World Cup Group E

Holland were the best team during the early stages of Euro 2008 when demolishing Italy, France and Romania en route to the quarter finals but they ultimately came unstuck against Russia and will be desperate to make up for their failings there with a prolonged stay in South Africa.

New coach Bert van Marwijk now gets the chance to deliver Holland’s first success on the biggest stage of all and he certainly has the squad capable of doing so. The Dutch won every game in qualifying, albeit in an easy group, and have been handed what should be a straightforward task to reach the knockout stages.

Just 1/2 in a place to win Group E, I couldn’t dissuade anybody taking the 4/5 on offer with VC Bet about Holland winning the section and for me they look banker material.

Some will point to Holland’s suspect looking defence as a weakness but they keep the ball so well that they are rarely overstretched at the back and, with Mark van Bommel back pulling the strings in midfield, their creative talent should ensure they have a very decent run.

Providing Robin van Persie returns fully fit from the ankle injury currently keeping him on the sidelines then van Marwijk will be able to call upon one of the finest strikers on display at the finals and the Arsenal man should be supported in attack once again by Dirk Kuyt and van Bommel’s Bayern Munich teammate Arjen Robben.

That trio have the licence to roam with the likes of van Bommel and Nigel de Jong providing cover in midfield and maybe this will also be the tournament when Rafael van der Vaart finally fulfils his undoubted potential. He has the talent to be one of the brightest stars on show and this might just be his time to shine.

Morten Olsen’s side did terrifically well to top a qualifying group that included rivals Sweden and Portugal and, while they seem to lack the firepower to cause too many problems for the very best teams, the Danes are bound to be tough to break down.

Denmark conceded just five goals in ten matches on their way to the finals, when they came up against the two most expensive players in history in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the spine of their team looks solid. Denmark failed to make it to Germany 2006 but fared well prior to that in Japan-Korea, before running into England, and the knockout stages must once again be the aim.

Greece showed just how far decent defending and good organisation can take you when triumphing at Euro 2004 and this Danish side have similar characteristics. Thomas Sorenson, the Stoke City goalkeeper, is an excellent last line of defence while I’m a big fan of Daniel Agger – providing the Liverpool centre back stays fit.

Further forward it is difficult to see where goals will come from with Olsen relying on the muscle of Nicklas Bendtner and craft of Jon Dahl Tomasson but if they can nick one on the break it is easy to see Denmark frustrating their opponents and a last 16 clash with Italy would be fascinating. Denmark are 6/5 with Paddy Power to reach round two and that looks about right.

Sharing second favouritism with the Danes in Group E, Cameroon will forever be remembered as the first African nation to really serve it up to the rest at a World Cup with their terrific run to the last eight of Italia 90, when they were so unlucky to be dumped out by England, but they’ve won just one game at the finals since and could be up against it once more.

Paul Le Guen is the man given the task of resurrecting the fortunes of Cameroon and the 2000 and 2002 African Cup of Nations winners will be eager to return to former glories. They have seen the likes of Ivory Coast and Ghana surpass them as the dominant forces in the host continent but have been handed a decent draw and look powerful from front to back.

Samuel Eto’o will, of course, generate the majority of the headlines but the Inter striker is far from asked to do it all on his own and Stephane Mbia, the Marseille forward, is one to keep an eye on. Fellow Ligue 1 based player Jean Makoun of Lyon is a talent and with 100 cap men Rigobert Song and Geremi still going strong Cameroon seem to have a decent mix of youth and experience.

Cameroon turned around a poor start to qualifying, which saw former coach Otto Pfister dismissed, to reach South Africa fairly comfortably and certainly appear on the upgrade. That said, I’m not sure there’s an awful lot of quality beyond their main men and what to expect from them appears unclear.

Beaten only by Australia in final Asian qualifying, Japan made it to their fourth consecutive World Cup finals with a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan and they shouldn’t be taken lightly.

It’s impossible to gage Japan’s quality from matches such as that one and against the likes of Bahrain but they have a number of impressive results to their name over the past 12 months, albeit in friendly matches, and Takeshi Okada’s men will fancy their chances of causing an upset or two.

Low-scoring encounters were the order of the day in qualifying, their eight matches featured just 17 goals, but convincing wins over Ghana, Belgium and the much-fancied Chile during the last year hint at more than a touch of ability in attack and Shinji Okazaki, just 23-years-old, looks like a star in the making.

The Shimizu S-Pulse striker has 15 international goals to his name in 2009 and should thrive on the big stage alongside the more experienced duo of Shunsuke Nakamura and Keiji Tamuda.

I strongly fancy the Dutch for top honours in Group E but there are worse 16/1 shots early on in the tournament than that offered by Coral about Japan landing first place and I’m sure SkyBet’s 11/4 on them progressing will also prove popular.