1. Croatia – Malta

Croatia beat Malta, no surprises there.  The only reason I start with this match is its status as a qualifier.  And to talk about Niko Kranjcar.  Harry Redknapp is unappreciative of the obviously gifted Croatian and the rumors are flying that he’s looking to leave.  I’d urge Mr. Redknapp to reconsider, especially after this performance.

While a brace against Malta is no brace against Spain, Kranjcar is the sort of player that Spurs should learn to manage in order to become more competitive.  He’s got the goods to play for a top team, and a sale to an EPL club would hurt their ambition.  With Lennon still not delivering, and over reliance  on Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart becoming problematic in the face of injuries, why not give Kranjcar a spot as a right sided attacking midfielder?

Next was Argentina against Brazil in Qatar…

2. Argentina – Brazil

Although Argentina won, I have more to say about Brazil, but first – Mr. Messi.  The real positive for Argentina is that Messi can have a so-so night and still decide to run half the length of the pitch before nutmegging his marker with a low shot that beats the keeper.  Sure it was only one goal and the defense didn’t seem to be moving at 100% pace, but a friendly of this nature is never a friendly.  Second, praise for Javier Pastore, who scored a hat trick this weekend but only partially showed why a big club will almost certainly splash out big money for him this summer.  If he gels with the Argentina front three Los Albiceleste will be a horrifying opponent for everyone.

That being said, Brazil to me looked better on the pitch.  If this were a league fixture I’d say a point a piece would be fair, but since only reputations (in a friendly) were at stake, I doubt many of the players, especially the veterans, will be beating themselves up too much about the loss.

A positive they can take from this is that Ronaldinho is not finished for them.  He was perhaps too much of a fantasia (an attempted back heel goal might have been buried by a swivel and hard shot) but it was his first performance for Brazil since Dunga had decided on the players he would take to the World Cup.

Lastly, Chelsea should take heart from Ramires’ wonderful performances at the center of the pitch.  He was a great marker but also wasn’t a bad when Brazil needed men forward.  If Carlo Ancelotti was watching, he might be considering how to tinker with the Chelsea lineup to get such efforts out of the Brazilian.

3. England – France

England lose and France win; an ancient rivalry marks another event; what else can we take from this?  It certainly seems that Laurent Blanc has go his players singing the national anthem; Fabio Capello doesn’t seem nearly as interested in making his England players display the same patriotic feelings.

As for football matters, the French deserved their victory.  They created more clear chances and looked the senior team, although they, like the Three Lions, had a fresher look about them than the teams of South Africa 2010.  While France’s new faces might be more a matter of long term plan than England’s (which may have been more injury related), the integration has been done more smoothly.

With players who have amassed plenty of club caps but fewer international caps (Adil Rami, Mathieu Valbuena), Les Blues played a more balanced game.  There were no Kieran Gibbs on the pitch for France, a player thrown into England with fewer than 35 Arsenal caps in all competitions, including those tough Carling Cup fixtures!  Instead, the youngsters for France (M’Vila and Sakho) has almost 50 caps in less than a season and a half for Rennes and over 100 for PSG, respectively. Both are considered integral parts of the set up; Gibbs is a fringe presence at Arsenal, especially this season.

Extras:

The Iberian Derby was a total rout.  Sergio Ramos apparently forgot what his teammate Ronaldo can do.  Mourinho seems to have held Ramos in check to great effect for Real Madrid.  Sure, he doesn’t bomb forward to terrorize the opponents as he used to, but Madrid is no longer left exposed to counter attacks.  Perhaps Spain should take a lesson.  Manchester United will be pleased to see Nani’s boast about being a top player wasn’t all talk, either.  As for Spain, the whole world knows how they play.  They seem unwilling to change the (very effective) philosophy.  Top teams with top coaches can exploit this.

The group stages have concluded and now we can all look forward to good old fashioned knockout Football. What this World Cup has provided us so far has been, well, a bit baffling really, it has provided little in the way of genuine thrills and excitement but a huge amount of intrigue. It has been engrossing and most importantly it has provided some genuine surprises.

