Group E of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 14 June and ended on 24 June 2010. The group consisted of the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. None of these teams had previously met in a World Cup group stage.

Cameroon was the first team to be eliminated in the World Cup, following their 2–1 defeat by Denmark on 19 June 2010. The Netherlands and Japan would then meet again in the same group in the 2026 edition.

Standings

Netherlands advanced to play Slovakia (runner-up of Group F) in the round of 16. Japan advanced to play Paraguay (winner of Group F) in the round of 16.

Matches All times local (UTC+2)

Netherlands vs Denmark

GK 1 Maarten StekelenburgRB 2 Gregory van der WielCB 3 John HeitingaCB 4 Joris MathijsenLB 5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst (c)CM 6 Mark van BommelCM 8 Nigel de Jong RW 7 Dirk KuytAM 10Wesley SneijderLW 23Rafael van der Vaart CF 9 Robin van Persie Substitutions:FW 17Eljero Elia MF 20Ibrahim Afellay MF 14Demy de Zeeuw Manager:Bert van Marwijk GK 1 Thomas SørensenRB 6 Lars JacobsenCB 4 Daniel AggerCB 3 Simon Kjær LB 15Simon PoulsenRM 20Thomas Enevoldsen CM 2 Christian PoulsenCM 12Thomas Kahlenberg LM 10Martin Jørgensen (c)SS 19Dennis RommedahlCF 11Nicklas Bendtner Substitutions:MF 8 Jesper Grønkjær FW 17Mikkel Beckmann MF 21Christian Eriksen Manager:Morten Olsen

Man of the Match: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)

Assistant referees: Eric Dansault (France) Laurent Ugo (France) Fourth official: Roberto Rosetti (Italy) Fifth official: Paolo Calcagno (Italy)

Japan vs Cameroon On the 39th minute, from a surprising Daisuke Matsui cross from the right wing, Keisuke Honda chipped in and delivered home to give Japan the lead, a lead which Japan would successfully defend for the remainder of the match.

The win for Japan was their first World Cup win away from home soil, and it was also the first time Cameroon was defeated in a World Cup opening match. This defeat was a huge shock at the time, due to Japan's poor friendly results and their relatively unknown squad versus to that of Cameroon.

GK 21Eiji KawashimaRB 5 Yuto NagatomoCB 22Yuji NakazawaCB 4 Marcus Tulio TanakaLB 3 Yūichi KomanoDM 2 Yuki Abe RM 8 Daisuke Matsui CM 18Keisuke HondaCM 17Makoto Hasebe (c) LM 7 Yasuhito EndōCF 16Yoshito Ōkubo Substitutions:FW 9 Shinji Okazaki FW 12Kisho Yano MF 20Junichi Inamoto Manager:Takeshi Okada GK 16Souleymanou HamidouRB 19Stéphane MbiaCB 3 Nicolas N'Koulou CB 5 Sébastien BassongLB 2 Benoît Assou-EkottoRM 21Joël Matip CM 11Jean Makoun LM 18Eyong EnohRW 9 Samuel Eto'o (c)LW 13Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting CF 15Pierre WebóSubstitutions:MF 10Achille Emana MF 8 Geremi FW 17Mohammadou Idrissou Manager: Paul Le Guen Man of the Match: Keisuke Honda (Japan)

Assistant referees: José Cardinal (Portugal) Bertino Miranda (Portugal) Fourth official: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia) Fifth official: Abraham González (Colombia)

Netherlands vs Japan The first clear chance of the game came from midfielder Wesley Sneijder when he shot over the bar from a long-range free-kick. When Japan broke up the Netherlands' passing, midfielder Daisuke Matsui was positive, helping a move that set Yuto Nagatomo up for a shot that he hit wide. The Netherlands became frustrated, as they struggled to incorporate forward Robin van Persie. Towards the end of the first half, Japan had two chances: defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka heading wide and Matsui with a powerful shot at the goalkeeper.

