Holland labored to beat Japan 1-0 in the World Cup on Saturday, thanks to a Wesley Sneijder powerful shot, and now the Oranje are all but certain to claim a spot in the round of 16. The Inter Milan ace hit the winner seven minutes from the hour mark when he released a fierce drive that deflected of the keeper's palms and into the net. Holland are now on top of Group E with six points. They had defeated Denmark 2-0 in their opening game. Bert van Marwijk's men will qualify for the last 16 should Group E contenders Cameroon and Denmark draw in their match that takes place later on the same day. During the match, Holland had the lion's share of the possession but couldn't carve out many scoring chances. Sneijder first tried his luck after 20 minutes but his shot went high over. Japan came close to springing a surprise in the 38th minutes when Daisuke Matsui was denied by custodian Maarten Stekelenburg.
Holland maintained their dominance after the break. Robin van Persie tried to open the scoring on 47 minutes when he connected with a cross but his tame header posed no threat. After Sneijder broke the deadlock, Japan redeemed themselves and looked to bring the score level. Both teams squandered late opportunities that could have changed the score-line. Van Persie went one-on-one with goalie Eiji Kawashima but the latter competently blocked his attempt. Substitute Ibrahim Afellay also could have doubled Holland's lead two minutes from time when his effort was cleared off the line by challengers. At the other end, Japan's Shinji Okazaki wasted a golden chance to equalize when he saw his close-range effort go over the crossbar seconds before the final whistle.
