The Danes were undone by Japan in a game that saw the first untouched free kick caress the net, as well as the second. Keisuki Honda's gorgeous shot completely surprised the Danish keeper as it dipped down over the wall and into the side netting (17'). Yasuhito Endo's sweet curving shot inside the post was also divine (30'). Either of these could go down as goals of the tournament.
The Danes showed a lack of energy from the start, which surprised me, given their fervor against Cameroon and their must-win situation. After the goals, they were even more despondent, much like a moribund Hamlet unsure of his purpose. Meanwhile, the Japanese were not fast, forceful, or flashy, but like a Honda, they proved to be very reliable.
The Danes showed a little life in the dying minutes of the game and earned themselves a penalty kick in the 81st minute. Not three second after I'd uttered, "he's going to save it," the Japanese keeper dove and blocked Jon Dahl Tomasson's exceptionally poor effort. Unfortunately, the ricochet rolled right back to Tomasson, who saved some face by tucking it away easily.
Still, the Danes seemed lethargic. In the 85th minute of a must-win game, you should be pressing your opponent so hard that they feel as if the walls are closing around them and need to use every excuse to waste time. Japan looked quite relaxed and in the 87th minute, the top international scorer of 2009, Shinji Okazaki, knocked in a 3rd goal to crown the victory.
There was a bit of controversy concerning the near side referee, who looked just like Koman Coulibaly from behind. If he was, FIFA were very clever about it and never showed his face on camera. But they might consider a safety issue jersey for skinny, bald, black referees (left).FUNNY COMMENTARY:
"Keisuke Honda is pacing this ball out carefully in a slightly Ronaldo-esque fashion. Even more of a Ronaldo-esque fashion as he backpedals. It dips, he scores! Ronaldo, eat your heart out!"
"The complete whiff and a miss from Tomasson."
"An awful penalty. I didn't want to say anything to jinx him, but I knew he was going to miss."
"Shinji Okazaki. He scored 15 goals for Japan in 2009, though that did include two hat tricks against Hong Kong and Togo."
"They all count!"
Japan were discussing building a statue for the head coach, Okada, if he delivered them out of the group stage.
"They'll have to build the statue now. Better get the chisels out, Japan."
A text from my friend after the first goal:
"Ah the wonderful precision of the Japanese machine! Using tecnology to its full advantage (the ball)"
His text after the third goal:
"I don't think the brakes work on the Japanese football team either..."
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