Hence, information filtering from the Lions’ base in Durban says the team is taking the match against Holland seriously.

“We’ll play for the honour of the people of Cameroon,” Paul Le Guen, Lions’ trainer said at a news conference.

Lions’ keeper, Souleymanou Hamidou, was still upbeat and corroborated Le Guen; “It’s still a World Cup game. We’ve to take it very serious and do honour for our fatherland. Despite the lack of tension, the match promises much in the way of entertainment.”

Initially, Thursday 24 June was supposed to be the day on which Group E was to be decided, but only one fixture will be of relevance to qualification in this section. With the Netherlands having already booked their place in the knockout stages, the battle will now be between Japan and Denmark to join them in the last 16.

The Indomitable Lions will be out to erase memories of what has been a below-par performance at South Africa 2010. While the team captained by Samuel Fils Eto’o will feel they have let themselves down considering the quality they have in their squad, this match with the Netherlands offers them the opportunity to go out on a high.

The postmortem will surely follow once they return home, but for now there is a chance to address some of the failures that have beset their campaign, specifically an inability to finish chances.

However, in the Oranje corner stands an impressive Netherlands side still boasting an unblemished record at this event. With his side already through, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk will surely be tempted to ring the changes in an effort to test the depth of his squad in preparation for what he hopes will be a long FIFA World Cup campaign.

Alternatively, he may opt to field a full-strength side to maintain continuity and reaffirm his team's status among the early favourites. It is also possible that Van Mariwjk will use the match to test the fitness of winger Arjen Robben, who has thus far been sidelined.