Dirk Kuyt and Arjen Robben lead the Netherlands in to Group E action. (Getty Images)

We’re skipping around in our World Cup previews. I can’t for the life of me preview Group C just yet, and I’m sure Geoff can’t do the same. We should have Group D up tomorrow sometime but let’s move forward with Group E shall we?

Group E could be a tricky group to figure out but one thing should be pretty clear it’s Holland’s to lose. With tough matches against Japan, Cameroon and Denmark most figure the Dutch are the favorites here and even in the entire tournament. Most figure it is a three-team race for second place but don’t sleep on Denmark not wanting to settle for second place in this group.

Cameroon: One of the couple African sides that I like in this tournament. Having Samuel Eto’o doesn’t hurt either. The thing is this team moves when Eto’o moves. Their recent loss to Portugal does give reason for concern. Going up against quality European sides like Denmark and Holland could present big challenges to this team. The defense has to be strong for them to move on, something it wasn’t at this year’s African Nations Cup.

Denmark: Failing to qualify for the last World Cup in 2006 and Euro 2008 this Danish group burst onto the scene in qualifying with a surprising record. They were hot at first in qualifying going 5-0-1 but later cooled down towards the end of the run. So which Danish side will show up to these games? The hot streak one or the one that cooled off and looked a bit aged? Either way this team has a bit of history on their side, even though they’ve only qualified for the World Cup three other times they have always made it out of the group stage. A lot is riding on their opening match with Holland, a win or draw there could set them up for another surprising run. Keep an eye out for Nicklas Bendtner, he may be 22 but this could be a year that he shines.

Holland (Netherlands): The Dutch attack is definitely one of the best in this tournament. If they get going then look out, they’ll likely run away with this group just like they did with their qualifying group in Europe. I love their defense too, its underrated in my eyes. Their discipline is also a strong trait that may not get talked about as much here either. Their last few friendlies leading up to the tournament they made easy work of Mexico and Ghana. They should move on from this group, it won’t be easy but with the talent on board there it shouldn’t be too hard.

Japan: No doubt they are the true underdog in this group. Not many will figure they have a chance to advance as they will likely need two upsets to do so. They recently gave England a good run for their money but in the end they still fell short, which based on other results this year seems to be a theme for them. Getting Cameroon to open the tournament is a good thing for them however. In the past couple years this group has done well against African sides going 5-0-1 against them, while outscoring them 16-4. They’ll need to bank on that experience to get a jump start in this group.

Group E Predictions:

Again it’s Hollands to lose which I don’t think they will here. After that its really a toss up in my mind. I love Cameroon but I also know how tough Denmark can be here. With Japan being such a wildcard it could be any one of those two moving on with the Dutch. I think Cameroon sneaks out of this group but it won’t be by much.

Holland 9 pts.
Cameroon 6pts.
Denmark 3 pts.
Japan 0pts.