Group A was the setting for the demise of the French, no heart, no passion, no cohesion, spats, rows and fallouts equalled one point for Les Bleus and a shameful early flight home. Henry should’vedone the world a favour and kept his hand by his side. Uruguay and Mexico qualified from the group with relative ease, both sides have shown through some assured displays that they are more than capable of having a successful run in this World Cup. It was such a disappointment not to see the South Africans get through, maybe naivety, nerves and a little bit of expectation got the better of them, particularly against the Uruguayans, yet their performances either side of that game were impressive and it was a shame not to see the host nation progress. The South African squad, unlike the French, can hold their heads high.

Argentina somewhat strolled through Group B, winning all three games, as impressive as that looks on paper there do appear to be a few cracks in the Argentinean side, particularly at the back. As yet you couldn’t really put them down as nailed on finalists. South Korea qualified as runners up, they are a well organised outfit and create plenty of openings going forward, they make for a tricky opposition. Elsewhere in Group B Greece were Greece and Nigeria were bitterly disappointing, their campaign will only be remembered for Yakubu’s astonishing miss against the Koreans.

The USA claimed top spot in Group C with virtually the last kick of the group, securing a berth in arguably the easier side of the draw. It was no less than the Americans deserved, particularly after clawing their way back from two nil down in their previous match to claim a vital point. England finished runners up, after being vilified for their part in two drab draws they secured qualification with a One nil victory over Slovenia, England may live to regret not converting more of their chances, they now face a tricky route through the knockouts. Far from being spectacular Algeria and Slovenia ensured that qualification for the US and England was not as comfortable as many imagined it would be.

The ever efficient Germans got their World Cup off to a flying start, breezing past an awful Australian side in a four nil rout. That German efficiency went missing in game two when they fell to a one nil defeat at the hands of Serbia. Group D   like most groups was wide open going into the final round of matches. A one goal victory against the Ghanaians clinched top spot for Joachim Low’s men. Ghana finished second, salvaging some pride for what has been a poor World Cup for the African nations. To be fair there wasn’t much between the three sides that finished below the Germans, the Australians were vastly improved after their first display and the Serbs looked well organised and difficult to beat. It was Ghana’s win in their first game which proved how crucial it is to get points on the board as early as possible.

The Dutch waltzed to 9 points in Group E without even having to get out of second gear. Japan finished a thoroughly deserving second. Denmark and Cameroon were quite frankly awful in what was possibly the dullest group of the tournament. The Indomitable Lions, for me, have been the let down of 2010 so far.

Group F was home to the shock of the Tournament, Italy not only failed to qualify but finished bottom of their group. On the back of two lacklustre draws no one expected the Italians to fall short again in their last match. You have to credit the Slovakians for playing with such belief, it has to be the game of the tournament so far, and in contrast to the French, despite their shocking start the Italians fought all the way in their final game and very nearly pulled off a great escape in the dying seconds. Special mention must go to New Zealand, to finish undefeated in a group containing the Azzurri, Paraguay and Slovakia is some achievement for the All Whites and it is a shame three sides could not progress from Group F because no one would begrudge them 90 more minutes of World Cup Football.

Brazil finished top of the pile in Group G with Portugal qualifying as runners up. The Ivory Coast were another African disappointment and the North Koreans went from terrific to terrible in three games. Brazil look strong, their two defensive midfielders play a priceless role and have so far been fantastic, if their more creative colleagues hit form then the boys from Brazil will be the team to beat.

In the final group Chile continued to wave the South American flag proudly. They played with the freedom and expression expected from Group favourites Spain. The Spanish did not buck the trend of struggling European sides, leaving qualification to the last game after a less than convincing start, but they did manage to turn things around and claim top spot. Switzerland were their normal no nonsense selves, set up not to lose and not to be pleasing on the eye. I would like to say the Hondurans did more than just make up the numbers, sadly I can’t.

