World Cup quarter-finals preview

We are now down to the final eight teams in the competition, and one thing that stands is the lack of a true 'underdog' amongst them.

There isn't a South Korea or USA involved as we saw at this stage back in 2002 and it makes it an intriguing set of games in prospect as the 'big guns' are now going head to head.

Germany v Argentina:

The first match - and looks to be the best one, as the two real 'form' sides meet. Argentina, as anticipated are living upto billing as one of the top favourites and have looked a real threat. Blessed with attacking quality and plenty of options it is hard to see them failing to score.

Germany have perhaps surprised a little as pre-tournament they struggled for form but have looked good right from the first game. They took the Swedes apart in the second round and like Argentina, have goals in them with Klose and Podolski firing.

Prediction: Such a tough one to call with home support and momentum with Germany but I feel that Argentina will just have too much for them.

Germany 1 Argentina 2 (aet)


Italy v Ukraine:

Ukraine perhaps the weakest side left in the tournament but they still pose a danger. The loss of Andriy Voronin will place even more emphasis on Andriy Shevchenko. They have looked better defensively since their opening game defeat to Spain.

Italy are faced with more off-field problems with the Pessotto situation affecting members of the squad. Perhaps this will galvanise the side even further but defensively they continue to miss Nesta and the suspended Materazzi. They have also yet to find the right combination up front.

Prediction: I don't expect a classic by any means but if Cannavaro contains Shevchenko the Italians will have enough to go through.

Italy 1 Ukraine 0


England v Portugal:

A re-run of Euro 2004 and Eriksson again faces Scolari in a major tournament. As a team, England have not come close to what they are capable of but time is running out for them to get it together. A fitter Rooney will be a bonus but they need the midfield to step up.

Portugal edged out Holland in the last round - but at a big cost. Deco and Costinha are suspended whilst Ronaldo could struggle with an injury. Form wise it is hard to tell where they are as they had a relatively comfortable group and the Holland game could not really be an indicator.

Prediction: A lot has been made of Eriksson v Scolari, with Scolari ready to show why he would have been the ideal choice for the England job. Eriksson and England have been bullish though and I think that England will display what they are capable of.

England 2 Portugal 1


Brazil v France:

Facing elimination just before half-time against Spain after a shaky start to the tournament, the French turned the game around to send Spain crashing out. Could the ageing French have galvanised themselves at the last minute for one last shot?

Brazil have eased through qualification to this stage without impressing apart from the odd spell. They have so much quality going forward but don't appear to have clicked so far but are clearly capable of stepping up when it matters.

Prediction: The French will need to go at them if they are to have a chance. Their second half formation looked far better and Ribery showed some class. The front four for Brazil may have to carry them through as they don't appear to be the strongest overall Brazilian side of recent times.

Brazil 2 France 1

Yellow peril

With one eye beyond this weekends quarter-finals, the semi-finals and final itself being to loom large and with the second round dominated by controversial refereeing decisions there are several players who will be a little nervous as they step onto the pitch this weekend.

Those players on a yellow card will know that just one more indiscretion could put them out of a crucial semi-final or potentially the game of their lives.

Taking a look at the list, there are plenty of big name players currently on a yellow card:

Germany:
Torsten Frings

Argentina:
Gabriel Heinze
Juan Pablo Sorin

Brazil:
Juan
Adriano

France:
Franck Ribery
Zinedine Zidane
Patrick Vieira

Portugal:
Petit
Maniche
Nuno Valente
Ricardo
Luis Figo

England:
Paul Robinson
John Terry
Jamie Carragher

Italy:
Fabio Grosso
Gianluca Zambrotta
Rino Gattuso

Ukraine:
none


With the poor (and generally card happy) refereeing seen in the latter games of the group stages and then during the second round, there are plenty more players who could pick up a yellow card this weekend or add to their yellow already.

One thing I'm sure that no-one wants to see regardless of who makes it to the final is a game where three, four or five of the top players are sat on the sidelines as spectators due to poor refereeing decisions along the way.

Interestingly though, do you think David James may have one eye on the fact that Paul Robinson is currently sat on a yellow card?

Spain v France - liveblogging

21:49 - The full-time whistle has just gone to send France through to the quarter-finals where they face Brazil.

*****

21:48 - Zinedine Zidane springs the offside trap after Spain were harried off the ball, calmly rounding Puyol before smashing past his former colleague Casillas to ice the game. Spain 1 FRANCE 3.

*****

21:46 - Three minutes of injury time are to be added on as Spain launch a last ditch bid to force extra time.

*****

21:43 - Wiltord comes on for Henry as France look to wind down the clock. Spain do not look as though they have it in them to equalise at this late stage.

*****

21:39 - Vieira has put France ahead! As it was looking like extra time, Zidane floated a free-kick over to the back post and an unmarked Vieira headed past Casillas to put France one foot in the next round. Spain 1 FRANCE 2.

*****

21:31 - France make their first change of the night with rumoured City target Sidney Govou replacing Malouda. The introduction should see Ribery switch to the left.

*****

21:28 - Marcos Senna replaces Xavi in midfield for Spain. Xavi had some nice touches early on but has not offered his side anything of note during the second-half.

*****

21:25 - The first yellow card of the night for Patrick Vieira for a trip on Fabregas. The tempo has eased a little now with both sides almost feeling each other out, poised for the final 15-20 minutes of the game. Hopefully the game won't peter out as we head into the final quarter.

*****

21:17 - A lively few minutes with Ribery showing glimpses of his potential with a great run down the right, only for Spain to hit back and see Sagnol make a good clearance with Garcia ready to pounce. France have opened well this half and the goal has clearly galvanised them. Spain are a little on the back foot at the moment.

*****

21:12 - An early change for Spain with Raul and Villa withdrawn, being replaced by Luis Garcia and Joaquin. A slightly less attacking formation I think with Torres alone up front with support from the two substitutes. It could be a sign that both sides will look to attack from the flanks.

*****

21:09 - France start the brighter side in the opening few minutes with Ribery lively down the right and Malouda going close attempting to lob Casillas, but the ball wouldn't quite drop down for him.

*****

21:04 - The second-half is underway. For Spain, they have played well throughout the first-half and their midfield is dominating but perhaps need more from Raul alongside Torres and Villa. For France, their midfield has failed to exert any control over the game and need to get more support for Henry - who is struggling against the Spanish offside trap.

I fancy that the next goal may well win this contest.

*****

20:45 - The half-time whistle has gone and Ribery's goal puts a different complexion on this game and it sets up a great second-half. Half-time Spain 1 France 1.

*****

20:41 - Franck Ribery has equalised for France. Completely out of the blue France won the ball and broke with Ribery, who played a one-two with Vieira and broke the offside trap to round Casillas to slot home. Spain 1 FRANCE 1.

*****

20:38 - Zidane aims a frustrated kick out at Alonso after a challenge on him. He is struggling to have the impact on the game that he once would have and this could well be his farewell to the game tonight. Has he got anything left in him?

*****
20:32 - Spain are playing a tight off-side trap tonight and have caught Henry a couple of times. This could be where France profit if Zidane and Henry can link up together.

*****

20:27 - Spain are awarded a penalty. There was slight contact from Thuram but Ibanez went down very easily and again a refereeing decision takes centre stage....David Villa gives Barthez no chance with a fine strike. SPAIN 1 France 0.

*****

20:23 - France miss a great opportunity. A clever ball from Zidane set Henry free on the right and his ball into the six yard box was missed by both Ribery and Vieira.

*****

20:20 - Spain look extremely comfortable knocking the ball patiently around midfield, with Vieira and Makele struggling to make an impact on the game. The Spanish are showing far more energy.

*****

20:15 - Interesting to see how France have lined up with Ribery out on the right-hand side tonight, with the recalled Zidane playing almost as a second striker behind Henry. He has been quiet so far though.

*****

20:10 - A good few minutes for Spain. Pernia goes close with a free-kick from 25 yards and Torres flashes a ball across goal from the left. Both he and Villa look capable of causing problems.

*****

20:05 - Torres looks bright in attack for Spain early but no real chances for ether side early on.

*****

20:00 - At kick off, the full line-ups are:

Spain: Casillas, Pablo, Puyol, Sergio Ramos, Pernia, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso, Villa, Torres, Raul. Subs: Salgado, Marchena, Albelda, Reyes, Luis Garcia, Antonio Lopez, Iniesta, Senna, Joaquin, Canizares, Juanito, Reina.

France: Barthez, Sagnol, Thuram, Gallas, Abidal, Ribery, Zidane, Makelele, Vieira, Malouda, Henry. Subs: Landreau, Boumsong, Dhorasoo, Govou, Wiltord, Silvestre, Saha, Givet, Diarra, Trezeguet, Chimbonda, Coupet.