Throughout the second half, Van Persie managed to break free twice. In the 52 minute, as the ball came into the penalty area, the Dutch number 9 moved the ball towards Sneijder, who shot the ball powerfully towards the goal, scoring via a deflection from the goalkeeper, Eiji Kawashima. Substitute Shunsuke Nakamura later managed to make a cross into the six-yard box, which was cleared by Van Persie. Dutch substitute Eljero Elia, managed to set up Ibrahim Afellay with a one-on-one with goalkeeper Kawashima, but Kawashima prevented him from scoring a goal. One minute before the end of the game, Shinji Okazaki missed a shot from ; shooting over the bar. Soon after this, Yuto Nagatomo went down in the penalty area claiming a penalty, from a challenge by Dutch Nigel de Jong, but the referee turned down his appeals.

The result was the Netherlands' second win in the competition, which meant that they would progress to the knockout stage if they did not lose their last match or Cameroon did not defeat Denmark. Cameroon would later on lose to Denmark, which meant that the Dutch were through and Cameroon were out after two matches.

GK 1 Maarten StekelenburgRB 2 Gregory van der Wiel CB 3 John HeitingaCB 4 Joris MathijsenLB 5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst (c)CM 6 Mark van BommelCM 8 Nigel de JongRW 7 Dirk KuytAM 10Wesley Sneijder LW 23Rafael van der Vaart CF 9 Robin van Persie Substitutions:FW 17Eljero Elia MF 20Ibrahim Afellay FW 21Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Manager:Bert van Marwijk GK 21Eiji KawashimaRB 3 Yūichi KomanoCB 22Yuji NakazawaCB 4 Marcus Tulio TanakaLB 5 Yuto NagatomoDM 17Makoto Hasebe (c) CM 2 Yuki AbeCM 7 Yasuhito EndōRW 8 Daisuke Matsui LW 16Yoshito Ōkubo CF 18Keisuke HondaSubstitutions:MF 10Shunsuke Nakamura FW 9 Shinji Okazaki FW 11Keiji Tamada Manager:Takeshi Okada Man of the Match: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)

Assistant referees: Ricardo Casas (Argentina) Hernán Maidana (Argentina) Fourth official: Martin Hansson (Sweden) Fifth official: Henrik Andrén (Sweden)

Cameroon vs Denmark

GK 16Souleymanou HamidouRB 19Stéphane Mbia CB 3 Nicolas N'KoulouCB 5 Sébastien Bassong LB 2 Benoît Assou-EkottoCM 8 GeremiCM 18Eyong Enoh RW 6 Alex SongLW 10Achille EmanaSS 15Pierre Webó CF 9 Samuel Eto'o (c)Substitutions:MF 11Jean Makoun FW 17Mohammadou Idrissou FW 23Vincent Aboubakar Manager: Paul Le Guen GK 1 Thomas Sørensen RB 6 Lars JacobsenCB 3 Simon Kjær CB 4 Daniel AggerLB 15Simon PoulsenCM 2 Christian PoulsenCM 10Martin Jørgensen RW 19Dennis RommedahlAM 9 Jon Dahl Tomasson (c) LW 8 Jesper Grønkjær CF 11Nicklas BendtnerSubstitutions:MF 7 Daniel Jensen MF 12Thomas Kahlenberg MF 14Jakob Poulsen Manager:Morten Olsen Man of the Match: Daniel Agger (Denmark)

Assistant referees: Pablo Fandino (Uruguay) Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay) Fourth official: Peter O'Leary (New Zealand) Fifth official: Brent Best (New Zealand)

Denmark vs Japan Japan opened the scoring in the 17th minute from a direct free kick taken by Keisuke Honda – only the second goal scored from a free kick in the tournament. Honda, standing to Danish keeper Thomas Sørensen's left, kicked the ball with great force; Sørensen initially moved to his left, and as the ball sailed past the wall, he shifted direction, but could not recover in time to make the save. Japan's second goal came thirteen minutes later, also from a direct free kick, this time by Yasuhito Endō. Standing outside the penalty area directly in front of the Danish goal, he curled the ball around the wall. Sørensen had been standing on the right side of his goal and could not move to his left fast enough. Endō almost scored from yet another free kick early in the second half. This time, Sørensen appeared to have difficulty judging the path of the ball, and was only able to palm it away at the last second, where it caromed off the goalpost.