As the World Cup heads into stage two a lot of teams will try to forget their struggles in the group stages. This is the business end of the tournament and it’s game one as far as they are concerned, if you slip up now you don’t get another chance to set things right. There is still no real favourite, results wise it has been one of the most unpredictable World Cups so far, one thing we know is that every side is beatable. The form book was thrown out of the window during the group stages, and there’s no indication that will change in the knockouts.

BBC has produced a video highlighting the exit of France from the 2010 World Cup (thanks to 101 Great Goals for the video).

To me, it’s a video that sums up how awful France was during this tournament both on and off the pitch. And what a disgrace they were to World football.

However, I find it interesting that the French soccer fans seem very silent on the matter. Where are they? I’m sure they’re upset after everything that has happened, but I find it interesting that they have not been demonstrating much about the FFF on message boards, blogs or other places. At least where I’ve been looking.

As if we needed another example of how French national team manager Raymond Domenech is a disgrace. But somehow he managed to end his job in disgrace just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse.

At the end of France’s woeful performance against South Africa, Domenech refused to shake the hand of Carlos Alberto Parreira, national team manager for South Africa and one of the most well-respected managers in the international game. Not only that, but Domenech showed he had no class by pointing his finger in the face of Parreira.

Full credit to Parreira for getting in Domenech’s face to find out what his problem was, and pulling back when he tried to get away.

There are few managers who seem like a**es in this game, but Domenech is definitely at the top of the list.

Today signals the start of the final games in the World Cup finals group stage and we’re bound to start see jubilation and early heartbreak in the coming week. The first group to complete their three game schedule is one of the most talked about set of sides in this World Cup and an interesting tie occurs today as the hosts South Africa, who are on the brink of making history as the only host nation never to qualify from the group stage, take on a French side with a lot of unrest within. The final games (as you may know) take place simultaneous, after a past incident between Germany and Austria in the World Cup, where both sides needed a draw to qualify, so turned their game into what could be described as a light training session. Mexico and Uruguay are in the same situation despite FIFA’s simultaneous ruling, but I’m sure both sides will want to avoid taking on Argentina in the next round so a win would benefit both and could leave the door open for the hosts or France to sneak in. I’m also pretty sure FIFA have sent a polite message to both nations asking them to play within the spirit of the game, or something along those lines. As ever, comments are welcome and you can follow me on twitter @Clusks. I will be watching from England on ITV.

- France have caused quite a stir this World Cup and if you take the ball complaints and those monotone horns, they’re probably the biggest talking point so far. Anelka has gone home and the finalists from four years ago are in a world of trouble. Evra has been stripped of the captain’s armband and is dropped for this game, there is no Malouda and still no Henry. Actually I’m wondering why I chose this game over the other one, although the Mexico V Uruguay tie could turn boring, with France’s lack of ambition and South Africa’s terrible ability to string passes together, this game could also be awful.

- In England we’ve been bombarded by a load of Irish people gloating and saying ‘what goes around comes around’ and it appears that this puts a smile on their face. Although I think when Blanc takes charge of the side, normal service may be resumed and they’ll become another super power in football. Let’s face it, they have amazing players and with the right manager they’re one of the favourites to win the World Cup.

- ITV never cease to annoy me, Adrian Chiles is becoming so annoying on their coverage, they seem to be trying to make a joke out of anything they can with him at the helm, 2good2bad on Match Of the Day 2 was good, but ITV are trying too hard and picking at the little things to make Chiles like that. They have shown us about one million times the South African player signing on their way to where ever they’re going, and they point it out every time as if it is still novel. Yes Chiles, it’s brilliant that they like to sing and dance, but it’s not as brilliant they 50th time it’s shown.

- Key Man Watch: Pffffff? France? I’m going to choose Raymond Domenech as their key man, I want to see his reactions on the bench and how dejected he may look. Actually, if France score, it will be interesting to see how everybody reacts, particularly Domenech. As for South Africa, I’m really not sure, they’ve looked really poor this tournament and Pienaar who is set up as their big player has been anonymous, but I suppose I’d like to see Tshabalala blast one in the top corner.

