Day eight wrap-up: Great Danes, Sad Socceroos, Double Dutch, Anelka Banished and Rooney Apologises

On the day Nicolas Anelka was sent home by France for insulting coach Raymond Domenech and Wayne Rooney apologised to England’s long-suffering fans, the World Cup provided unexpected late night thrills here in Pretoria.

I suspect not many changed their Saturday night party schedule for Denmark versus Cameroon at the Loftus Versfeld rugby stadium but hey, you might have been converted. A chilly night on the Highveld provided only the second come-from-behind victory of the tournament in 26 games as Denmark pulled off a 2-1 win. It could have ended 10-10.

The two no-hopers in Group E, after a literally and figuratively pointless opening round, provided seriously entertaining fare. It nearly rivalled the USA’s 2-2 draw with Slovenia (we won’t mention the injustice of that scoreline, it’s already been discussed at length) and Greece’s 2-1 win over Nigeria.

Cameroon struck early through the great Samuel Eto’o, formerly of Barcelona, now of Internazionale in Milan. The man who threatened to withdraw from the tournament when he was criticised by the legendary Roger Milla, really looked like Africa’s top player again, rousing the crowd and the continent with a great first-half display.

After just 10 minutes, the former African player of the year benefited from another mistake from Danish defender Simon Kjaer. After his own-goal in the 2-0 defeat against Holland, he played a terrible cross-field pass, picked up by Achille Webo.

He squared for Eto’o, who made no mistake to slot past Thomas Sorensen. And that was just the start. End-to-end stuff ensued, with Eto’o hitting a post and Dennis Rommedahl cutting repeated swathes through the Cameroon defence.

Somewhere in the middle of all the excitement, Arsenal’s lanky goal-misser Nicklas Bendtner slid in on a Rommedahl cross to level after 33 minutes.

A breathtaking first half was followed by a dramatic second. After 61 minutes, Rommedahl was at it again. Charlton fans may remember his searing pace – he played 75 games for them between 2004 and 2007. Undimmed by 31 years of being knocked over by stolid left backs, he tore past Jean Makoun and bent the winner past Hamidou Souleymanou.

Cameroon, desperate to prove a force in Africa’s first World Cup, hammered away at Sorensen’s goal for the last half-hour. But Africa’s highest-ranked nation in South Africa – they’re 19^th- couldn’t produce the leveller. Like Nigeria, they have no points after two games – it’s been a tough tournament for the continent.

Day eight of an increasingly absorbing World Cup opened with Holland joining Argentina as the only sides definitely through to the knock-out stages. Their 1-0 win over Japan was no classic but the magnificent Moses Mabhida Stadium was packed to the rafters with Orange shirts celebrating a second-successive win for their side.

The Dutch fans had closed the motorways between Pretoria and Durban – a five-hour, 400 mile drive through the snow-covered Drakensburg mountains – as they travelled in convoy to follow their side on Thursday.

Bayern Munich’s Wesley Sneijder scored the only goal after 53 minutes. His firmly struck shot with the light Jabulani ball which appeared to deceive Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, who could only deflect the shot off his palms and into the net.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada, who looked close to tears at times during the game, said: “Our players tried everything they could. I'm really sorry for our supporters.”

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk wasn’t fooled. This was hardly a classic case of Dutch total football. He said: “You've got to be happy about winning your first two games. But we can play better than that, and we'll have to.”

Then Ghana and Australia fought out a no-prisoners 1-1 draw in front of 33,000 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium – a result which leaves the Soccceroos hanging on by their fingernails.

Ghana saw off Serbia in their opening game while Australia were beaten heavily, 4-0, by Germany. But day seven saw Serbia shock the Germans 1-0 – Group D really may stand for Death.

The Aussies went ahead through the lively Brett Holman after just 11 minutes but disaster struck 14 minutes later. Harry Kewell blocked a goal-bound shot on the line with his right arm and was sent-off despite pleading “look at the big screen, I didn’t mean it” as Italian referee Roberto Rosetti produced his red card.

Asamoah Gyan stuck away his second penalty of the tournament and it looked like Ghana would take control – but by the death it was 10-man Australia who were doing all the pushing.

Aussie boss Pim Verbeek said: “I’m proud of the players – playing with a man less for that long is not easy. We’re still in the race but it’s going to be difficult now. We need to win against Serbia and score at least three or four goals. Ok, that’s the job.”

Look, I know I rattle on about these things but, unbelievably, they want me to speak at South Africa’s National Arts Festival on July 4. Yes, it’s ridiculous. Me? Arts? Anyway, here’s the details if you can make it:http://www.computicket.com/web/event/neal_collins_a_game_apart/148367625

Spurs 2, Arsenal 1: Rose rises to the occasion and reliant Robin arrives too late

DANNY ROSE, thirty yards out, on his Premier League debut, just ten minutes in. A packed White Hart Lane, one of the fiercest derbies in football and the ball comes down out of the sky on to his left foot.

