Fine, everyone did their bbest or bust XI.

Those are great and also a subjective matter. So for the record here is mine...

Casillas, Maicon, Puyol, Lugano, Coentrao; Schweinsteiger, Sneijder, Xavi, Müller; Villa, Forlán

We just all see the game from that perspective but this post was more aboutt he players that truly racked up some major points as well as a big payday or they were not considered by many as the top of the heap in South Africa but did deserve some mad props individually and in the overall function of their team in South Africa.

How can a goalkeeper that allows only one goal in the entire tournament. Eduardo, alongside Fabio Soentrao were the two biggest stars of a Portuguese side that disappointed in their overall performance in the World Cup. The Sporting Braga goalkeeper had a brilliant club season leading one of the teams that is not considered one of the Big Three to a spot in Europe after finishing in second place this past season.

Mauricio Victorino was a player that Oscar Washington Tabarez counted on in the back when some of his key pieces were out due to injury or suspension. The Universidad de Chile man was vital in keeping the battered Uruguayan back stable and the team did not lose that much when he played for the injured Diego Lugano against Ghana.

Antolin Alcaraz was a rock in the back for Gerardo Martino and he proved it time and time again throughout the World Cup. On top of that he was a threat in the air for the set piece-oriented Paraguayans.

Per Mertesacker, was instrumental in the middle for a rock solid German middle. Also give credit to players like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira for protecting him as well.

Egidio Arévalo Ríos not only earned a spot on the Toughest for English announcers XI but he was also one of the surprise call ups for Oscar Washington Tabárez. The Peñarol man did not take part in the qualifying phase, but his run of form with the reigning Uruguayan champs got him a spot in the final 23. Not only that, he virtually booted Sebastían Eguren from the starting lineup and earned himself a nice contract with Italian side Cagliari.

Mesut Özil was being talked about throughout the Bundesliga season as the player that had the most promise for Joachim Löw's team coming into South Africa. That is why if you speak to anyone who follows that league... they weren't surprised by his explosion onto the international scene.

Eduardo, Victorino, Alcaraz, Mertesacker, Fucile; Khedira, Arévalo Ríos, Özil, Honda; Asamoah Gyan, Vittek

Simply Futbol's World Cup Underrated XI

The first match of the day featured the clash for top spot in Group E as Japan took on The Netherlands in Durban at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Clockwork Oranje versus The Samurai Blue with the winner of this match certainly assured a spot in the Round of 16.

VS.

The 1st half was basically a kick around session for The Netherlands as they dominated possession but couldn't penetrate a stacked Japan defense. Neither goalkeeper was seriously tested in the 1st half with the most dangerous threat coming in the 40th minute when Japan midfielder Daisuke Matsui's volleyed shot sailed into Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg's chest for a comfortable save.

Both teams were more aggressive towards goal in the 2nd half as both sides searched for the goal that would give them control of the group. That goal came in the 53rd minute when Dutch #10, Wesley Sneijder found some space just outside the box and blasted a shot on goal. The flight of the ball was misjudged by Japan's keeper Eiji Kawashima who dove a little too far to his right as the ball deflected off his left hand and into the back of the net giving The Clockwork Oranje the 1-0 advantage.
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The Japanese increased the pressure on the Dutch goal in search of an equalizer and they almost did in the 89th minute when 2nd half substitute Shinji Okazaki got behind the Dutch defense in the box but missed high over the goal. The Japanese search for an equalizer left space for Dutch counters.

Dutch substitute Ibrahim Afellay missed two opportunities to increase the lead on breakaway chances, both times Afellay was denied by Kawashima. The whistle blew with The Netherlands taking the 3 points with a 1-0 victory. Group E play ends with simultaneous matches on the 24th as The Netherlands face Cameroon in Cape Town at Green Point Stadium while Japan play Denmark in Rustenburg at Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Click to view FIFA's Official Match Report.

Holland vs. Japan: Match Wrap

VS.
The 2nd match of Group E featured The Samurai Blue of Japan and The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon with both sides needing a win. It was the opening match for host city Mangaung/Bloemfontein at Free State Stadium.

The first half of the match was evenly played with neither side generating any dangerous goal scoring opportunities until the 38th minute. Cameroon's Eric Choupo Moting controlled a throw-in to the box and laid off a pass for fellow midfielder Eyong Enoh who blasted a low, grass-cutting shot that was covered by Japan keeper Eiji Kawashima.

One minute later, Japan replied when midfielder Daisuke Matsui created space on the right side and centered a pass that found teammate Keisuke Honda alone on the back post. Honda controlled and blasted the ball past Cameroon keeper Hamidou Souleymanou for the 1-0 half-time lead.
(REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)

The second half started off strong for Cameroon with the best chance coming in the 49th minute when superstar striker Samuel Eto'o broke free from 3 Japanese defenders, made his way into the box and passed to open teammate Choupo Moting, whose one-time shot aimed for the upper left corner just missed.

Cameroon continued to apply pressure to the Japanese defense late in the match. In the 85th minute, midfielder Stephane Mbia blasted a long distance shot that hit the crossbar. In injury time, 2nd half substitute midfielder Geremi sent a cross into the box that found forward Pierre Webo in the 6-yard box. Webo's shot was spectacularly saved by Kawashima to preserve the 1-0 victory for Japan.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The result is the 1st World Cup victory for Japan outside of their home nation. Japan's next match is on Saturday, the 19th when they take on The Netherlands in a battle of 1st place teams in Durban at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Cameroon faces Denmark on Saturday, the 19th in Tshwane/Pretoria at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

Click here to view FIFA's official match report.

