Eto'o goes out, Robben finally might start

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP):

Arjen Robben may make his belated first appearance of the World Cup as Samuel Eto'o makes his last when the Netherlands play Cameroon today.

With the Dutch already through to the second round and Cameroon eliminated, subplots will take centre stage in Cape Town. And the biggest one is whether Oranje will finally start playing with the free-flowing flair for which they have been famous since the 1970s.

Argentina, Brazil and Portugal have already set the World Cup alight with brilliant play. The Netherlands, despite having two wins from two games, are still lagging behind.

That is where Robben, the best player in Germany's Bundesliga and the driving force behind Bayern Munich's run to the Champions League final, comes in.

In recent training, the winger appears to have fully recovered from the left hamstring injury he sustained in a warm-up match against Hungary on June 5. But a decision to play him is expected just before the game at Green Point Stadium.

"It is possible that I get my first minutes against Cameroon," Robben said. "Everything is possible. We are taking it day by day."

Together with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba, Robben was among a select few players tipped to define the World Cup.

At one stage, Eto'o was on that list too, but two Cameroon losses have made sure that one of the most prominent faces on World Cup posters will be heading home tomorrow. He won the Champions League and Italian league title and cup with Inter Milan, but the moment he lived for all season - the World Cup in Africa - was a disappointment.

Robben also won the German league and cup double with Bayern, but Eto'o beat him in the Champions League final.

Best football nation

Now, Robben should get his chance to shine with the Dutch, widely considered the best football nation never to have won the World Cup.

Coach Bert van Marwijk has shown little concern with winning ugly, as the team did in a 2-0 victory over Denmark and 1-0 over Japan. Those wins made the Netherlands the first team to qualify for the World Cup second round.

With the last first-round matches left to play, the Netherlands have six points, ahead of Denmark and Japan with three each. Cameroon are out with zero point.

A draw will give the Dutch first place for sure, but it could afford a small loss and stay top of Group E. In the second round, the group winner will play the Group E runners-up. That could end up being Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia or New Zealand.

Advancing to the knockout stage is a bare minimum for the Oranje fans. Most would expect more than that, including flair to match results.

"We don't play that pretty yet. Fans and pundits say we should do better," defender Joris Mathijsen acknowledged.