Van Persie was in the starting line-up for their first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over Denmark. On 24 June, he scored the first goal against Cameroon in a 2–1 win to ensure that the Netherlands finished as group winners, and was officially named the man of the match. He started every match for "Oranje", though he did not increase his goal tally in the following matches. "Oranje" reached the 2010 World Cup Final, in which he was on the losing side due to Andrés Iniesta's extra time goal.