*****

As promised, I will be posting 'live' throughout the game tonight. It promises to be an intriguing encounter with Spain impressive so far in the tournament and France stuttering through to round two.

This is their first ever clash in the World Cup, but interestingly Spain have never beaten France in a competitive match.

Team wise, Zidane is back in the French line-up replacing Trezeguet, whilst Spain feature three up front (Torres, Raul and Villa) and Fabregas starts in midfield. The average age of the French side is 29.5 whilst the Spanish side is only 24.5.

World Cup Day 19 - Ronaldo breaks scoring record

In todays 3-0 victory over Ghana, Ronaldo broke the World Cup scoring when he opened the scoring for the Brazilians, moving past Gerd Muller with the 15th strike of his tournament career.

From the snippets of this game I caught during the first-half it looked like Ghana were a little unfortunate to go in behind, let alone 2-0 down, with Adriano's strike just before the break suspiciously offside and the possession and chances in favour of the African side.

The 909 commentary I had on driving home from work were not enthralled by the second half with Brazil seemingly content to sit on the lead and Ghana unable to offer anything to get back in the game, and late on the crowd were registering their displeasure at the manner in which the game was heading before Ze Roberto added a very late third.

Although into the last eight, Brazil fall into the same category as England in being a side that has hardly shown the form and ability that is expected from the players in the line-up, and they will have a tricky quarter-final tie meeting either France or Spain who kick-off later this evening. blogging live throughout.

Live blogging

I will be blogging right throughout the France v Spain clash tomorrow.

Hopefully it will be an interesting experiment to post up my thoughts at regular intervals throughout a match 'as live' - hopefully it won't be a dour 0-0 contest.

If you're online then feel free to stop by during the match and add any comments to what I'll be posting up.

World Cup Day 18 - Italy through in late drama

Italy have gone through to the last eight amidst late dram against Australia.

An injury time penalty from Francesco Totti when extra-time loomed broke the Aussies hearts but in truth was deserved for a fine defensive performance after Materazzi's dismissal shortly after half-time.

But it was a game in which refereeing decisions will again take the headlines as the penalty award was generous at best. At 'real' speed I thought it was nailed on, but the replays showed Grosso (who did excellently in the build up) only collided with Lucas Neill, who made an ill-judged decision to go to ground.

This was after Italy had been reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Marco Materazzi just after half time.

I thought that the Australians would make this a tough game and it proves the coaching credentials of Guus Hiddink, underlining the fact that both he and Scolari should have been pursued more vigorously for the England job. However, Hiddink must be rueing the fact that Australia did not really go all out at any stage during the game, which made the Italians job that much easier. In fact, it wasn't until ten minutes from time until Aloisi was brought on in support of Viduka.

Australia enjoyed much of the possession in the first half, but without Harry Kewell rarely threatened Buffon in the Italian net. It was Italy who had the chances in the first half but both Gilardino and Toni could have showed more composure.

The sending off of Materazzi was a poor decision, neither being the last man or 'lunging' to deserve the red card. Unsuprisingly, Toni was sacrificed for Barzagli and it galvanised Australia who sensed their chance.

It needed a strong performance from Cannavaro and he underlined why he has been considered world-class for the some time and the Italians slowed down the tempo of the game, eliminating any risk from their performance but the Australians could not take advantage with Buffon only making one telling save during the second-half.

It was Italy who actually had the better of the play during the last few minutes and from the move which brought the penalty, Grosso had options to square the ball to strikers who were in a better position. He chose to go alone though and won the penalty as time expired.

And it was Francesco Totti who put his miserable big tournament form behind him to slot home the penalty which sends Italy through to face either Switzerland or Ukraine.

Referee under fire

It seems FIFA are as quick to attack refereeing indiscretions as quickly as fans and media alike.

There was no support for referee Valentin Ivanov following last nights game between Holland and Portugal with FIFA president Sepp Blatter commenting:

"I consider the referee was not at the same level as the participants, the players. I think there could have been a yellow card for the referee."

I find it surprising that FIFA have not provided more support to the officials and they have been all too quick to apportion blame following a controversial decision, without taking into account the rules and guidelines that they lay down before tournaments.

The problem last night for Ivanov was the spate of yellow cards he handed out early in the game which left him in a vulnerable position if the game developed as it ultimately did. By handing out yellow cards for minor fouls (and not those covered by FIFA's guidelines) he then had no option but to keep handing yellow cards during that twenty minute spell. If anything, he was perhaps a little too lenient in the end as Figo and Deco certainly deserved straight red cards when they were issued with yellows.

It is all too easy to blame referees and Marco Van Basten has been vocal today but the players also have to take some responsibility as they sensed the referees lack of control and took advantage of it, in effect losing control themselves as they sought to even up the card count and get retribution for earlier 'injustices'.

What I did find laughable today though was talk of an attempt by Portugal to overturn Deco's first yellow card (thus cancelling out the sending of) as Holland contravened the spirit of fair play leading upto his 'challenge'.

Presumably - and in the same spirit of fair play, they will petition for Figo's yellow card to be upgraded to a red?

World Cup Day 17 - Holland exit in stormy clash

Wow. That must surely have been the game of the tournament?

The first hour was a display of the technical qualities of both sides before both the referee and players lost control to leave four sent off and Portugal going through 1-0.

I'll post more on this game tomorrow, but one thought is that England won't be too disappointed Portugal have gone through. I thought the Dutch looked the better side and the Portuguese will have Costinha and Deco suspended whilst Ronaldo may well be out injured.

World Cup Day 17 - England through to quarter-finals

England progressed through to the quarter-finals earlier today with a 1-0 win over Ecuador.

England altered their tactics as expected to 4-5-1 to accomodate the inclusion of Michael Carrick, with Owen Hargreaves replacing Jamie Carragher.

It was not the performance that was hoped for against a side who threatened very little apart from when profiting from Englands mistakes and it took a free-kick from David Beckham to win the match.

The 4-5-1 didn't really work overall today but I think a large part of that was done to the ineffective play from Lampard and Gerrard in support of Rooney. Rooney worked hard in the lone striker role but it is a role which doesn't suit his strengths and he needs someone either alongside him or in front of him to bring out his quality.

The midfield again was a worry. Lampard and Gerrard seem unable to display their club form in an England shirt, with their passing in particular a major concern which led to the breakdown of attacks time and time again. Joe Cole had perhaps his poorest game today and apart from the goal Beckham offered virtually nothing, with his fitness maybe a concern for future games.
Carrick played well in the 'quarterback' role and was a good outlet for the side, but his effectiveness will be reliant on the rest of the side and what they do with the ball.

The defence improved from the previous game and I was impressed again with Hargreaves, who played well at right back. Ashley Cole's block early in the first stopped a certain goal and Terry and Ferdinand looked a little more composed together at the back.

In goal though, Robinson continues to appear nervous and hesitant and doesn't display any confidence to me. I find it surprising that the media has not made more of his performances so far and (without blue tinted glasses here) feel that if James had turned in similar performances he would have been targeted.

A win, but once again concerns for the side as they go forward. It is now where the tournament really kicks in and there will not be any sides who will be as weak as Ecuador.

Can England step up when it counts?

BBC match report.

World Cup Day 16 - Argentina, Germany progress

Argentina and Germany set up a quarter-final showdown after coming through their last sixteen games yesterday.

By all accounts the Germany game was a little one sided and overall a comfortable afternoons progress for the hosts, who have built up some momentum over the tournament and cannot be discounted from having a genuine shot at making the last four at the very least. It should now be a fascinating match-up against Argentina.

BBC Match report.

Argentina - as expected, made it through but it was far closer and harder than anticipated. Mexico, whilst enjoying a high FIFA ranking didn't overly impress in the group stages but came out flying at the Argentinians and took the lead early, only for Crespo to equalise shortly after. Ultimately it took an extra time goal from Maxi Rodriguez to seal the win with the Mexicans counting themselves unfortunate that they ran into Argentina so soon.

BBC match report.

Soccer Shout

Catch my latest appearance on Soccer Shout by clicking on show date 24-06-06.

End of the group stage - a look back

Prior to the tournament starting, I previewed each of the groups, looking at what and what not to expect as well as putting forward my tips to qualify for the second round.

None of the top seeds fell at the first hurdle and realistically only the Czech Republic and Croatia could be labelled as surprises for catching an early flight back.

Group A

What I predicted: Lukas Podolski to shine, not too many goals and Germany and Poland to progress.

What happened: Podolski looks to be a prospect, it was probably more attacking than anticipated and Ecuador saw off Poland into second place.

Group B

What I predicted: Sweden to finish second to England, Joe Cole to be vital to England hopes and the wives and girlfriends to feature heavily in the media.

What happened: My tips for qualification were spot on, Cole was the best of Englands midfielders and the term 'WAG' was invented by a salatious press corps.

