Group E has officially been decided, and the Netherlands and Japan will advance from the group as the first and second place teams respectively.

For the Netherlands, advancement was a certainty before taking the field this afternoon.  Yet, wanting to secure first position in the group and to become only the second team after Argentina to win all three of its group stage matches, the Netherlands fielded all 11 of its starters and handed Cameroon its 3rd consecutive loss, winning 2-1.

Besides the obvious optimism worthy of its strong group play, the Netherlands may also smile at the fact that Midfielder Arjen Robben, who endured a slight tear in his hamstring in a 6-1 tune-up victory against Hungary earlier in the month and was questionable for the tournament, returned to the field late in today's match and appeared in decent form.  In the 83rd minute, Robben hit a strike off the post that led to an easy Klaas Jan Huntelaar finish.

For Japan, its match against Denmark--who at the day's beginning shared second position in the group with Japan at 3 points but trailed based on goal differential--was for the opportunity to advance.  Led by two fantastic first half free-kick goals by Forward Keisuke Honda (who also scored Japan's first goal of the tournament) and Midfielder Yusuhito Endo, Japan seized this opportunity, shocking Denmark 3-1 in a match where only a draw was needed.

For Denmark, the loss marked the first time in 4 World Cup appearances that the team failed to emerge from the preliminary group stage.  For Japan, it has advanced to the knockout phase of the World Cup for only the second time in its history, with the first time coming in 2002 when it served as a co-host of the tournament with South Korea.

The Netherlands will face Slovakia in its first knockout round match, while Japan will take on Paraguay.

Here is the highlight of Japan's first goal--a free-kick and a beauty: