A showdown with Germany is, of course, what awaits England in the last sixteen and will surely prove to be the tie of the round - we'll ignore the small possibility of a Brazil vs Spain encounter for the time being. This mouthwatering prospect, which seemed a futile hope after the lowly display against Algeria, was made possible at the last by a courageous and heartfelt performance against Slovenia. There is still much room for improvement but the change in personnel and tactics brought out a much more encouraging performance. My memory of the game again fails me somewhat, having watched it in the pub. I saw that tackle by Upson, and when Defoe scored, Rooney belting the ball, and Capello screaming... or something like that. There were, in truth, some exceptional performances across the park but in particular from Milner and Terry. Milner's workrate and commitment throughout was outstanding, while J.T., son of a kleptomaniac, adulterer-exceptionale and thug, was harder than Die Hard with a hard on... Oh God, did I actually just write that? Anyway, take a look at him attempting to block a superpowerblaster with his face. Who da man?!
The group stage as a whole has been a highly mixed affair. The negativity of the opening games has at last been put to bed, with the final group games inspiring a bit of passion. Not so for the French, and only barely for the Italians, who both finished bottom in their respective groups with no wins from three. Quite the shock for the class of 2006. Much has been made of the infighting among the French. Domenech, the French Coach, doesn't exactly inspire confidence. His failure to change the system from a defensive 4-5-1 against 10-men Uruguay in the first game was criminal, as has been his general team selection thereafter. The reaction of many teams may have been disappointment and disharmony but the French know how to do it proper... STRIKE! Not that it can be all his fault. The French Football Federation missed a major opportunity in giving him the boot after the calamity of the failed qualification for Euro 2008. The players too must bear some of the burden. The egos of the likes of Gallas and Anelka, the latter sent home early, would not have been easy to manage or play alongside but hardly excuses or explains the lackluster performances during the tournament.
The holders, Italy, were barely any better. Having made few changes to an already ageing squad, they lacked the pace and invention to unlock teams. Contrary to tradition, their normally watertight defence was as leaky as the titanic, and it appears the captain, Cannavaro, and the violin quartet of Pirlo, Gattuso, Zambrotta and Camoranesi will go down with the ship. At least they provided some entertainment in one of the games of the tournament so far, a 3-2 defeat to Slovakia, which could easily have ended up differently. Quagliarella's deft chip in the dying moments was scant consolation in a game that also saw an extremely tight offside call and a save off the line, which both (just about correctly) went against them.
A word too for some of the minnows. New Zealand, or the 'All Whites', probably the worst choice of nickname you could adopt for a team in South Africa, applied themselves excellently. I don't recall any knock-ons or forward passes, though they probably lost a few too many of their own lineouts. I jest. To have come out of their first World Cup undefeated is nothing short of remarkable. I also feel some affinity to North Korea, not least because Kim-Jong-Il, who, for some reason insists on describing himself in the third person, is probably far from ill and is instead pretty bloody angry - will almost certainly have the team silenced on return. The ambitious prediction of their talismanic striker, Jong Tae-Se, that he would score in every game may have been a little wide of the mark but their brave display against Brazil deserves much credit. The 7-0 mauling by Portugal however, will have done serious damage to the defence case, if, against all judgement, it actually went to trial.
In terms of advertising, despite writing this blog, I have largely tried my best to avoid it. There's just so much that it begins to get annoying. The 'Pringoals' advert makes me want to see more of Peter Crouch doing the robot rather than hungry for Pringles. The cleverest and probably most successful advert is the live on-screen odds offered by Paddy Power at half time... or is it Bet365? Hmmm, kind of undermined my point a bit there haven't I? The fact that I've managed to resist temptation thus far doesn't go a long way to supporting my argument either. Nevertheless, I still reckon that must earn them a fortune from undecided punters. Who knows, I may well decide on a flutter later in the tournament. If do I'll be adopting my age-old approach - to do the exact opposite of what I think I should do. The confusing games of double bluff, where I continually change my mind as to what I think I shouldn't do is one of the main reasons why I usually refrain.
To the knockout stages we go then and this is where the fun really begins. I'm just hoping that Tel's 'Dream Comes True' ... Right Now!
I'll leave you with my favourite quote of the week from a question and answer section with the England goalkeeper, David James.
Reporter: "You're keen on visualisation. What will you be visualising before the game?" David James: "Catching balls, that sort of thing."
Ta ra.
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