Group C

What I predicted: van der Vaart to shine but Holland crashing out with Serbia runner-up to Argentina.

What happened: Not exactly spot on here! van der Vaart played intermittently, Holland unbeaten and the Serbians back home without a point.

Group D:

What I predicted: Portugal and Mexico to finish 1-2 with plenty of goals.

What happened: The finish was spot on (although not difficult to predict admittedly), but this must have been one of the dullest groups in World Cup history.

Group E:

What I predicted: The Czechs to disappoint, plenty of draws and Ghana to sneak through in second place behind Italy.

What happened: Not the draws that I envisaged but the Czechs depart early and Ghana beat out USA for second.

Group F:

What I predicted: Kaka to be the star of the group with Japan acompanying Brazil to the knockout stages.

What happened: Kaka was impressive in the Croatia game and will have a big part to play in the tournament. Japan didn't recover from their opening game defeat to the Aussies - who performed superbly to take second place.

Group G:

What I predicted: France to comfortably take the group with Franck Ribery to shine.

What happened: France stuttered in the first two games and scraped through as runners-up to the Swiss whilst Ribery flattered to deceive.

Group H:

What I predicted: Spain and Ukraine to easily go through with Spain to perform well at a World Cup.

What happened: Spain destroyed the Ukraine in the opening game and topped the group, but Ukraine recovered to qualify for the next stage.

Middlesbrough managers position

I'm sure this guy must have been a better candidate than Gareth Southgate.

Reyna retires from international football

After the poor showing by the USA in this years tournament, captain Claudio Reyna has decided to retire from international football:

"Claudio Reyna announced his retirement from the U.S. national team on Friday, a day after the Americans lost 2-1 against Ghana and finished last in Group E.Reyna, who sprained a ligament in his left knee midway through the first half of the 2-1 loss and had to be substituted before the halftime break, was U.S. captain for eight years, leading the squad to its best ever result at the 2002 World Cup.

But after reaching the quarterfinals in Japan/South Korea four years ago, the Americans’ experience in Germany proved disappointing. They took just one point from their three matches – a 1-1 draw with Italy – and in addition to the loss against Ghana, they were also soundly defeated 3-0 by the Czech Republic.

Reyna, who scored 8 goals in 112 appearances for the U.S. squad, will continue to play for Manchester City".

Re-assuring eh?

The last sixteen

With France only going through in second place, they face the Spanish in the last sixteen in possibly the biggest game although Holland v Portugal could be a good match-up.

Switzerland or Ukraine have a chance to be the tournaments 'dark horses', whilst Italy's good showing so far could back up their 'twelve year rule' - finalists in 1970, 1982, 1994.... 2006?

The full line-up:

Saturday June 24th
Germany v Sweden
Argentina v Mexico

Sunday June 25th
England v Ecuador
Portugal v Holland

Monday June 26th
Italy v Australia
Switzerland v Ukraine

Tuesday June 27th
Brazil v Ghana
Spain v France

World Cup Day 15 - France scrape through

Group H didn't have an awful lot riding on it heading into the last fixtures with only Tunisia having an outside chance of ousting Ukraine into second spot. It was not to be though as Ukraine won 1-0 with a penalty through Andriy Shevchenko to put them through whilst Spain confirmed themselves as group winners, also winning 1-0 themselves over Saudi Arabia.

Group G however had plenty of interest with 1998 winners France facing the prospect of another early elimination. Needing possibly a 2-0 win to go through they struggled in the first half, looking edgy in front of goal despite some nice build up play and dominating territory and possession. The second half started in similar vein but two goals in a five minute spell from Patrick Viera and Thierry Henry guaranteed them through from this group.

They go through in second place though thanks to Switzerland winning 2-0 over South Korea, earning themselves their first group winners spot in a World Cup tournament. Goals from Senderos and Frei saw them set up a last sixteen match-up with Ukraine.

The French now face Spain in the last sixteen with opinion divided over whether they are a spent force or ready to peak at exactly the right time. Zidane is expected back in the line-up which may not have too positive an effect on the team (and Henry in particular) and I cannot see beyond Spain to go through.

Refeering decisions have dominated the headlines over the past day, but it was a great decision for the second goal tonight to overrule the linesman flagging for an offside decision. Replays showed the ball was played through by the leg of a South Korean defender, and despite their protests the decision to play on didn't give Frei any advantage in being able to slot home.

Credit where credit is due.

Oh, Graham Poll

The BBC reports that Englands only official in the World Cup - Graham Poll, is expected to making his way back from the World Cup tomorrow when FIFA announce the referees for the second round stage.

It is expected because of his performance last night in the Croatia v Australia game in which he made a number of errors, capped by the 'triple booking' of Josep Simunic before sending the Croatian player off.

For those familiar with the Premiership, there will not be too many tears shed at the high profile hammering that Poll has taken and what is surprising is that he was tipped to actually be in the running to officiate in the final.

Despite the failing of Poll over the booking, what I cannot understand (also echoed by Sepp Blatter) was that there is a 'team' of officials that work a game - including a fourth official and presumably this team is in contact with each other, yet at no time was Poll contacted to advise him of the mistake and to then correct it.

Slightly ironic is the fact that it is usually the English press who castigate an Egyptian or Tunisian referee for being incompetent, and it is one of our 'own' who is set to become the first refereeing casualty.

The standards have been fairly good so far in the tournament until yesterday (which also included Markus Merk's poor penalty award for Ghana) .

As we now head to the knock out stages it becomes even more important that the officiating is upto the high standards the tournament deserves.

World Cup Day 14 - Day of the underdogs

Australia turned in an impressive performance tonight to twice come from a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw in their showdown against Croatia.

The Croatians got off to a flyer with a free-kick from Srna barely a minute in that flew past Kalac in the Aussie goal. Credit to the Aussies though who fought back well and had the majority of possession and opportunities throughout the first half and were rewarded just before the half when Craig Moore slotted home from the spot.

Croatia regained the lead through Kovac when Kalac made a hash of his shot and not justifying Hiddink's decision to replace Shwarzer. It was the Aussies who came out on top though when Kewell - who played well after a slow start, netted the equaliser to put ensure Australia took second spot over Croatia, who finished the night with nine men following two late sendings off.

Australia now move on to face Italy who did enough to come out on top against the Czech Republic by a 2-0 margin to leave the Czechs flying home with two defeats following their superb start against the USA. Looking ahead a little, the Italians could be fancying their chances of progressing with a last sixteen match-up against the Aussies then a potential quarter final tie against the winner of Group H - which may well be Switzerland or South Korea.

The USA lost out in their battle against Ghana, getting back into the game after Ghana took a lead following Claudio Reyna's error. Ghana regaining the lead following a harsh penalty decision when the marvellously named Pimpong was adjudged to have been fouled. Ghana took second place in the group, winning their final two games and now fly the fag for the African continent in the knockout stages with a dream tie against Brazil.

Brazil came out on top 4-1 over Japan after going a goal down in the first half. Ronaldo, looking very out of shape from what I saw, equalled Gerd Muller's World Cup goals record of 14 with a pair of goals and will surely take the record sometime during the tournament.

Fixtures released

The 2006/07 fixtures were released today and click here for the list in full.

Some key games appear to be:

Aug 19 - Chelsea a
Aug 26 - Arsenal h
Dec 9 - United a
Dec 26 - Sheffield United a
Jan 1 - Everton h
May 5 - United h
May 13 -Tottenham a

City snap up Dabo

In a welcome move - but one which was a little bit of a surprise given previous developments, City announced the signing of Ousmane Dabo on a three-year deal yesterday.

Stuart Pearce commenting:

"Ousmane is a vastly experienced holding midfield player, and gives us more options. I am delighted he is joining us."

Whilst living upto the previous high standards of new signing cliches, Dabo offered us:

“I had many offers but I chose City because it’s a big club with a big history.
I played against City in a friendly here two years ago and when I saw how the fans were here, I was in love!”

World Cup Day 13 - No surprises

No great surprises with the results from last night (Wednesday) with the sides expected to qualify doing so.

In Group C , Portugal defeated Mexico 2-1 to confirm their position at the top of the group whilst Angola and Iran played out a draw to end any faint hopes that the Africans had of snatching second place.

Over in Group D, Argentina and Holland played out a fairly uninspiring goalless draw. Both sides displaying their obvious technical quality but it wasn't a game blessed with an endless number of chances. It was a surprise that Holland appeared content with a point rather than taking a risk in going for the win bearing in mind they had already qualified for the next stage. They now face Portugal in the last sixteen whilst Argentina will play Mexico. Rounding out this group, Serbia & Montenegro capped a miserable tournament in which their vaunted back line evaporated as they saw a 2-0 lead overturned by Ivory Coast who earned a much deserved three points with a 3-2 victory.

