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

With the Dutch already through to the second round and Cameroon eliminated, subplots will take center stage in Cape Town. And the biggest one is whether the Netherlands will finally start playing with the free-flowing flair for which it has 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, is still lagging behind.

That is where Robben, the best player in the 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 warmup 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."

Along 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 Friday. 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.

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

Netherlands 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 round of 16.

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

"We are at two losses. So there is our image and prestige at stake," Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen said. "It is tough after the trauma of elimination. But it is our task to give the best performance. But every day you have to think that you are in the most beautiful tournament."

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 runner-up. That could end up being Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia or New Zealand.

Advancing to the knockout stage is a bare minimum for the Dutch 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," Netherlands defender Joris Mathijsen said.

Robben could give the team a new offensive dimension. And for the first time, the so-called Big Four - Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and striker Robin van Persie - could line up together.

It is a setup of such creativity that some fear it could weaken the defensive part of midfield, which has excelled so far. But the Dutch have yet to face the stronger teams they surely will face later in the tournament.

Still, Robben should get some match practice before the direct elimination games, if only to test the resistance of his hamstring.

"He knows his body and he has to indicate when he is ready," Van Marwijk said.

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