Farvel, Danmark

I almost didn't go to the Denmark vs. Japan game. It was in Rustenburg, which is around 3 hours outside of Jo'burg. Mind you, I don't have a car. However, with a bit of help I was able to find information about a bus that was heading out there and so I bit the bullet. Between the bus and taxis to and from Sandton train station, I think transportation was about as much as my ticket. Still, Denmark needed to win to progress so I thought it was important that I go.

On the plus side, on the bus I finally met a Danish bloke who was willing to practice Danish with me. At times it was slow going - my vocabulary has diminished over the years - but on the whole it went really well and I was grateful.

Getting to the stadium was straightforward. I had heard horror stories about Rustenburg, such as getting stuck in dire traffic and barely making the kickoff, but this was smooth sailing. Once I found my seat, I started to regret getting the lower-level tickets. The prices for South African specific tickets are so low - about USD 18 - that you get a lot of people who don't care about the game and just want to wail on the vuvuzela all game long. Some jackass was consistently blowing one right in the ear of a few Japanese ladies right in front of me.

In short, the game sucked. Denmark played well on the whole and seemed to dominate possession, but they conceded two free kicks early in the match and there was simply no way back. Sorensen arguably should have done better with the first one but the second was a thing of beauty. So much for the complaints about the Jabulani ball.

To Denmark's credit, they played hard until the very end and never gave up. Even when Japan went 3-1 up on the break they continued to press forward, at one point playing with 4 forwards - Tomasson, Bendtner, Larsen, and center-back Agger. Despite the presence of 3 towering players, they really didn't hoof the ball enough, playing too many time-wasting passes out of the back. Also, I don't think Bendtner will ever be Arsenal class. He's decent enough with his feet I suppose, but for a guy who is 6'4" he is really poor in the air. He was consistently beaten by the Japanese defenders.

If there was a silver lining, it's that Jon Dahl Tomasson FINALLY tied the Danish scoring record, notching his 52nd international goal after he tapped in the rebound from his own awful penalty. I suppose this leaves him with a conundrum - at 33, does he continue to play for Denmark and attempt to break the record? Or does he acknowledge that Euro 2012 will be a bridge too far for him? Despite his age, he still worked hard for 90 minutes and there doesn't seem to a whole lot of striking talent lining up to replace him. Indeed, many key players are getting old, and Morten Olsen has a lot to think about . . .