End of the world for Owen

As expected, Michael Owen ruled out of the World Cup following the results of his scan earlier today and reports suggest he may actually miss the rest of the year through the injury.

It is a huge blow both for the player and the team, as despite not being 100% fit and struggling for form, he has proven big stage pedigree and would have been key for the hopes of England progressing far in the tournament.

Despite Erikkson appearing upbeat and saying he is happy with the number of strikers in the squad, the decision to not take Jermaine Defoe in the squad could backfire in the upcoming game(s). Even with four fit strikers, it still looked light (as most countries have gone with five) and this is without factoring in Rooney and Owen heading into the tournament with an injury cloud hanging over them.

Although Rooney is now fit to play, he still looks short of match fitness and the impact he has had in games so far has been in sporadic bursts rather than over a sustained period. Bearing in mind so mouch now rests on his shoulders it is hoped that the near seventy minutes last night have benefitted him greatly.

Peter Crouch, who a couple of weeks before the tournament was still very much 'Plan B', now has a vital role to play and unless Erikkson reverts to 4-5-1, will be spearheading the attack with Rooney. They linked up well at times against Sweden and I anticipate a lot of work on the training ground will be centred around their partnership.

The wildcard in all of this is Theo Walcott. Taken as a gamble by Erikkson with the ability to come on and change a game, he is one more injury away from being thrust into the firing line. The most natural replacement in the squad for Owen, he has yet to feature in the tournament and there have been opportunities missed in the Paraguay and Sweden game for him to see action.

It would now be a major gamble to throw Walcott in, and if there are any problems with Crouch or Rooney it will likely be Gerrard who moves into a more advanced position. Looking at the squad it would have looked far more balanced for Defoe to have been taken instead of Jermaine Jenas. Many were surprised at the inclusion of Owen Hargreaves but he has featured in all games so far whilst Jenas is cover for Lampard and Gerrard - who are clearly not going to be dropped. Throw in Carrick, Downing and Lennon and the midfield is well stocked - something that can't be said for the attacking options.

World Cup Day 12 - England top but plenty to think about

With Germany winning earlier in the day, it meant that England did not have to 'manufacture' a result to finish second in the group to avoid the hosts in the last sixteen.

Despite earning a draw against Sweden (and stretching their winless streak against them in the process) to top the group there were plenty of concerns at the final whistle ahead of expected media criticism tomorrow.

The match had barely got under way when Michael Owen suffered a knee injury - early reports range from a twisted knee to medial ligament damage, and was replaced by Crouch. An injury which makes the decision not to include Jermaine Defoe even more perplexing.

England appeared bright in the first half with Cole again standing out in midfield ahead of the 'bigger names' Beckham and Lampard. It was Cole who put England ahead just before half-time with a superb long range strike to send the side in at half time in a positive frame of mind.

The second half though was not one for England to take too many positives from. They again lost their way after the break (an increasingly common feature) and let Sweden back into the game through an Allback header. Sweden then increased the pressure and went close with a couple of chances, hitting the woodwork on a couple of occasions.

Rio Ferdinand went off (presumably as a precaution) and was replaced by Sol Campbell, before Rooney ran out of steam and made way for Gerrard. It was Gerrard who - against the run of play, put England back in front with a well taken header from a Joe Cole pass.

The game was not finished though and from a long throw Larsson got a faint touch to guide it past Robinson and Cole to end the match at 2-2.

Prior to the game the objective was to avoid Germany in the last sixteen, and in Ecuador they now play what will probably be the weakest opposition. It was by no means all doom and gloom but there are concerns ahead of the knockout stages.

Plus points:
The performance of Joe Cole
Seventy minutes for Wayne Rooney
Avoiding Germany in the next round
Strong defensive play at times

Minus points:
The injury to Michael Owen
Theo Walcott still not seeing some action
Paul Robinson appearing hesitant at times
The inability to keep a clean sheet against a side with attacking threat

World Cup Day 12 - Germany coast through

Needing a win to finish top of Group A, hosts Germany despatched hopefuls Ecuador 3-0 this afternoon with Miroslav Klose notching two goals to lead the scoring charts with four goals so far, leaving Ecuador to go through in second place.

I've only seen Germany in the opening game of the tournament but they impressed me with the way they attacked in that game and in posting a 100% record so far they could certainly be a threat in the knock-out stages with a home crowd behind them.

In the 'dead' game of the group, Poland at least got a win over Costa Rica to ease their disappointment of missing qualification.

How it stands...

What with one thing or another (mainly cricket), I've not caught a lot of the World Cup action over the weekend and today was a similair story with a Twenty20 game late afternoon/early evening (a five run defeat, running myself out on 49 with five balls left and thirteen needed to win).

This week should see a lot more action being watched (even with the stupid 3pm kick offs) and it does all time quite well as we now approach the final round of group games. Most of the groups are done and dusted with some jostling for first and second taking place, but one or two are set up for a decent finale.

Whilst having a bit of time on my hands - and trying to stay awake during the second intermission of game 7 of the Stanley Cup final (current time 3:10am) I at least have a chance to catch up on where the groups stand and what is at stake heading into the final set of matches.

Group A:

How it stands - Ecuador and Germany have both qualified, level on points with Ecuador having a better goal difference. They meet in the final game, with England looking on as an interested spectator.
Prediction - Germany to win and top the group, with Ecuador in second place.

Group B:

How it stands - England are through with six points, Sweden sit in second needing a point to qualify with Trinidad & Tobago harbouring an outside chance if they slip up.
Prediction - England to at least avoid defeat and win the group, Sweden taking second.

Group C:

How it stands - Argentina and Holland have both qualified with six points and face each other to decide the final standings. Both will want to win to avoid Portugal in the last sixteen.
Prediction - Argentina to win and establish themselves as firm favourites to win the tournament.

Group D:

How it stands - Portugal are through, Mexico likely to join them unless they are defeated by Portugal and Angola beat Iran and overturn a goal deficit.
Prediction - Portugal win the group, Mexico in second.

Group E:

How is stands - The most intriguing group as all sides can still. Italy play the Czechs and Ghana face USA. The two winners will go through. A draw will be good enough for Italy and the Czechs unless Ghana or USA win, then the Czechs will crash out.
Prediciton - Italy to go through, probably with a point and Ghana to win, edging out the Czechs to second place.

Group F:

How it stands - Brazil are through, realistically Japan are out, which leaves the Aussies and Croatians battling for second with the Croatia needing a win.
Prediction - I was impressed with Croatia against Brazil but having dropped points against Japan I have a feeling Australia will sneak through in second behind Brazil.

Group G:

How it stands - A little bit of intrigue here with France currently in third behind Switzerland and South Korea, who play each other in the final game. France definitely need a win or they are out, but a 2-0 sees guarantees them qualification.
Prediction - France to get the win they need to qualify through in first place (and avoid Spain) with a draw good enough for the Swiss to go through in second.

Group H:

How it stands - Spain are through already and Ukraine rebounded against Tunisia to all but set themselves in second position.
Prediction - Spain and Ukraine to win their final games and finish 1-2 in the table.


All of this would see a last sixteen as follows, and surprisingly with none of the top seeds being early casualties:

Germany v Sweden
England v Ecuador
Argentina v Mexico
Portugal v Holland
Italy v Australia
Brazil v Ghana
France v Ukraine
Spain v Switzerland

World Cup Day 11 - Spain rally to qualify.

Caught a little bit of the Spain game earlier this evening, and seeing them dominate and score both goals made me wonder what the hell had happened for the previous sixty minutes of this game. Torres again proved he is one of the hottest prospects around and should graduate to the 'elite' level over the next few seasons.

The comeback did spoil a potentially interesting final round of games in this group as Ukraine should pretty much be favourites to take second placed after recovering from their beating against Spain to hammer Saudi Arabia 4-0, now needing just a point against Tunisia to go through.

Standings:

Spain 6pts
Ukraine 3pts
Tunisia 1pt
Saudia Arabia 1pt

Earlier in Group G, Switzerland moved atop of the group on goal difference with a 2-0 win over Togo to set up a crucial final last game against South Korea. Despite being in third place, France need just a 2-0 win over Togo in their final game to qualify so a 'winner takes all' battle looms.

Worlup Day 10 - France stuttering

Another Sunday of cricket resulted in only the France v South Korea being seen today.

Despite Australia going down 2-0 to Brazil, they hold the upper hand going into their final game against Croatia due to the Croatians failure to beat Japan earlier in the day - meaning that Brazil have qualified and the Aussies need only a point to go through.

Standings:

Brazil 6pts
Australia 3pts
Croatia 1pt
Japan 0pts

France again stuttered on the big stage, failing to hold an early lead from Thierry Henry in drawing with South Korea this evening - a result which leaves Switzelrand with a chance to overtake France if they beat Togo tomorrow (assuming that Togo turn up of course).

