The situation is pretty clear in this group. Whoever wins this match is through to the final 16 but if they draw then Japan will be the lucky recipients. There are also some mathematical chances that they can get top spot but they are expected to be obliterated by Holland in the other game.

Denmark - Japan.

 Even though Denmark trailed Cameroon by 0-1 they still managed to overturn the result and make it 2-1, which gives them the opportunity to have everything to play for today. First team choice defender Simon Kjaer is suspended after receiving 2 yellow cards and a replacement will need to be found, while Jensen may come in for Jorgensen, who didn’t play that well. Nevertheless, it is not as if Denmark set the world on fire but they were fortunate enough to come across a Cameroon that was once again tragic. Today they also need to go all out for victory and this is not something which has suited them in recent times as they try to grind out 1-0 wins. Also worth bearing in mind is that some of their ageing players may struggle in the second half against the tireless Japanese.

 Japan basically need to keep a clean sheet, while I do not expect them to make any changes to the team. Potentially, they may field some players who run endlessly in order to exhaust their opponents who certainly don’t have the stamina they once did. Japan have shown a good team spirit but the negative problems they had prior to the World Cup commencing still remain. They are very dangerous on the counter attack and given they can go through with a draw I expect them to capitalise on their advantage.

Probable Line-ups:

Denmark (4-4-2): Sorensen - Jacobsen, Klodrup, Agger, S. Poulsen -  C. Poulsen, Rommedahl, Jensen (Jorgensen), Kahlenberg  - Tomasson, Bendtner

Japan (4-5-1): Kawashima; Komano, Nakazawa, Tulio Tanaka, Nagatomo - Abe, Endo, Honda, Hasebe, Matsui - Okubo (Okazaki)

Selection: Basically one of the nations will need to go through even though personally I don’t believe either of them deserve it. I think this game is evenly matched and if the game is still deadlocked towards the end, Denmark will throw everything forward including the kitchen sink so I expect plenty of goals towards the end of the game. I will take a risk on a bet which I think is worthy where both teams score in the second half.