Holland 1 Japan 0: Dutch can relax as they reach last 16

Wesley Sneijder believes Holland could not be in a better position heading into their final Group E match.

The Dutch top their pool, having taken maximum points in their opening two World Cup games.

Sneijder's goal earned a win over Japan while Cameroon's 2-1 defeat to Denmark in the other group game assured the Oranje progressed to the last 16 with a game in hand.

"I think it's an excellent result," said Sneijder, who has earned man-of-the-match honours in consecutive games.

"We have done a great job. It doesn't matter how you play as long as you get the win.

"We have six points and we still have one match to go and we want to finish first of our group."

The Inter Milan playmaker was all the more satisfied considering Holland have dominated their opening two games.

"We controlled the match against Japan," he said. "Japan are fast and it's difficult to play football against them.

"It was a difficult match from the very beginning.

"We didn't create many opportunities in the opening half. What you need is a bit of luck and we ended up with that, but we should have ended up scoring two or three more goals.

"But the important thing is that we are not giving away goals."

Holland coach Bert van Marwijk is unlikely to make drastic changes to his line-up for Thursday's match against already-eliminated Cameroon.

"I will look at the fitness of my players and at the yellow cards we have," he said. "But I don't plan to make major alterations."

Japan coach Takeshi Okada hopes his side can turn the page as they look to prepare for their final group game against Denmark on Thursday. The sides go into the encounter level on three points, with one last-16 spot up for grabs.

"We have no time to look back as we have to focus on our next match," said Okada. "Right now my players are shocked but I have no intention of making any major modifications.

"We have to recover physically and mentally so my team will be able to play in the best way against Denmark."

Okada admits his team have to make improvements if they are to progress. "We have to be aggressive in attack. We don't have a powerful centre-forward so we have to be quick on set plays and connect well with the ball. Quick connections allow us to score goals."

The World Cup's local organising committee are confident that vuvuzela-blowing fans will respect the tension of penalty shoot-outs once the tournament reaches the knock-out stages.

The constant drone of the African horns could prove a distraction to anyone taking a spot-kick in a pressure situation from the last 16 onwards.

LOC communications chief Rich Mkhondo said: "Spectators have been receptive to announcements in the stadiums to keep quiet when they are asked to do so, and they respect what is going on. They understand when to keep quiet and so we expect them to do the same after the group stages."