"As long as I have a hole in my arse South Korea won't score" 9.35pm - Richard Carroll.

9.40pm - J-S Park equalises for South Korea.

It may also have been Zinedine Zidane's last game in football due to his yellow card which puts him out of the last group game. I still feel that France should have enough to get through this group but it may not be as group winners given that South Korea or Switzerland have the opportunity to take first place.

World Cup Day 9 - Group E gets interesting

Due to cricket commitments during the day (a duck and no wickets - great day) and then going to see one of the worst movies I've ever seen, I didn't get to see any of Saturday's action apart from the first half-hour of the Italy v USA match-up.

With the Czechs surprisingly losing to Ghana earlier in the day, it gave Italy a great opportunity to seal the group ahead of their game against the Czechs later this week. However - and despite taking the lead, the Italians failed to take the opportunity and saw de Rossi sent off for an elbow on McBride.

The group is now nicely poised going into the last games with all sides still in with a shout of qualifying from this group.

Standings:

Italy 4pts +2gd
Czech Republic 3pts +2gd
Ghana 3pts -1gd
USA 1pt -3gd

BBC v ITV

From what I have seen so far this tournament, I am much preferring the BBC coverage to what ITV is putting out.

The major difference to me is the difference in studio analysts. The BBC crew look all relaxed either at the stadium or in an airy, spacious studio whilst the guys (and girl) over at ITV look to have been allocated a broom cupboard in each of the stadiums. I'm also not too sure why none of the ITV guys have questioned why they have to stick straws along their jaws either.

The line-ups are the big thing for me:

BBC:
Hansen, Shearer, Leonardo, Strachan, O'Neill, Wright, Desailly.

ITV:
Townsend, McCoist, Venables, Allardyce, Pearce, Okocha, Hasselbaink.

Enough said?

Strangely, even Ian Wright appears bearable so far - reigning in some of his more 'hyper' traits. I think Strachan and O'Neill can offer decent insight and doing appear shy of telling it 'how it is'. I'm also looking forward to seing if any Celtic tension rears it's head during the tournament and I'm sure Gary Lineker could coax that out of them. I quite like Leonardo, although he seems to miss the 'pretty boy' gags that have been thrown his way and he seems now to be morphing from 'Leo' into 'Layo'.

Over at ITV, Okocha and Hasselbaink are a waste of time. Hasselbaink just appears to be permanently confused (perhaps he is contemplating what the straws are for) and Okocha just looks plain bored. For the England games, the premier team is the trio of Allardyce, Venables and our very own Stuart Pearce. Allardyce offered nothing to remember apart from that he's always 'fancied Crouchie', Venables has a look that worries me - as if he may 'lose it' (could be worth watching) whilst I hope that Pearce is finding his feet in the role of analyst - his observation that England had "a wake up call before their wake-up call" suggests improvements are needed. Hopefully, his time over there will turn out to be an ITV funded scouting trip which will yield half a dozen reinforcements in time for pre-season training.

One thing which is beginning to grate is the commentary teams. Apart from Peter Drury on ITV who I think is a good commentator, the rest have not impressed at all. Particularly irritating is Clive Tyldesley, who seems to be the 'number 1 guy' for ITV yet rarely displays any impartiality (and I thought he was bad covering United games). The decision to allow Gareth Southgate into the commentary box is dumbfounding, and is observations such as "John Terry could be dangerous from set pieces" add nothing. Middlesbrough fans must be concerned if this guy needs to deliver a rousing chest-thumping half-time team talk.

Over on BBC though, John Motson has gone beyond being mildly amusing, with the air of an elderly relative you have to be patient with whilst they confuse people and names up. During the Brazil v Croatia game, he actually confused Ze Roberto with Ronaldinho on a number of occasions. I think he is even beginning to wind-up co-commentator Mark Lawrenson - although that may be no bad thing in itself. The only alternative to Motty appears though to be Jonathan Pearce, who's over the top enthusiasm was ideally suited to a fledgling Channel 5 (or is that 'five') and I cannot listen to another game with 'insight' provided by Mick McCarthy, who I'm thinking needs Bob Murray to take over at the BBC to put him out of his misery in the commentary box.

From the little I have caught so far on radio (909), the commentary on there is hands down the best I have come across. From all his failings as the national manager, I do like listening to Graham Taylor and think he provides some of the most insightful summarising around. The main commentators appear to provide a far, higher standard as well, not appearing to want (or need) to steal the show as some of their TV counterparts seem fond of.

Check out a more in depth look at the World Cup media coverage over at Finals Fantasy and also check out theex-pat World Cup blog

The England question

With Ecuador causing a mild surprise and qualifying along with Germany in Group A, and with currently a better goal difference than the Germans it raises the possibility that a first place finish for England could see a last sixteen match-up against Germany if they fail to beat Ecuador in their final match-up.

As the Germany v Ecuador result will be known by the time England the field against Sweden, it has led to suggestions that a 'tactical performance' could be engineered to see England finish second, thus avoiding Germany in the last sixteen and meeting Ecuador instead.

Personally, I cannot see that there will be any advantage in doing this or that it would actually be done given that England would have to purposely lose to end up finshing as runners-up.

Also by finishing second it does open up England to what I consider the more difficult half of the draw.

Peering a little into the future, should they win the group and knock off Germany/Ecuador, it could then be Portugal or Holland in the quarter-finals and Brazil in the semi-finals, wheras finishing second would see potentially Argentina in the quarter-finals and then Italy or Spain in the semis.

On the basis of the couple of games so far finishing second clearly provides a stiffer test so for the sake of a slightly easier second-round match-up it would then make the task of getting to the final that much harder.

I do think it will be all academic though as I take Germany to come out on top against Ecuador and despite not firing on all cylinders so far I'd back England to at the very least avoid defeat against Sweden.

World Cup Day 8 - Angola earn deserved point

Angola earned a surprise point tonight against Mexico which left Group D in an interesting position ahead of tomorrow's game between Portugal and Iran, leaving the Angolans in a position where a win could send them through should Portugal win out in the group.

Standings:

Mexico 4pts
Portugal 3pts
Angola 1pt
Iran 0pts

World Cup Day 8 - Holland qualify

Holland secured their place in the second round alongside Argentina with a 2-1 win over an Ivory Coast side who have faced both top seeds and could consider themselves unfortunate to be on the losing side both times.

Holland now have to beat Argentina in the last group game to finish atop of the group and on the evidence of the games so far will struggle to do so, Argentina looking full of attacking threat whilst Holland have laboured to victory and don't look to be the strongest Dutch side we have seen over recent times.

I've been impressed with Ivory Coast and whilst they didn't quite play the role as spoiler in this group (and the Serbians wouldn't have taken advantage anyway) they have looked the strongest of the African sides and count themselves unfortunate to have been drawn in such a tough group, as a more favourable draw could have seen them contest for a place in the second round.

Standings:

Argentina 6pts +7gd
Holland 6pts +2gd
Ivory Coast 0pts -2gd
Serbia & Montenegro 0pts -7gd

World Cup Day 8 - Argentina hit Serbia for six

Looking forward to catching some highlights of this game later as by all accounts Argentina were on fire and completely destroyed the Serbians.

Argentina are definitely living upto pre-tournament billing as one of the few teams with a real chance of going far and amongst some of the talk about whether England should tactically finish second to avoid Germany (I'll try and post more on that over the weekend) it is important to realise that Argentina hold the advantage in their group over Holland which would mean England could face them in the quarter-finals.

This win certainly shouldn't be underestimated as Serbia were watertight in qualifying and my tip to finish second in this group, serving to underline the attacking threat they pose.

World Cup Day 7 - Sweden almost there

A late Freddie Ljunberg header gave Sweden a 1-0 victory over Ecuador tonight, and in doing so ended Paraguay's hopes of qualification and any realistic hopes Trinidad & Tobago have of qualifying.

With one game left the group standings are as follows:

England 6pts
Sweden 4pts
Trinidad & Tobago 1pt
Ecuador 0pts

A point from the Sweden v England match-up takes England through as winners with Sweden as runners-up. Incidentally, prior to the game both sides will know the potential second round match-ups first and second place will bring, whilst Trinidad & Tobago will hope for an England win couple with a win for themselves over Paraguay to then potentially go through as runners-up themselves.

World Cup Day 7 - England leave it late

UPDATE:

Two late, trademark goals - a header from Peter Crouch and long-range effort from Steven Gerrard saved England's blushes in the end. England dominated the second half but it appeared as though for all of their efforts they would lack the quality of final finish to take the win.

Erikkson did not hesitate too long before making changes, and living upto his tournament profile as a 'gambler' he introduced Aaron Lennon for Jamie Carragher and Wayne Rooney for Michael Owen.

