Dominate the midfield

Chapter 596 Chapter 596: Goodbye, defending champion!

The situation in Group E is clear. The Dutch team won both games and qualified ahead of schedule. Cameroon lost both games and was eliminated early. Japan and Denmark won one and lost one. The two teams will directly face-to-face to determine another knockout ticket.

Therefore, the focus of the last round of Group E is the match between Japan and Denmark. Japan, which has a goal difference advantage, can advance to the top [-] if it remains unbeaten, while Denmark, which has three points with the same score, must win to qualify. .

At 24:08 p.m. South Africa time on the 30th, the match between Japan and Denmark started on time at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

Denmark, which can only qualify by winning, was more proactive after the start of the game. They launched a fierce attack on Japan. In the 3rd minute, Thomasson knocked back and Simon Poulsen shot with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area on the left!
Soccer over the bar!

In the 7th minute, Simon Paulson deflected a cross from the left, and Thomason missed the point with a hook shot from the edge of the penalty area!

No.14 minutes, Simon Paulson passed the ball, and Thomason made a low shot from the left side of the penalty area 12 meters away from the goal!
The football flies past the fingers of Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima!
Just as the Danish fans were about to cheer, the football missed the right post!

Denmark missed a good opportunity to score. This shot made the Japanese sober. Simply defending is very dangerous. They stepped up their offense.

No.17 minutes, C-Paulson fouled Makoto Hasebe in the middle of the half, and Japan won a direct free kick in a good position.

Keisuke Honda, who plays for CSKA Moscow, stands behind the ball as he takes the penalty.

"Tick!..."

As the referee blew his whistle, Keisuke Honda ran towards the football slowly, "Crack!..." The football flew up from the turf, bypassed the human wall and went straight to the left side of the gate!
One to zero!

It was not the onslaught of the Danish team that scored the first goal, but the Japanese team!
The Danes came out in full force. They had no way out, and the Japanese fought back defensively. No.30 minutes, Japan quickly counterattacked, and Claude Lup had no choice but to pull down Yoshito Okubo in front of the penalty area.

Once again Japan won a well-placed direct free-kick, this time not Keisuke Honda in front of the ball but Yasuhito Endo of Gamba Osaka.

Endo Yasuhito's free kick went around the wall and went straight to the right side of the goal!

Despite his best efforts, Danish goalkeeper Sorensen couldn't stop the ball from going into the net!
Two to zero!
Japan's victory is in sight!

At the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, the match between the Netherlands and Cameroon is in full swing.

In the 306th minute of the first half, the Dutchman played wonderfully, Dirk Dirk made a breakthrough from the right and Van Persie took the ball inside and knocked back.

Van der Vaart's left-footed direct pass was missed by Dirk. Van Persie shot from a small angle with his right foot eight meters from the goal on the right. The football got into the goal from under Amidu's crotch!

One to zero!

With this goal, the Dutch ended the first half [-]-[-].In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again. Cameroon, who was fighting for honor, did not give up the game.

In the No.19 minute of the second half, Brarouz fouled Macon. Gremi took a free kick 25 meters in front of the goal and hit Van der Vaart's raised left elbow. The referee Poso whistled a penalty!

Eto'o makes it easy
One to one!

No. 308 minutes of the second half, the Dutch launched a sharp attack. Sneijder counterattacked from the backcourt and made a precise pass from the outside of his right foot. Left foot volley!
"Pong!..."

The football hit the inside of the left goal post and rebounded. Huntelaar stepped forward alertly and pushed with one foot. The football flew into the empty goal!

Two to one!

The Dutch took the lead again and kept this score until the end of the game.After Argentina and England, the Dutch team became the third team to win the group.

At the Royal Banfokken Stadium in Rustenburg, the Danes, who were two goals behind, did not give up, while Japan played a more determined defensive counterattack.

The Danes were on the offensive, but under Japan's tight defense and their anxious mentality, they missed goals again and again.No. 306 minutes of the second half, the efforts of the Danes finally paid off. Makoto Hasebe pushed Agger down in the penalty area, and the referee awarded Denmark a penalty.

Thomason's penalty kick was saved by Eiji Kawashima, but his clever follow-up shot sent the football into the net!
One to two!

The Danes narrowed the point difference!

The Dane's offense became more and more ferocious in the following games, but his defense gap was too large.No.403 minutes of the second half, Japan launched a quick counterattack. Keisuke Honda made a pass from the left side of the penalty area after dunking Romedal. Shinji Okazaki easily scored an empty goal!
Three to one!

The Japanese sealed the victory!

The Danes had no choice but to accept the fate of defeat. With this victory, Japan entered the round of [-] as the second place in the group.

The situation of Group F is similar to that of Group D. All four teams have the possibility of appearing, and the qualifying situation is confusing.The defending champion Italy, who had two draws and two draws, played against Slovakia, which had one draw and one loss.

At four o'clock in the afternoon on the 24th, the match between Italy and Slovakia officially started at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.After the start of the game, the defending champion launched a fierce attack on the opponent, but it was Slovakia who scored the first goal.

No. In 205 minutes, De Rossi passed the ball when no one was pressing in the backcourt. Kuzka grabbed the ball in front of Montolivo and passed it straight. Witek fell to the ground on the penalty area line and shot with his right foot!

Italian goalkeeper Marchetti failed to form an effective save, and the football went into the lower left corner!

One to zero!

After that, the two sides fell into a dogfight, and until the end of the first half, no one could change the score.

In Paul Guani's Peter Mokaba Stadium, Paraguay can get out of the group with a draw, and New Zealand can only qualify if it wins, so after the start of the game, New Zealand is more active.

With the passage of time, Paraguay gradually gained the upper hand by virtue of their advantages in strength, but they failed to score. Both teams failed to break through the opponent's goal in the first half.

Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, after the start of the second half, under the command of Lippi the Silver Fox, the Italians launched a strong counterattack, and Slovenia responded calmly.

In the No.18 minute of the second half, Slovenia got a corner kick.

Hamsik took a corner kick from the right, Chiellini headed the ball to clear the siege, but Hamsik immediately put his foot back to the goal, Witek rushed ahead of Chiellini, five meters away from the goal Push with the right foot!
Soccer hits the net!

Two to zero!
Italian fans are going to despair!
The tenacious Italian did not give up. In the 308th minute of the second half, Quagliarella cut in from the right and cooperated with Iaquinta kicking the wall. One foot and one low shot!
Slovak goalkeeper Mucha reacted quickly and blocked the football!
Di Natale alertly stepped forward with two steps and one foot to make up the shot!
Mucha didn't have time to make a second reaction, he could only watch the football roll into the empty goal!

One to two!

The Italians narrowed the point difference!
At this time, the game between Paraguay and New Zealand was still stalemate, and no one could break the deadlock.According to the current situation, as long as Italy equalizes the score, it will be able to overwhelm New Zealand with the number of goals.

So Italy came out in full force, and their defense gap was very large. In the 404th minute of the second half, Slovakia threw a ball into the Italian penalty area. Before Marchetti, he volleyed with his right toe nine meters from the goal!
The football made a wonderful arc in the air and flew into the net from the far corner!

Three to one!

Slovakia lead again by two goals, Italian fans shed bitter tears...

But the Italian players did not give up. They hoped to create a miracle. In the second minute of stoppage time, De Rossi's left rib shot was blocked and shoveled to Quagliarella. Quagliarella rubbed his right foot 24 meters in front of the goal. Shoot, the football goes into the net from the upper left corner!
Two to three!
It's a pity that the ball came too late. After 2 minutes, the referee blew the whistle to end the game, and Italy lost [-]-[-].Two draws and one loss, the defending champion was eliminated!
Almost at the same time, the match between Paraguay and New Zealand ended. The two sides shook hands with a score of zero to zero. The New Zealand team drew all three games and did not lose a game.

With one win and two draws, Paraguay entered the round of [-] as the top player in the group. Dark horse Slovakia won another ticket to advance to the knockout round by virtue of their victory in the last game.

Italy was eliminated, which exceeded many people's expectations. Although the defending champions are aging, their strength is still strong.Although they were eliminated from the Coppa Italia, their spirit of fighting until the last minute of the game was affirmed by the media.

The headline in the Daily Mirror read: Another world champion says goodbye to South Africa!
(End of this chapter)