Japan vs.Cameroon: Match Wrap

The excitement is building as we get closer to opening match of the 2010 World Cup. The Great Tournament is less than a month away and the anticipation of the 1st African World Cup is building, its going to be great. Group E breakdowns continue with Japan.

OFFICIAL NAME: Japan Football Association



NICKNAME: Samurai Blue

FIFA CONFEDERATION: AFC (Asia)

FIFA CODE: JPN

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 2nd place in Group A of Asian WC Qualifying

WORLD CUP APPEARANCES (INCLUDING 2010): 4

BEST WC FINISH: Round of 16, Korea/Japan 2002

WORLD CUP RECORD (MP: Wins - Draws - Losses): 10: 2W - 2D - 6L

HEAD COACH: Takeshi Okada

MOST CAPPED PLAYER (# of caps): Masami Ihara (122)

ALL-TIME GOAL SCORING LEADER (# of goals): Kunishige Kamamoto (75)

BRIEF FOOTBALLING HISTORY:
Japan's success in football has come in within the last 20 years and it has been a rapid ascent. Japan won its 1st of its 3 Asian Cups in 1992, a year after Japan's 1st division of pro football, The J-League, was established. Since then Japan has been a dominant force in Asia by advancing to at least the Asian Cup quarters every time since 1992 and qualifying for its 4th consecutive World Cup.

PLAYER TO WATCH:
They one to watch made history for a Japanese player earlier this year and is the future of Japan's midfield, he is Keisuke Honda.
(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
The CSKA Moscow midfielder made history by becoming the 1st Japanese player to take part in a UEFA Champions League quarterfinal match. He is the youngest midfielder on Japan's WC squad and provides the youth to balance with a veteran midfield. His free-kick abilities provides The Samurai Blue with an added dimension to the Japanese attack.

OUTLOOK:
The Japanese will need consistent offense in order to advance out of the group. That will be a tough task considering that their opponents in Group E all won their respective qualifying groups with excellent defensive records. Historically in World Cups, Japan has scored only 8 goals in 10 total matches. For them to make a deep run, Japan must be masterful in creating and finishing goal scoring chances.

FINAL 23-MAN WC ROSTER:
Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg, Germany), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble, France)

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuhito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania, Italy).

WC GROUP SCHEDULE:
June 14 vs. Cameroon
June 19 vs. Netherlands
June 24 vs. Denmark

The final team to breakdown for Group E teams is The Netherlands.

Japan - WC Team Breakdown

Japan coach Takeshi Okada decided to go with experience this time around as he announced his 23-man squad for South Africa.

As expected the nucleus of the team will consist of its European-based players such as Catania's Takayuki Morimoto, Wolfburg's Makoto Hasebe, Grenoble's Daisuke Matsui, and CSKA Moscow's Keisuke Honda.

Former Celtic man, and current Yokohama Marinos star Shunsuke Nakamura gets the nod as well.
In goal Okada has a great deal of experience as Seigo Narazaki will go to this fourth World Cup and Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi will return to the national team for his third tour with the Samurai Blue.

Out of the callup was Argentine-born Urawa Red Diamonds forward Sergio Escudero who many consider one of the young stars of the J-League. His teammate, midfielder Yuki Abe, was the lone Red
Diamond called up by Okada for World Cup duty.

Japan will begin their quest to qualify out of the group stages in a very difficult Group E against Cameroon, then they will face World Cup dark horse Holland, and end their participation against Denmark.

Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg/GER), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble/FRA)

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuhito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania/ITA)

Okada announces Japan World Cup squad

Come swine flu or yellow fever, Julio Grondona was not going to lose this opportunity. It seems like nothing happened, but in an extraordinary meeting in Nassau, the FIFA vice president and AFA boss extended a hand to both Japan and Mexico for the 2011 Copa América to be held in the austral nation.

All that would needed now is the ratification of the other nine confederations that make up CONMEBOL. For fans of the United States this comes as a shock as they were not looked at, but there is still an outside shot that the Yanks might have in the event that these two nations do not receive the proverbial thumbs up.

As far as swine flu is concerned, CONMEBOL has made amends and has a plan to execute in the eventuality that the disease is an issue. This was part of the reason why there was a fallout between both CONMEBOL and the FMF, leading to Mexican sides San Luis and Chivas withdrawing from the Copa Libertadores.

Japan would be making their return to the Copa América after taking part in the 1999 edition held in Paraguay. Mexico in the meantime will make their eighth appearance since 1993 where they ended up in second place behind Argentina. In every single tournament they have come out of the group stages and have ended up in the semis five times.

Grondona also confirmed that La Plata, Córdoba, Jujuy, and Santa Fe will all be venues the tournament in 2011.

Mexico, Japan Invited To Copa América 2011

With World Cup Qualifiers coming up in the next couple of weeks, its time for another Top 5 here on Mad About Fútbol. These are the Top 5 things to watch for as teams compete to solidify their place for The Great Tournament in 2010 on The Motherland:

MAF Top 5: #5 - Mar. 28-Apr. 1 FIFA Date