Rooney was bright and full of running for the first fifteen minutes before calming down a touch, but he put his foot in, was on the end of tackles and ran well with the ball, not showing any signs of injury. In the process he looked a far better bet than Owen, who clearly looks off the pace and to quote Stuart Pearce "isn't offering anything to the side". Lennon played well, running at the defenders but lacked a quality final delivery for me.

Overall, a deserved win but not without a scare or two and plenty of things still to look at and work on. Particularly of concern must be the position of Owen who could well face the axe to allow Rooney a greater run out ahead of the second round.

Qualification is now sealed of course and depending on tonights result, England could be confirmed as group winners.


The half-time whistle has just gone in a game that really livened up in the last few minutes.

England fairly dominated territory and possession for the majority of the half, with Michael Owen missing a chance after Shaka Hislop had spilt a shot. Trinidad & Tobago have got plenty of bodies behind the ball and are not allowing the strikers any space which is resulting in long distance shots being being the only outlet - none serious testing Hislop though.

On the stroke of half-time, Robinson missed his cue (to me he hasn't looked entirely comfortable on crosses) and only a great bit of defending prevented England from going in behind at the half.

England will have to up their game and put an end to their recent run of failing to score in the second half at the World Cup if they are going to win this. Owen looks some way off the pace and I can't see it being too long before Rooney is called into action.

World Cup Day 7 - Ecuador win sets up final group clash

Ecuador defeated Costa Rica 3-0 this afternoon to guarantee themselves and Germany qualification through to the second round, ending any faint hopes Poland and the Costa Ricans had of sneaking through.

Wheras Poland and Costa Rica will now only be playing for pride in the final group game, it sets up an interesting clash between Germany and Ecuador. As it stands - although level of points, Ecuador top the group with goal difference of +5, whilst Germany's is +3.

All of this means of course, that with one eye on winning the group and having a relatively easy second round game, if Germany fail to beat Ecuador then it could set up a tasty second round match-up should England top the group.

World Cup Day 6 - Late goal seals German win

An injury time goal from Oliver Neuville saw Germany take the points this evening and virtually ensure their passage into the second round.

The goal - from the highlights a deserved one on the balance of play, leaves Germany on six points and Poland, who were fancied as runners-up seemingly out of the picture. The Ecuador v Costa Rica match-up now looks to be a crucial one with Ecuador only needing a point, but a Costa Rica victory would open the door up for them and also rekindle Polish hopes heading into the final round of games.

World Cup Day 6 - Stylish Spanish start well

The early game today saw Spain defeat Ukraine 4-0 in what was commented as the most impressive performance of the tournament so far. I'll be looking forward to catching the highlights to see how true this is but the Ukraine are certainly no mugs (as their qualification record showed) and the result sees another of the big seeds in pole position to qualify after just one game - a feature that has been consistent throughout the tournament so far.

I decided to stay a little later at work today, aware that a few 4.30 finishes have been made since the tournament started and didn't anticipate Tunisia v Saudi Arabia to be too hot a game. Luckily I managed to get home for the last twenty minutes or so to catch the last three goals, including the injury time equaliser from Jaidi - making the commentators day by being able to slip in every reference possible to Bolton thereafter.

Ukraine would have breathed a huge sigh of relief following this result as if thy can put the Spanish game behind them they still appear favourites to go through behind the Spanish in this group.

World Cup Day 5 - Brazil win, but unimpressive

Brazil squeezed past Croatia 1-0 this evening but it was a game the impressive Croats could have taken a point from, which would have been just reward for the effort and performance they put in and in the end were only beaten by a moment of class from Kaka.

Brazil were rarely offered any space to play and create from by Croatia who stuck to their gameplan well and out of the 'stars' only Kaka and Ronaldinho offered anything in the way of creative output but were not helped from an inept performance from front men Ronaldo and Adriano - Ronaldo in particular coming under fire from the BBC pundits.

In fact Croatia had several chances themselves with Rangers' Dado Prso looking strong and lively in attack, and although Dida was tested, he was upto the task on each occasion.

Although they startd with three points against their most serious rivals, and they are hindered by the fact everyone knows they can set such high standards, it is very much a case of can (and must) do better.

I didn't catch any of the early action today apart from the goals following the Brazil-Croatia game but the early game today featured three great goals, particular the come from behind goals from South Korea, from Ahn and Chun-Soo Lee setting them up well following the first round of games.

France got off to a stuttering start in what I was informed was the poorest game of the tournament so far with the 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 formation not clicking and leaving Thierry Henry isolated in attack, with Zidane and Vieira turning in unimpressive performances. It looked that Switzerland had a couple of good chances to take all three points, something that would have left the 1998 Champions in a big hole.

Tomorrow afternoons games round out the first round of matches and we move into the second set with Germany v Poland tomorrow evening, a round of games that prove critical for qualification - will this see a change in the open approach seen over the first week?

City transfer news and speculation

A little bit of transfer news and speculation over the last couple of days which is probably worth commenting on:

Mikkel Bischoff has joined Coventry in a two year deal - Bischoff was a Keegan signing who
never quite lived upto billing. His time was injury hit and ended up being farmed out
on loan on a number of occasions.

We are back in the race for Quinton Fortune - The midfielder turned down a move to Celtic after only being offered a one year deal and are set to go 'head to head' with Bolton. A move which would be disappointing for me as he would offer no more than extra depth in the squad positions.

Danny Mills is interesting Wigan - It seems that possible moves could stutter as a result
of the clubs insistence on a fee of £500,000 for him. Personally I would offer him on a free if there is genuine interest and the Wigan angle makes sense if Chimbonda is headed for the exit.

Reading are preparing a £2million move for David James - I can't see this getting serious consideration. James still has two (possibly three) years at the top and there is no candidate ready to take over as yet.

Soccer Shout

A special listener-only show (show date 12.06.06).
That's right - Phil & Tony give up the mic and it's all down to the listeners, including my latest contribution for them which opens the show over at Soccer Shout.

World Cup Day 4 - Italy ease past Ghana

Italy passed what looked would be a sterner test against Ghana this evening with a 2-0 victory.

I thought that Lippi got the team selection spot on in midfield, preferring Perrotta over Camoranesi to flank Pirlo alongside Daniele de Rossi.

This midfield trio enjoyed success throughout the first half, creating several chances from what on paper is probably Italy's weakest area. Toni saw a great effort come crashing back off the bar before Pirlo added to the tournaments list of long range strikes to put Italy ahead at the half.

Ghana could consider themselves unfortunate to not be awarded one of two decent penalty shouts - a 'cleverer' forward may have been awarded the second one in particular, but Italy on the whole controlled the second half and Ghana offered little apart from what was created through Michael Essien - who had a dominant game in midfield but lacked any real offensive support.

A little more composure up front could have seen them rewarded with a little more success than they actually got - and it is in attack where some of the teams in the tournament have come up a little short as they don't quite have the quality to finish off moves.

Italy wrapped up the game later in the half when Iaquinta pounced on Kuffour's errant backpass to put themselves level at the top of the group with the Czech Republic and stay on course for an important final matchup to avoid Brazil in round two.

The Rooney conundrum - rest or play?

Now that it appears likely that Rooney has recovered physically from his metatarsal injury suffered for United against Chelsea, the topic of debate has now shifted from should he play to when should he play?

Following the 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday, Rooney took part in a post-game warm down cum training session and appeared to be striking the ball well and moving with any discomfort and is reported to be 'desperate' to get involved in the tournament.

This has led to stories today suggesting that he is set to play some part in the second game against Trinidad & Tobago, dividing opinion in the process.

On one side is the argument that further rest would be beneficial and as long as he continues to train he can build up his levels of fitness, whilst contrary to that is the feeling that playing straight away would get him 'match sharp' in preparation for the knock-out stages - something that Michael Owen appears to be currently doing.

Having virtually qualified already, and providing his break has fully healed, I would start with him against Trinidad & Tobago. Although England should cruise through this game (thus qualifying) it would make more sense to play him at this stage then be able to fully monitor his recovery and progress ahead of the Sweden game (and beyond).

It goes against what I initially believed, but it appears he has made a full recovery and is now fit, and if he was left until the group stages then this would be now leaving it too late for me, and also disrupt the pattern of the team who would have played all three games with a partnership of Crouch and Owen.

World Cup Day 4 - Czechs in control at half-time, and cruise to win

FULL TIME UPDATE:

Another good goal from Rosicky seals an impressive opening win for the Czech Republic. They maintained their energy levels and movement throughout and USA offered little in the way of resistance in the second half apart from a good display from the young substitute Eddie Johnson who came on at half-time.

An impressive marker laid down by the Czechs though.


At half-time, the second goal for the Czech Republic towards the end of the first-half looks to have killed this game off. The USA had a chance to level at one stage but Claudio Reyna was unlucky when his shot from the edge of the are hit the post.