Denmark needed to win this game in order to advance and increased their attacks accordingly. Late in the second half, Christian Eriksen put his shot over the goal and Søren Larsen hit the goalpost. They were finally able to score in the 82nd minute. When Makoto Hasebe was adjudged to have fouled Daniel Agger inside the penalty area, Denmark were awarded a penalty kick. Jon Dahl Tomasson took the shot, which was saved by Eiji Kawashima; the goalkeeper, however, was unable to control the rebound, which fell to Tomasson, and he was able to put it in the goal. Japan scored their final goal in the 87th minute. Honda dribbled into the penalty area, forcing Sørensen to attempt to block a potential shot, but Honda passed it to substitute Shinji Okazaki, who merely had to put the ball into an empty net.

The victory was Japan's second World Cup tournament victory on foreign soil, and only their second against a European team. Japan finished group play in second place with six points, and advanced to the knockout round for the second time in their history, and the first time on foreign soil. Denmark ended in third with three points. This was the first time Denmark failed to get past the group stage in the World Cup.

GK 1 Thomas SørensenRB 6 Lars JacobsenCB 4 Daniel AggerCB 13Per Krøldrup LB 15Simon PoulsenDM 2 Christian Poulsen CM 10Martin Jørgensen CM 12Thomas Kahlenberg AM 9 Jon Dahl Tomasson (c)AM 19Dennis RommedahlCF 11Nicklas Bendtner Substitutions:MF 14Jakob Poulsen FW 18Søren Larsen MF 21Christian Eriksen Manager:Morten Olsen GK 21Eiji KawashimaRB 3 Yūichi KomanoCB 22Yuji NakazawaCB 4 Marcus Tulio TanakaLB 5 Yuto Nagatomo DM 2 Yuki AbeCM 8 Daisuke Matsui CM 7 Yasuhito Endō RW 17Makoto Hasebe (c)LW 16Yoshito Ōkubo CF 18Keisuke HondaSubstitutions:FW 9 Shinji Okazaki DF 15Yasuyuki Konno MF 20Junichi Inamoto Manager:Takeshi Okada Man of the Match: Keisuke Honda (Japan)

Assistant referees: Célestin Ntagungira (Rwanda) Enock Molefe (South Africa) Fourth official: Martin Hansson (Sweden) Fifth official: Henrik Andrén (Sweden)

Cameroon vs Netherlands

GK 16Souleymanou HamidouRB 8 GeremiCB 19Stéphane Mbia CB 3 Nicolas N'Koulou LB 2 Benoît Assou-EkottoCM 14Aurélien ChedjouCM 7 Landry N'GuémoRW 11Jean MakounLW 12Gaëtan Bong CF 9 Samuel Eto'o (c)CF 13Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting Substitutions:FW 23Vincent Aboubakar FW 17Mohammadou Idrissou DF 4 Rigobert Song Manager: Paul Le Guen GK 1 Maarten StekelenburgRB 12Khalid BoulahrouzCB 3 John HeitingaCB 4 Joris MathijsenLB 5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst (c) CM 6 Mark van BommelCM 8 Nigel de JongRW 7 Dirk Kuyt AM 10Wesley SneijderLW 23Rafael van der Vaart CF 9 Robin van Persie Substitutions:FW 21Klaas-Jan Huntelaar FW 17Eljero Elia FW 11Arjen Robben Manager:Bert van Marwijk

Man of the Match: Robin van Persie (Netherlands)

Assistant referees: Patricio Basualto (Chile) Francisco Mondria (Chile) Fourth official: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia) Fifth official: Saleh Al Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates)

See also Cameroon at the FIFA World Cup Denmark at the FIFA World Cup Japan at the FIFA World Cup Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup

References

Match reports