DURBAN, South Africa — Wesley Sneijder scored the only goal Saturday and the Netherlands beat Japan 1-0 for its second straight World Cup win.
Sneijder's 53rd-minute strike finally broke through a Japanese defense that had stifled Dutch creativity in front of 62,010 fans at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The Netherlands again failed to live up to its billing as one of the most fluid attacking teams of the tournament. The Dutch struggled to a 2-0 victory over Denmark in its first Group E match, while Japan had a 1-0 win over Cameroon.
The Dutch will advance to the knockout phase of the tournament if Cameroon and Denmark tie on Sunday.
Striker Robin van Persie missed chances for the Dutch before finally setting up Sneijder's goal. He laid the ball back and the Inter Milan midfielder fired a powerful right-footed shot that goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima could only deflect into his net.
Japan responded going on the attack and Yoshito Okubo had two shots in quick succession, the first saved by Maarten Stekelenburg and the second over the bar.
Substitute Ibrahim Afellay came close to doubling the Dutch lead in the 84th and again in the 88th minute when he twice bore down on the Japan goal, but he was foiled both times by good saves from Kawashima diving at his feet.
Japan nearly made the Netherlands pay for those misses in the final minutes when substitute Shinji Okazaki latched onto a deep cross at the far post but shot just over the bar.
The Netherlands is a two-time WorldCup finalist — losing in 1974 and 1978 — while Japan's best finish was reaching the round of 16 when it co-hosted the tournament with South Korea in 2002.
The win set a new record of 10 straight victories for the Netherlands in WorldCup qualifiers and finals matches — a run that includes eight qualification matches and its two victories in South Africa.
It also extended the Dutch record of never losing to an Asian team. It has now won eight matches and tied one against Asian opponents. - AP
(gmanews.tv)