The Czech Republic have looked good so far, with plenty of energy and what looks another hot day. They are somewhat of an ageing side and I thought it may be a tournament too far for some of their players but so far so good for them.

It will interesting to see how they deal with the loss of Koller who appears to have suffered quite serious hamstring injury.

World Cup Day 4 - Aussies in late comeback win

Only caught the goal updates from this game on the internet at work - at modern day version of watching the match on teletext I guess, but the Aussies get a big win from this and are set to get a chance of qualification.

Two goals from Tim Cahill and then one from John Aloisi in the final six minutes saw them come from behind to take the points after falling behind early.

I fancied the winner of this game to go through as I don't think the Croatian's have enough in this tournament, and Guus Hiddink could again take an unfancied team into the knock out stages.

Reaction:

"This team is nice to work with because they never give up." - Guus Hiddink.

"We wasted a great opportunity. We had our chances but it was so hot today it didn't help.
It was 38 degrees but we lost concentration at a critical point and it cost us." - Zico.

Wolrd Cup Day 3 - Holland get important win

Haven't had chance to catch too much of the action today but of the little I saw Holland looked impressive with the pairing of van Persie and Robben behind van Nistelrooy looking good. Robben in particular seemed to be causing problems time and again for the Serbian defence.

It was an important win for the Dutch following Argentina's victory the previous evening and the Serbians were much fancied (myself included) to go through from this group. There is still a lot of work for Argentina and Holland to do in this group but they have both got off to important starts in this group.

Caught the second half radio commentary of the evening game and it sounded very much like the Angolans gave a good account of themselves and with a little more belief may have been able to get something from the game against a Portugal side who were well below their best.

Regardless of tonights performance though, opening game wins for both Portugal and Mexico in this group should ensure they qualify through.

World Cup Day 2 - Argentina begin well

I thought last nights game between Argentina and Ivory Coast was possibly the best of the tournament so far in terms of a spectacle.

Both sides attacked with purpose and one thing which stood out was the pace of the game and it resulted in both midfields being overrun at times. They also both look to have plenty of goals in them with Chelsea pair Hernan Crespo and Didier Drogba both on target last night.

The Ivorians were impressive and could live upto my billing as 'group spoiler' but perhaps Argentina's greater experience told in the end and it will certainly have been a welcome three points in what looks to be a tough old group.

World Cup Day 2 - England stutter to opening victory

Thanks to winning the toss, we batted first yesterday giving most of the team a chance to catch the England game.

For the first time this season I managed to put a bit of an innings together which meant that I missed the first half of the game - which by all accounts was far better than the second half which I saw.

It appeared to be a typical tournament performance by England where they go a goal ahead in the first half, and then after half time sit back allowing the opposition to push on. The main problem with this is that England don't appear capable of holding onto the ball and controlling the game. Time and time again there was no link between midfield and attack and it resulted in hopeful balls being aimed at Crouch, a tactic which didn't work and quickly gave possession back to Paraguay.

The substitution of Owen for 'tactical' reasons was a strange one and for all the faith Eriksson says he has in Walcott, to not use him was baffling as it left Joe Cole playing in a role which doesn't play to his strengths. Stewart Downing wasn't convincing on the left when he came on and far more attacking output will come from Cole in that position.

For all the possession and territory England conceded, Paraguay rarely caused problems and from memory Robinson was only tested once.

The concern will be when England come up against a side with far more attacking quality as historically that is when they tend to crash out of tournaments as they are always likely to concede opportunities.

It was a win though, and with the surprise goalless draw between Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago it leaves England in pole position now to top the group.

World Cup - Anelka on his ommission

"I am hated".

Or so ran the headline in todays Mirror.

Following the injury to Djibril Cisse, it was believed that either Nicolas Anelka or Ludovic Giuly would be the front-runners to replace the Liverpool striker in the French squad.

However, coach Raymond Domenech caused somewhat of a surprise by naming Lyon's (and believed City target) Sidney Govou as Cisse's replacement, probably ending any hopes of us signing him in the process.

What Nico actually said:

"I was available to help so it is a shame. This is more of a personality problem than anything else".

Nice interpretation.

World Cup - England kick off

Due to cricketing commitments I'm not going to get chance to much of the afternoon games today. Typically it's going to be about 30 degrees too rather than raining like it was most days earlier in the season. I can see a high percentage of captains who win the toss today deciding to bat first in order to catch at least some of the England game.

The Trinidad & Tobago v Sweden game I think will be a bit of a non-event and I'm sure Sweden will be looking to pad the 'goals for' column as the final standings in this group may well come down to it and could make for an interesting last game match-up.

The 8pm game will potentially be a good one and I'm keen to see how both Argentina and Ivory Coast look as a few pundits have tipped the Ivorians as a potential qualifier from this group as they do look to be the strongest of the African teams, whilst Argentina do not appear to have too many weaknesses in their line-up and are fancied to make the semi-finals at least.

As for the 'big one' though, all the talk coming out of the England camp is very positive and how it is 'our time' and certainly this is the approach that the press are following this morning judging by the headlines and front covers.

I take England to win the game and to play well enough without 'coming out flying' as everyone is suggesting. As good a player that Carrick is, Gerrard would be a big loss if he doesn't make it and it would put more onus on Frank Lampard. It will be important that Michael Owen gets another full game under his belt and the defence are more solid than they have been in recent games.

1-0 looks a good bet to me at 11/2 odds but I think England may add a second late on to give them a little breathing room and calm the nations nerves.

World Cup Day 1 - The first shock of the tournament

In a game which must have had interest to a watching England side, Ecuador caused the first upset of the tournament by defeating Poland 2-0 in tonights second game to move levek with Germany on three points on put a great deal of pressure on Poland ahead of their next game against Germany.

The Poles rarely threatened and look laboured in their attacking movement, and although Ecuador rarely looked threatening or incisive, they scored at vital moments and now put themselves in a great position to qualify from this group.

Poland did press late on and hit the woodwork twice but in truth did not deserve to take anything from the game. It is also vindication in some part to those who wrote off Ecuador, pointing to their favourable home record in qualification.

It is a result which also must give heart to Costa Rica, who if they can take four points from their remaining two games must fancy their chances of qualification. None of the sides apart from Germany in this group though look capable of making much of a dent beyond the last sixteen and it gives England extra incentive to finish top of the group and have a favourable second round match-up.

The group as a whole does appear to be wide open as a result of this outcome but Poland especially need to rebound quickly from this disappointment and show more attacking output than they did in tonights game.

World Cup opening game - Germans open with a win

The final whistle has just gone in this game, a match-up which threw off the stereotype of the dour opening game of a World Cup tournament.

After going 3-1 ahead, you would have expected the Germans to have killed the game and saved themselves for bigger battles ahead but Wanchope's second of the game led to a nervy last quarter of an hour.

Germany certainly looked impressive going forward, with Schweinsteiger and Podolski the creative forces behind Miroslav Klose (22/1 to be top goalscorer incidentally) enjoying acres of space to attack a Costa Rican defence reluctant to push forward to counter them.

I fully expected the Germans to cruise home after going ahead so earlier in the contest through a fantastic strike from Philip Lahm who staked a claim for goal of the tournament already.

From the midfield onwards I thought Germany were in command for the majority of the game and appeared to overrun the Costa Ricans. They also had long spells of domination in a game where Costa Rica's attacking stance was to aim long for Wanchope - and it worked to some degree as both goals were coolly slotted home by the former City striker.

So, Germany take the points and for the majority of the game I was impressed with Germany as time and again they went forward with purpose and opened up Costa Rica on several occasions. But, two shots from Costa Rica yielded two goals and despite Wanchope's impressive finishes neither time could you say the Germans defended too well and how will they handle more impressive attacking sides further down the line?

A good opening game nonetheless though and hopefully a marker has been laid down for the rest of the tournament - certainly I'm not expecting Poland v Ecuador game later on to match it.

World Cup Group H

Teams: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

Strength of the group: A weak group which should see the most pointless match-up in Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Even given Spain's penchance for spectacular failure, they can't fail to get out of this group.

City link: Albert Riera was Spanish so he can count can't he?

Keep an eye on: David Villa. Could displace Raul in the staring line-up and tipped as an outside bet to be a golden boot candidate.

Expect: Spain to actually perform well in a World Cup group.

Don't expect: Ukraine to proceed to far if Andriy Shevchenko doesn't fully recover from injury.

Qualifiers: Spain and Ukraine.

World Cup Group G

Teams: France, Switzerland, South Korea and Togo.

Strength of the group: Quite a week group overall and one France should comfortably win. Togo, another unknown quantity will struggle whilst Guus Hiddink's influence will probably be missed by South Korea.

City link: It still amazes me that Mikael Silvestre and Jean-Alouin Boumsong can be named to the France squad ahead of Sylvain Distin.

Keep an eye on: Franck Ribery. The young Marseille winger has attracted the attention of big clubs across Europe and is making a late bid for a starting position.

