Player of the day
Eljero Elia, Netherlands
The clockwork Oranje didn’t quite find its tick for most of its opening match against Denmark on Tuesday, with only an own goal to show despite an overwhelming majority of possession. Elia, a 23-year-old Hamburg striker and one of the hottest transfer commodities on the market this summer, came on as a second half substitute and created the match-clinching second goal with his lightning pace on the left side. The performance should earn him significant minutes in the matches to come.
Goal of the day
Keisuke Honda, Japan
It wasn’t so much Honda’s composed finish from close range that proved to be all Japan needed to upset Cameroon, it was the fact that it sent the Japanese on their way to their first World Cup opening match victory and first World Cup win off home soil. When Eiji Kawashima stretched to a make a late save, it gave Group E the best chance to finish far different than experts expected.