- Let’s hope that ITV give goal updates from the other group A game, otherwise I’ll need to do some serious channel hopping.

Kick Off!

1 Mins: Although it’s probably not a significantly accurate representation (knowing them), Sky Sports spoke to a French fan in Paris yesterday and he said he hoped that South Africa beat his own country, because France don’t deserve to win. Wouldn’t it be funny if France won the World Cup now?

3 Mins: France break down the left hand side with Gourcuff and he slides it into Gignac who has a bit of room, but takes a poor shot that Josephs can easily gather. Co-commentator Craig Burley says he’s been “fed up with watching cautious games”. Well these last few games have all been for you Craig!

7 Mins: Both teams are going for this, and the Lord of Cheshire Djibril Cisse plays a decent ball across the box, but there is no one to pick up on it. South Africa don’t look afraid though, they probably know there is no better time to play France than now.

10 Mins: I wonder if any of these disgraced players will play for their country again, they’ve managed to overtake Domenech as the most hated people in France probably, Domenech made a fair point to say what they did was stupid. Calling them imbeciles was quite funny though.

13 Mins: Freekick from Gourcuff is headed clear, it’s hard to tell how motivated each French player is, for players like Clichy, Cisse and Gignac who are battling for their places, I’d be really determined just to make your way into the team. Just had a quick flick over to the other channel, it’s still 0-0 in that game, does anybody know if they’ve just been stroking the ball about for 13 minutes?

17 Mins: Just seen Pienaar get brushed off the ball with ease by Ribery, Craig Burley has blamed his poor tournament on the players around him. I wonder if Pienaar still reckons he can get more money out of Everton after this, or even move to a bigger club.

20 Mins: Decent break from South Africa there, as Pienaar manages to find a bit of space to run into, but Diarra is able to muscle him off the ball for a corner.

20 Mins: GOAL! KHUMALO! That’ll bring the noise up in the stadium (which in turn means more vuvuzela blowing for all you lucky people). From the corner, Khumalo manages to rise really well as France struggle to stop him and he is able to head the ball past a helpless Lloris who misses his punch that left the goal open. 1-0 to South Africa

21 Mins: France try to reply instantly as Ribery manages to play a low ball into Gignac who attempts to turn and shoot but blasts it high and wide.

23 Mins: Another corner for South Africa and they attempt the same ball to Khumalo, and it almost works, Lloris looks completely clueless from these corners and needs his defence to help him make a tricky clearance away. South Africa know they need goals, they’ll want to kick France while they’re down.

25 Mins: France are shaken, the defence just keeps backing off Mphela, who decides to shoot rather than take on his man, but his low shot goes wide.

26 Mins: SENT OFF! GOURCUFF! He looks a bit surprised but there is a South Africa player on the deck, I need another look at this….I need another look at this…and another. Well…Gourcuff has elbowed a player, but it has to tell if it was intentional. Let me mop up this confusion. At first it appeared that Cisse had been sent off and the ITV commentators claimed that Cisse was the player red carded. I initially thought it was Goucuff, but then they were saying it was Cisse and the big Panathanikos striker put his hands on his head as if he had been. Fifa are trying to encourage us all to jump for balls without using our arms for leverage. I’d like to see how you do that.

30 Mins: Domenech looked drained by that decision, he gave the old double face palm and the players on the French bench look dejected. There was no point in sending Anelka home early really, they could have saved a bit of money and let him come home with the rest of the squad a few days later.

32 Mins: Quick flick over – yes no surprise to see Uruguay and Mexico are battling to a 0-0 draw.

34 Mins: Tshabalala has a free kick with a bit of curl on it, but it’s always rising and goes over the bar. South Africa need to play this as if they’re 2-0 down.

36 Mins: Ngcongca whips a ball in from the right hand side with some venom, and Tshabalala just let himself get belted by the ball as his header goes over.

