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Enlarge Photo Netherlands' Dirk Kuyt (C) scores a goal against Denmark during a 2010 World Cup Group... The Netherlands won a comfortable 2-0 victory against Denmark on Monday despite an unimpressive display, as the World Cup shifted back to the main business of soccer after its first incident of serious violence.Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse stadium stewards protesting over their wages in the coastal city of Durban early on Monday after Germany had crushed Australia 4-0 in the most impressive display of the World Cup so far.
The violence was quickly quelled and local organisers said they would urgently talk to both the workers and their company to resolve the wage dispute.
In the first match on Monday, the Netherlands showed little of the fluid, attacking soccer for which they are renowned, despite a potent strike force and a large contingent of orange-clad supporters in Johannesburg's giant Soccer City arena.
Their first goal came through a freak own-goal by Simon Poulsen whose header from a Dutch cross rebounded off fellow Danish defender Daniel Agger and into the net.
The Dutch only really came alive late in the game when Dirk Kuyt tapped in a rebound off the Danish upright. But they will be happy to take away three points in a group including Japan and Cameroon who should not trouble them unduly.
Defending champions Italy play for the first time later on Monday, hounded by a wave of negative reporting that says they are too old and lack pace and imagination.
They meet an in-form Paraguay in Cape Town in the evening and few give the ageing side a chance of retaining their title.
RIOT POLICE
In the Durban trouble, riot police wearing armour and helmets chased stewards who had earlier shepherded a crowd of 62,000 fans at the futuristic Moses Mabhida stadium.
Scores of police coralled the protesters before they reached the city centre. After a tense standoff, the workers dispersed.
Although the violence was an embarrassment for organisers, who have spent billions of dollars and gone to great lengths to avoid trouble at the tournament, it was quickly controlled and seemed unlikely to take the shine off the happy buzz around Africa's first World Cup.
The tournament was preceded by several violent demonstrations in South Africa, some involving minibus taxi drivers who felt excluded from the transport arrangements, and a series of township protests over lack of service delivery 16 years after the end of apartheid which were sometimes linked to resentment over massive World Cup spending.
Italian coach Marcello Lippi's insistence on keeping faith with the bulk of the team that won in Germany four years ago has angered Italian fans and sports reporters alike.
Combined with a tradition for infuriatingly slow starts they could be in danger from a Paraguay side, brimming with confidence.
While Italy will have to transform their recent displays to convince, all the top teams got a severe warning of the danger from a young German side who staked a claim to be one of the tournament favourites with a rout of the Socceroos.
British bookmakers immediately cut the odds on Germany taking their fourth World Cup to 9-1 from 12-1.
TIPPED AFRICAN TEAM
The Dutch have not lost to Denmark for 43 years -- apart from a penalty shootout defeat in the 1992 European Championship finals -- and the injury-hit Danes rarely looked like changing that, more content to hang back and soak up the pressure.
In the other Group E match on Monday, Cameroon's Indomitable Lions, one of the tipped African teams, will expect victory against Japan, who have never won a World Cup match on foreign soil and are struggling to score goals.
Cameroon, who thrust African soccer into the spotlight in the 1990 World Cup by reaching the quarter-finals, will be spearheaded by striker Samuel Eto'o, one of the continent's finest players.
They will hope to emulate Ghana, another African favourite, who secured the continent's first victory in Africa's inaugural World Cup finals on Sunday.
The passion generated by the World Cup was apparent across the globe.
Zambia's power company had to assure the population they would avoid future power cuts after tens of thousands of angry people missed matches over the weekend because of electricity cuts. The company asked Zambians to cut back on use of other appliances to protect television transmissions.
In Bangladesh at least 30 people were injured on Saturday during a riot after a power cut prevented fans watching the Argentina-Nigeria match.
On Monday the state electricity company asked all factories to suspend operations each evening until the end of the tournament on July 11, despite the loss of industrial production.
(Reporting by Reuters World Cup team; Writing by Barry Moody and David Clarke, editing by Ossian Shine)
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