And what does the lad from Doncaster do? He rifles the ball into the net. A Roy of the Rovers scorcher. Incredible. The difference between the two arch-rivals as 90 fascinating minutes ended 2-1 to Spurs at White Hot Lane.

Was there anybody in the ground not wondering why Leeds United academy graduate Rose had been picked ahead of former Gunner David Bentley?

But for Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, this was the Rose among the thorns in the North London showdown which simply had to be won. And win it Spurs did, despite Arsenal’s dominance. Thank you, Danny Boy.

Sure, Arsenal were without their spine. No Cesc Fabregas, no Andrei Arshavin, no William Gallas and, crucially, no Alex Song to shore up the midfield. And then they lost Thomas Vermaelen after twenty minutes.

Unbeaten in this fixture this century, Arsenal dominate Premier League meetings between the two - in 35 games since the new system started in 1991, Arsenal have won 14, Spurs can now claim six, with 16 draws.

Sol Cambell, the man who left White Hart Lane on a free for Highbury a decade ago, got his traditional greeting – and his flying knee offered the first chance, which was saved off the line by Benloit Assou-Ekotto after four minutes. It was to be Arsenal’s only chance in 80 minutes of dominance. Nearly as incredible as Rose’s goal was the fact that Arsenal have managed to stay in contention for so long without a decent striker.

Roman Pavlyuchenko gave the Gooners a scare of their own nine minutes in. And then came the Broadway Danny Rose moment. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia punched the ball out and the man signed from Leeds on July 25 2007 for a mere £1m produced the perfect volley. Spaniard Almunia, who has offered to switch allegiance to England, could only flap at the ball as it flew past him.

England Under 21 international Daniel Lee Rose failed to score on loan at Watford or Peterborough last year. This was the first strike of his career and he may never score a better goal – or a more important one - than he did last night.

At barely 5ft 8in, he’s no giant. But then neither is Lionel Messi. It’s all about shape, technique, composure. He showed it all with his first touch in the Premier League.

From that moment on, Arsenal dominated the game and the experienced Tottenham stars like Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Luka Modric failed to show. Peter Crouch? England’s most dangerous striker didn’t even make the starting line-up with the World Cup looming.

But Arsenal, for all their possession, never really looked like threatening Heurelho Gomes in the Spurs goal. An epic first half ended with Rose’s moment of magic separating the teams.

Redknapp promptly took Rose off at half-time, bringing on Bentley. But if Arsenal thought that might make things easier, they were soon proved wrong.

Gareth Bale, the in-form full-back pushed into midfield, scored his first goal in nearly three seasons when he found himself left alone on the far post by sub Mikhael Silvestre and Gael Cliche. Less than two minutes into the second half and Arsenal were 2-0 down.

Despite the impotence of Tomas Rosicky and Denilson, Arsenal continued to enjoy the bulk of the possession, but Nicklas Bendtner, allegedly a lone striker, opted to lie deep. Arsenal, as Gooners have been saying all season, offered nothing in front of goal.

With a fit-again Robin van Persie waiting to come on, Emmanuel Adebayor sold to Manchester City and Eduardo Da Silva unable to recover from his traumatic ankle injury, Arsene Wenger’s failure to sign Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux in January continues to look like the biggest mistake of a distinguished career.

Wenger told an angry General Meeting at the Emirates: “Judge me by what we achieve this season.”

And for a sixth season in a row, the trophy cabinet at Arsenal will stay empty, like Wenger’s promises. Before this one, he admitted: “If we lose here, the title is over for us.”

He threw on winger Theo Walcott for full-back Bakary Sagna after just 53 minutes with Van Persie warming up on the sideline, eager for his first game in four months. How Chelsea and their fans must have been chortling at this point.

Arsenal’s best player? The 35-year-old free transfer from Notts County, Campbell. A rock at the back who deserves at least a vague phone call from England manager Fabio Capello before the World Cup kicks-off on June 11.

Their worst? Bendtner. Even more incompetent than the over-priced, mostly-injury Tomas Rosicky, a bounced Czech if ever I saw one. The Great Dane failed to understand his role. Expending useless energy on the chase. Never threatening to rouse Gomes from his slumbers in the Spurs goal.

Look, this wasn’t the Beautiful Game in all it’s glory... but it was a flowing, glowing North London derby. I’d like to say there were chances at either end, but with Arsenal forgetting to field a striker, that’s not true. But when Van Persie eventually came on, Gomes was forced to work like a Trojan.

For most of the 42 minutes after Tottenham’s second goal, Arsenal piled on the pressure. Abou Diaby huffed and puffed, Samir Nasri twinkled, Walcott made those searing runs down the right.

But as all true Gooners will attest, this Arsenal lacks shooters. Not a shot in sight. Spurs, on their rare forays forward, simply shot on sight. That’s how you score goals.