37 Mins: GOAL! MPHELA! Oh dear Abou Diaby, a cross comes in from the left and it is his poor clearence that allows Sibaya to cross the ball and after a tiny scramble, Mphela is able to just tap it in. A terrible day for French football.

38 Mins: For a second there it looked like Bernard Parker had made it three, but he was offside. Was a nice finish though!

40 Mins: Ribery has a free kick, which is almost touched in by Gallas, but the 2nd choice goal keeper Josephs keeps his eye on the ball well and makes a great save to flick the ball over the bar. A chance for France to raise their spirits a bit, but it wasn’t to be.

43 Mins: France don’t care and Mphela is having a field day out there, as Pienaar plays a simple pass into him and he drives a low shot from outside the box which is tipped wide by Lloris in the goal.

44 Mins: Uh oh! Uruguay have a goal in their game and it’s Suarez on the scorers sheet. We’ll know when the South African fans have heard the news, as the volume of vuvuzelas is bound to go up. There are two goals between South Africa and Mexico now for qualification.

45 Mins: Right. Say South Africa make it through. They’re likely to play Argentina. I can’t imagine how many goals Argentina will manage past them. I always love the hosts, but they could be destroyed off Argentina knowing how poor they played against Mexico and Uruguay.

Half Time!

- 3 minutes of stoppage time, but South Africa looked content to go in 2-0. I wonder what will be said at half time for the French. I wonder if the French will come out for the second half! They’re suggesting that they have to go for it, but even then what do they do. Can South Africa actually make it through here? I personally have enjoyed watching the Mexico side at this World Cup, I’d like to see them have a crack at Argentina, but you can’t count out the spirit of the hosts. An interesting second half here in both games!

- If they don’t go through South Africa can be proud. The French may be depleted and in a world of despair, but South Africa are still beating a team that got to the final four years ago! It’s looking likely there will be more goals in this one.

Second Half Kick Off!

46 Mins: Gignac is off for France, to be replaced byMalouda. Good, or should France just not go all out attack anyway?

50 Mins: Neither side really throwing caution to the wind yet, Bernard Parker had a shot which he hit on the turn, but it was deflected and softly fell into the hands of Lloris. I wonder if another Uruguay goal would liven things up.

51 Mins: Scratch that, Mphela has just hit the post! For the first time in this tournament, Tshabalala has passed the ball rather than attempt to smash it, and Mphela makes a lovely connection that gives Lloris no hope, but it strikes the outside of the post and goes wide! Looks like Thierry Henry may be coming on, if this is his last French performance, it will echo Zidane’s final performance. Two great players with sad endings to their international careers (and in Zidane’s case, his whole career – but I still love him!).

53 Mins: Ngcongca needs the stretcher to help him off the pitch and he may well be replaced by Gaxa.

54 Mins: Cisse has one of France’s best shots, as he hits the ball first time and although dipping, it is over the bar. Despite that decent attempt, Cisse is coming off, here is Henry who must be at his lowest ebb right now.

56 Mins: South Africa are managing to sustain pressure because France are so nervous at the back, the offside trap isn’t working and there is no communication. They’re also making some poor clearances that are allowing South Africa to build up waves of attacks. It may be 3-0 soon.

58 Mins: Mphela is enjoying himself today, another long shot from outside of the box is on target and it needs Lloris to be called into action and tip the ball out for a corner. From the corner, the ball drops to Pineaar and it is the sort of ball you dream of having on the volley, but his shot hits his own player that is on the floor.

59 Mins: Ribery tricks his way past the South Africa defence, and has a few opportunities to shoot before the ball to Henry opens up for him, but instead he attempts to blast a shot which goes over the bar. All that effort from Henry for nothing.

61 Mins: Not sure if that corner was something from the training ground that didn’t work out or if that players got confused, as Tshabalala’s corner meets no one as every South African in the box runs to the near post as the ball goes far.

