to reach the next round. But, in football everything is possible. If at least 2 or 3 African teams qualify to the next round, it will be a good accomplishment for the continent. I just hope Cote d'Ivoire will play their natural football, not defensive football.
whatever ivory coast does tomorow
the result would have been more significative for the country
if they had not decided to pay $2 millions for three months of the time of
Ericsson.
The guy is a graet coach but it does not make sense for him to coach
ivory coast national team.the day I see a european team coached by a African then I will consider it ok for all subsaharian African teams
to be coached by europeans.
It gives the wrong signal, this is a national contest, and African countries should look among their own people
the best one to lead their teamwhen you are loosing a game, you should stop making stupid faults
and no player should stay down unless he is really hit
loosing time like this when you should be attacking is excrutiating
How comes the germans undestand that and not the cameroonese ?Also, Cameroon should get rid of Le Guen and repalce him with an african coach
Some journalist said "The Japaneese side did not do anything to be on the top." That statement is absurd! I am an African, Japan did their job by scoring their goal and defending it. And that the whole game!
I was hoping in Cameroun to bring in another victory, but all hope yielded futile!
If Japan was defending a lonesome goal, why couldn't Cameroun abandond the 2-3-4 system of play? two player on the top with bunch of Japanese defending as far as the six yard box, even the angels of soccer wouldn't score. Because Japan had about eight players defending the pole. Shame man. Baby born today should had known what to do!
Na wa o.................. cameroon wetin happen?
South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon & Ivory Coast. it appeared that this country forgot their purpose at this edition of the world cup in Africa. When South Africa failed to open the winning road for us, Nigeria came fought Argentina so as to open the winning arena yet their effort was abortive. Ghana did it for us and made Africans proud of their continent.... CAMEROON instead to follow suit, you disappointed us by allowing J A P A N to woop u the rod of defeat. WHY., well all hope is not lost yet, I look forward up to the IVORIan tomorrow to equally make us proud........... UP AFRICANS
what was his reason for keeping A song on the bench?
WAT IS CAMEROON DOING LIKE DAT I EVEN HAD HOPES FOR CAMEROON NOW I SEE THRE IS NO WAY OUT:AFRICAN FOOTBALL HAS GOT AGE
go japan
Honda's first touch was the best I've ever seen and he was so calm to the point of almost being casual with that sweet goal. He worked tirelessly up front. He was head and shoulders above the rest in the field. He is a rebel with "can do anything" attitude. I love watching him and as long as he is on the field, anything is possible.
Okubo made good runs and passes too and the two central defenders were great. Matsui got stuck in plenty of times in action although I though he could've done better. The whole team played great defense and their discipline was amazing. However they defended too deep near the end of the match and I would've loved to see them keep possesion and attack on the counter.
Would've loved to see a bit of Nakamura too.
All in all great team defese, awesome Honda moment and a well deserved Victory. Well done Japan.
ALLEZ LES LIONS"""""
Japan played a good game, but this Managers need to bring on the best players for the team in the first half, for me i say that J. Inamoto should have played more and started of in the first half of the game.
cameroon dont get any points here ,they suck and are weak
I have been wearing my green Cameroon top all day, was it worth?
Match ratings
FOOTBALL Latest
-
Live Now
-
Results
Football| International friendlies Match Poland 1 - 0 Slovakia Republic of Ireland 1 - 0 Bosnia-Herzegovina Denmark 1 - 3 Brazil Belgium 2 - 2 Montenegro Football| League One Match Huddersfield Town 0 - 0
(8-7) Sheffield UnitedFootball| Serie B Match Crotone 4 - 1 Brescia Football| Copa del Rey Match Athletic Bilbao 0 - 3 FC Barcelona Football| Primera A Match San Martín (San Juan) 3 - 2 Olimpo -
Coming Up
May 27
Football | International friendlies Time Match 19:00 Netherlands v Bulgaria 19:00 Finland v Turkey 19:15 Czech Republic v Israel 19:30 Greece v Slovenia 19:45 Norway v England May 27
Football | International friendlies Time Match 01:00 USA v Scotland May 27
Football | Segunda División Time Match 19:00 FC Barcelona B v Las Palmas May 27
Football | Serie B Time Match 19:45 AlbinoLeffe v Torino 19:45 Bari v Gubbio 19:45 Pescara v Nocerina 19:45 Empoli v Cittadella 19:45 Reggina v Vicenza 19:45 Padova v Ascoli 19:45 Livorno v Grosseto May 27
Football | Brazilian Série A Time Match 22:30 Goianense v Ponte Preta 22:30 Flamengo v Internacional 22:30 Portuguesa v Vasco da Gama May 27
Football | Brazilian Série A Time Match 01:00 Náutico v Cruzeiro May 27
Football | MLS Time Match 19:30 Houston Dynamo v Los Angeles Galaxy 21:30 Toronto FC v Philadelphia Union May 27
Football | MLS Time Match 00:00 Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire 00:30 DC United v New England Revolution 02:00 Real Salt Lake v FC Dallas 03:00 Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps 03:30 Chivas USA v Seattle Sounders May 27
Football | Primera A Time Match 20:10 Lanús v All Boys 22:15 Argentinos Juniors v Banfield May 27
Football | Primera A Time Match 00:20 Atletico Belgrano v Racing Club
Man of the match
Yuji Nakazawa - Japan
Japan were superbly marshalled by the central defender.
Group Tables
-
A
-
B
-
C
-
D
-
E
-
F
-
G
-
H
Uruguay
Mexico
South Africa
France
Argentina
Korea Republic
Greece
Nigeria
USA
England
Slovenia
Algeria
Germany
Ghana
Australia
Serbia
Netherlands
Japan
Denmark
Cameroon
Paraguay
Slovakia
New Zealand
Italy
Brazil
Portugal
Ivory Coast
Korea DPR
Spain
Chile
Switzerland
HondurasWorld Football 2010
Global World Cup coverage
Yahoo! News Network
This site is Copyright © 2012 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
- Terms of Service
- Updated Privacy Policy
- Copyright/IP Policy
- Remarks and Suggestions
- Corporate info
- Jobs at Eurosport
Notice: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy | About Our Ads.
This site is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).