NEWS

Japan fell 1-0 to the Netherlands in their second group game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Durban on Saturday.

The Samurai Blue held the European powerhouse goalless in the first half, but Wesley Sneijder broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute.
Both teams started the match with the same line-ups they used in their first games, which both teams won.
The Dutch team kept striker Arjen Robben on the bench and played patient possession football in the first half, but the Japanese defended well to prevent scoring opportunities.
Japan, who edged Cameroon 1-0 in their opening match on Monday, looked confident as they soaked up Dutch pressure at Durban Stadium with good organization and tenacious defending.
The game came alive eight minutes after the break.
Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka cleared a Giovanni Van Bronckhorst cross, but the ball travelled to Robin Van Persie, who fed Sneijder just outside the box. The Inter Milan midfielder thumped a vicious right-footed volley goalwards and Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima could do little more than divert the ball into his own net.
Japan responded by attacking, and the hard-working Yoshito Okubo had a couple of good attempts at goal, while midfielder Yuki Abe tried his luck with a header from a Yasuhito Endo free-kick.
In an attempt to bolster Japan’s attack, coach Takeshi Okada brought on Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura in the 64th minute, followed by Shinji Okazaki of Shimizu S-Pulse and Keiji Tamada of Nagoya Grampus in the 77th minute.
But as the Japanese pushed forward, it allowed the Dutch to find more space.
Substitute Ibrahim Afellay had two great chances to score late on, but the first was denied by a sharp save by Kawashima, while the second was cleared by Tulio and Yuji Nakazawa as the ball bobbled toward the goal following another save by Kawashima.
Japan had a great chance in the dying minutes when Okazaki latched on to a header in the box, but his volley went over the bar.
Japan will play Denmark in their third and final Group E match on June 24 in Rustenburg.