After a stunning fightback against Cameroon, marred by some of the worst defending Daniel Agger said he had ever seen, Denmark have staggered to where they probably expected to be, having to beat Japan to secure qualification for the round of 16. Their back-four has hardly impressed in their opening two fixtures and Morten Olsen’s side will have to face Japan without Simon Kjaer. Nevertheless, with the veterans Dennis Rommedahl and Jon Dahl Tomasson having excelled against Cameroon, the momentum is with the Danish Dynamite.

Japan only need a draw to qualify which given their lamentable form in the warm-up fixtures is something they would almost certainly have settled for. By predicting a tough, gritty encounter, their manager, Takeshi Okada, has hinted that a draw is precisely what he is going for. The key is likely to be how his centre-halves, Yuki Nakazawa and Tulio Tanaka, cope with the height and speed of the Danish counter-attacks and whether, appearing so committed to defence, they can mount ones of their own.

The real difference in this game is height. On average each Danish player is eight centremetres taller than his Japanese counterpart and Nakazawa and Tanaka are among the very few in Okada’s side who possess a physical presence. If the Danes can cut out the sloppiness that forced Thomas Sorensen to become a hero against Cameroon, they should have too much for Japan. Verdict: Denmark to win.