Expect: Thierry Henry to fill his boots in the group stages on his way to winning the golden boot.

Don't expect: Djibril Cisse to sport the same hairstyle at any game during the tournament.

Qualifiers: France and Switzerland.

Opening game injury woes

Given that some domstic leagues wrapped up a little earlier to give their national sides more preperation time, it is amazing to see how many players are ruled out or doubtful for the opening games of the World Cup from injuries sustained in training or warm up games.

Michael Ballack, Gianluca Zambrotta, Rino Gattuso have all been definitely ruled out of the opening games through post-season injuries whilst Djibril Cisse suffered a horrendous leg break this week, whilst Steven Gerrard, Harry Kewell, Ronaldo and Roque Santa Cruz have been listed as doubtful.

That's not even taking into account the players who have either been ruled out prior to the tournament, classed as fit without many games under their belt or actually travelling with an injury cloud hanging over them.

I don't expect it to be the end either.

Rooney 'fit' for World Cup

So, in a move which had the media agog for a couple of days and devoting as many column inches as it would to the second coming, Wayne Rooney has been passed fit for the World Cup, re-joining the squad in Baden-Baden and sending the very unfortunate Jermaine Defoe back home.

Cutting through all the hype of how England can now 'do it' and Sven's rather bullish assertion that Rooney is fully fit, what is the actual state of Rooney's fitness?

Although Rooney was pictured training and there are claims his fitness tests put him in the upper group of the squad, the facts are he has not played competitive football, kicked a ball in anger or been tackled for around a month so in that respect he is playing catch-up from day one.

With due respect to Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago, a Rooney-less England should still be able to dispatch them to qualify before the Sweden game so it is possible that he will not play any part until the second round game (with the possibility of seeing some action against Sweden likely).

There has been a lot of debate about formations and replacements in the warm-up games with Gerrard playing in an advanced role before Peter Crouch came in and performed well. I saw Crouch come on for Southampton against City during the 04/05 season and was impressed with him then and believe he is an under rated player. In fact, if there is a doubt over Owen's form and/or fitness I wouldn't hesitate to start with Gerrard alongside Crouch.

That aside, assuming Rooney does not feature early in the tournament and England qualify playing to Crouch's strengths with Owen, what effect will a change in approach to accomodate Rooney have on the team and the momentum built up?

I can envisage a situation where Rooney is brought back for the knock-out stages only for England to then stutter and be knocked out. If Rooney were fit for the opener, or at least the second game then I don't think the effect is too great but the longer it is left before he is brought back then in a perverse way (and despite his obvious talents) the more harm this could have on the make-up of the team.

In his final days Eriksson - perhaps mindful of his media reputation as a cautious operator, he appears to have adopted the role of a gambler for this tournament.

Will gambling on Wayne Rooney become the final legacy during his spell in the England hot seat?

World Cup Group F

Teams: Brazil, Croatia, Japan, Australia.

Strength of the group: Brazil shouldn't be tested too much by this group but the interesting battle will be for second place as both Australia and Japan look to have a good chance and Croatia may now be past their best.

City link: Danny Tiatto was a regular for the Aussies during his time at City. His international career looks to have gone the same way.

Keep an eye on: Kaka. Still only 24, he will be the most dominant player of the decade.

Expect: The cameras to pan the stands for 'aesthetically pleasing' Brazilian fans as much as concentrating on the beautiful on-pitch action.

Don't expect: Harry Kewell to star - injury plagued he is only a shadow of the player he can be.

Qualifiers: Brazil in first place winning all three games and Japan to narrowly scrape through in second place.

World Cup Group E

Teams: Italy, Czech Republic, USA, Ghana.

Strength of the group: Has been appointed 'the official group of death' but Group C is stronger overall. Where this group could become interesting is in the battle to top the group - and avoid Brazil in the second round.

City link: Claudio Reyna - although I don't expect too many Blues to be donning the stars and stripes in support of the USA team.

Keep an eye on: Francesco Totti. Has bombed on the big stage in the past but plays a vital role in Marcello Lippi's formation.

Expect: Plenty of draws in this group. Italy are notorious slow starters and teams will be overly keen to avoid defeat.

Don't expect: A big tournament from Pavel Nedved. Struggled for Juventus this season and the former golden-boy is now on the decline.

Qualifiers: Italy to top the group - perhaps with two draws and Ghana in a surprise second place on the back of strong performances from midfielders Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah.

Card sharp

Are we set to see a flurry of yellow and red cards flourished at this years World Cup?

The respective World Cup officials met yesterday to discuss the document sent out by FIFA's head of refereeing which aimed to ensure 'player safety which is paramount' and to 'protect the skilful players'.

Areas covered are definite yellows for shirt pulling, simulation and reckless use of the elbow whilst intentional elbowing and handballs in certain situations will result in a straight red.

Perhaps the biggest change to be introduced though is the straight red card offence for 'lunging', with the edict to referees apparantly stating:

"Whether with one or two feet, players who lunge for the ball and make contact with an opponent must be dismissed".

Potentially, this is a very grey area and could see some very interesting (and controversial) decisions during the opening stages of the tournament depending on how strict the guidelines handed down by FIFA are. For this, the report says:

"It is key that we enforce from match one or credibility will be lost".

It is a concern that whenever FIFA issue guidelines to referees is that the officials then feel they are obliged to almost look fo decisions which will support what FIFA are trying to achieve (whether right or wrong).

One thing in the favour of high refereeing standards is that the panel of officials has been cut from the last tournament which saw several contentious decisions made by referees not upto the required standard.

With the worlds best players on show during the tournament you want to see these players allowed to express themselves but you wonder at what cost this may be if it results in a rash of incorrect cards being handed out.

World Cup Group D

Teams: Portugal, Mexico, Iran, Angola.

Strength of the group: Portugal should have enough to top the group but it will be a good chance to see if Mexico's world ranking of 4 is over inflated. Angola are complete unknowns and rank outsiders whilst Iran could be capable of causing a shock as several of their side have European experience.

City link: I'm struggling here - suggestions welcome!

Keep an eye on: The Iranian Medhi Mahdavikia - attacking midfielder who played for Hamburg during their impressive season.

Expect: Plenty of goals. All teams place an emphasis on attacking play and there could be a couple of high scoring contests in this group.

Don't expect: The runners up to progress much further as Argentina potentially lie in wait.

Qualifiers: Portugal to top the group, just holding off a strong challenge from Mexico.

Robot crazy

Long before Peter Crouch drove the nation wild with the 'robot' (has it been copywrited yet?), our once very own SWP patented an early version...

Thanks to Eskimo Girl for the lead.

World Cup Group C

Teams: Argentina, Holland, Serbia & Montenegro, Ivory Coast.

Strength of the group: Forget Group E, this is the tournaments real 'group of death'. Pernenial World Cup contenders Argentina and Holland are joined by the dangerous Serbia & Montenegro and the favoured outsiders Ivory Coast.

City link: No players featured in this group so the nearest link would be Holland who in recent times fielded former Blues Kiki Musampa and Paul Bosvelt.

Keep an eye on: Rafael van der Vaart. Former Ajax man lost his way a little but resurrected his career with a move to Hamburg.

Expect: The first yellow card for diving to come from this group. The bookies make Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba favourites.

Don't expect: Ruud van Nistelrooy to add a few million to his transfer value.

Qualifiers: Argentina to top the group with Serbia & Montenegro in second place ahead of Holland who will disappoint.

World Cup Group B

Teams: England, Sweden, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago.

Strength of the group: Hardly a difficult one for England (and Sweden) to navigate and there should be no real reason why England shouldn't come out as winners.

City link: David James. With Tottenham's Paul Robinson firmly established as no.1 Jamo will be should be merely a spectator throughout the tournament.

Keep an eye on: Joe Cole. Overshadowed a little by both Gerrard and Beckham but he will be vital to how far England progress.

Expect: Plenty of camera attention on the wives and girlfriends of the England squad.

Don't expect: An honest answer to any questions related to Rooney's fitness.

Qualifiers: England to come out on top with Sweden as runners-up.

World Cup Group A

Teams: Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador.

Strength of the group: The host nation have never failed to qualify for the second round stage and I don't expect the trend to be bucked this time round either as Germany have been handed an easy passage to the knock out stages.

City link: Paulo Wanchope has faded out of the public eye over the past couple of years but has been rumoured to fancy a move back to the Premiership.

Keep an eye on: German wunderkid Lukas Podolski. Still only 21, he has scored seven goals in his first thirteen internationals.

Expect: Oliver Kahn to end his acceptance of his demotion behind Jens Lehmann in a crazed outburst to a delighted media.

Don't expect: Too many goals as this will be a particularly dour group with not too many goals.

Who will go through: Germany as group winners with Poland in second place.