And still Van Persie warms up on the sidelines, still Chelsea chortle, still the cockerel-badged Spurs fans crow. Less than half-an-hour to play. Ledley King and Younes Kaboul at the back are having no trouble. You get the impression one of them might produce the giant Bendtner from a pocket after the match and sigh: “Ah, there you are Nicky boy.”

Van Persie’s arrival after 73 minutes heralded the first save of the game from Gomes seven minutes later. A neat turn and shot showed Arsenal fans what they’d been missing but the Brazilian goalkeeper was equal to it. He was even better three mintues later, keeping out a Van Persie free-kick.

Then he brilliantly denied a Campbell header and suddenly Spurs were hanging on.

But it had to come. Van Persie found Walcott, perfect ball across the face... and Bendtner nabbed his ninth goal in 11 games from a yard.

Game on. Five minutes left. Another rasping shot from Van Persie, another great save from Gomes. Arsenal denied an obvious corner. Crouch on for Pavlyuchenko. Three to go.

But it wouldn’t come. Victory for Spurs and a chance of that elusive first Champions League appearance for finishing fourth. Gomes eventually won the Man of the Match award for those four stunning saves after 80 minutes of inactivity. Captain Ledly King said: "He's one of the best in the world at the moment. He's saved us so many times. We feel we can beat anyone at home - even Chelsea next week."

Gomes himself said: "It's a great win but it's not the most important. Every game is important. It's not easy to concentrate with nothing to do. But I think we played some game. We have Chelsea coming up. We need to perform like that again."

Nasri does a Maradona, Bendtner does the trick, Arsenal sink Porto in a storm. High-fives all round for Gooners

SO what do you want to hear about? The Samir Nasri goal that makes Diego Maradona's 1986 effort look timid? The Emmanuel Eboue dream finish which made it 4-0 and left every Arsenal fan dreaming? Or Nicklas Bendtner's first ever professional hat-trick which made it 5-0?

Oh Porto, this wasn't a good night to come across an Arsenal side seeking their first European win from a first leg deficit for 31 years. In the end it wasn't just a first Champions League comeback, it was an apocalypse wow.

The Portuguese visitors, who relied on two bizarre Arsenal blunders to win 2-1 at the Stadeo da Dragao, were completely outplayed for the first half-hour.

Andrei Arshavin's little legs left them bemused, Alex Song didn't miss a tackle or a pass, Tomas Vermaelen and Sol Campbell were imperious at the back.

And of course there was Nicklas Bendtner, after five glaring misses against Burnley on Saturday, to stick away the first two goals and get Arsenal to half-time on a wonderful high. Bendtner had the goalkeeper stretching as he sought a hat-trick, Arshavin missed a glorious chance of his own. Any Porto in a storm? And all this without the spine of the team: William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie were up with the 60,000 in the stands.

Ruud Gullit said at half-time he was worried Arsene Wenger's wonderboys couldn't sustain the pace. To an extent he was right. But just when Gooners were beginning to worry, Nasri - having saved a Porto header off the line at one end - produced the Mardona goal. He jinked his way through four defenders - clean around the outside of one of them - and stuck the ball in off the far post from the narrowest of angles.

The roars had barely died down when, 150 seconds later, Gael Clichy''s headed clearance reached Arshavin, who ran 50 yards before releasing the ever-popular sub Eboue. One of 13 children from the Ivory Coast, popular in the dressing-room and increasingly talismanic outside it, Eboue took a touch past the keeper and stuck it away with his left foot. Game over. What a night.

By the time sub Theo Walcott, the subject of my delirious preview, emerged, it was all over. Andy Gray was reduced to claiming the Portuguese League is rubbish, neatly overlooking Porto's Champions League success with Jose Mourinho in 2003. As he came off, Nasri took a standing ovation. And when Eboue was felled for the last-minute penalty (wish we had this ref every week) up stepped Nicklas Bendtner for his first-ever hat-trick. Bosh!

Bendtner said afterwards: "Today I put it right. Every time I play a game I put it behind me. The Burnley game was forgotten. It was good for me to score early.

"I haven't seen Andrey win a header before, so it was good for my first ball. I didn't know you get to keep the ball for a hat-trick!

"When we got the penalty, all the guys just wished me luck."

Wenger said: "Bendtner shows how quickly football can change but I hope he doesn't get too confident! I hope it gives him the desire to work even harder.

"Maybe it's good for us to play an English team in the quarter-final. We haven't done well against Chelsea and Manchester United this season, I have a funny feeling it would be a good opportunity we can do it against them."

Graeme Souness chose to inform us that the tackling was poor for Nasri's wondergoal, but he wouldn't last five minutes in the current card-happy climate.

It was a goal to wonder at, a goal which will be watched for years to come. Shut it Souey. Forget it Gray. For one night only, Arsenal are the best team on the planet. End of.