62 Mins: If you didn’t know anything about football, you’d think that Mphela was the world class player in the pitch, just breezes past Clichy with ease, and is unfortunate as his shot deflects back off him after Lloris saves at his feet.

- I agree with The Gaffer, terrible by France and although Ribery is trying to make something happen, there are players in this side that simply don’t care. It’s a bit of a shame when it’s your country involved. I passively heard something on the news that there are now questions of racism involved in this argument – if that were the case then French football would be in an even bigger crisis.

68 Mins: Bernard Parker is coming off here, he’s done a decent job but it’s good to freshen things up. On comes Nomvethe, to a massive roar from the crowd. He’s clearly a fan favourite and will be even more so if he smashes in two goals. Ooo, there is a shot of the French Bench and the players are talking to each other – about how much they hate Domenech?! About what Zidane has asked them to do?! About the plane journey home?! Who knows!

70 Mins: GOAL! MALOUDA! Well that’s a cog in the works. More good work from Ribery who has been the only player with any passion in attack, he’s able to square the ball for a simple tap in for Malouda. The vuvuzelas went silent, but only for a mere three seconds or so, that could end the dream. Still 2-1 to South Africa, but that dents any hope of them getting into the last 16.

71 Mins: Freekick for South Africa and manages to find its way into Lloris despite a South African player flinging himself at the ball. Ribery attempts to break, but Henry plays a lazy pass and gives away possession.

74 Mins: Good play from Pineaar as he manages to get away from Clichy who has been terrible today, he attempts to slide the ball into Nomvethe but the French manage to get it away. I’m sure Ribery can somewhat hold his head up high after this tournament, he has tried but just not been accompanied by those around him. Domenech does make a good point as I said, it is stupid and playing for your country should come before any feelings you have.

76 Mins: Nomvethe has managed to run through three French defenders with hardly a decent attempt at a challenge on him. The French defence has been woeful today, they don’t deserve to represent a country that has so much potential about them.

78 Mins: Final sub for South Africa, attacking midfielder Modiese is coming on for Khuboni. Time to throw the kitchen sink at it, a win against France is nice but a chance in the last 16 is what this contest is all about at this stage.

80 Mins: Whats this? Tshabalala has a shot at goal from outside of the box? Take a wild guess at how it ended…

- A small off the topic point while I’m doing this, Wolves have made six signings so far this summer, despite Mick McCarthy being in South Africa for the BBC. How has he managed to do this? Must have a massive phone bill.

82 Mins: Diarra off and Govou on for France. Commentators say they “wouldn’t like to be Laurent Blanc taking on this job”. I would, I reckon with some of the players France have I could win the World Cup. Give me the job. I have done wonderful things with the likes of Southend, PSG and FC Koln on Football Manager.

86 Mins: Well it looks like France are playing for a 2-1 defeat here, how admirable. ITV viewers have voted Tshabalala as man of the match, personally I’d go with Mphela considering he’s destroyed the French defence and looked lively.

87 Mins: And on that note, Mphela fails to control the ball and it’s out for a throw in.

89 Mins: The commentators are surprised and shocked that Domenech will go down as the longest serving post-war French manager. He did get them to the World Cup. It’s almost as if that didn’t happen when people talk about Domenech’s French reign (of terror).

91 Mins: Modiese has a crack at goal, and it is decent, but it hits the side netting. So Uruguay and Mexico into the next round, Latin America is having a great time at this World Cup.

92 Mins: Take that ITV viewers! Tshabala has plenty of time to shoot after the ball is played over to him in space, but he hits it straight at Lloris and France can clear.

93 Mins: A freekick for South Africa and the commentator claims “one more chance for South Africa at this World Cup”. Unless this free kick counts for about three goals, then no. Just no.

Full Time!

- There goes the French and South Africa, the first hosts ever to not qualify from the group stage. But they can be proud that they beat the French, even if this is one of the worst French teams in the history of football. The football may be over for France, but the stories will continue. At the full time whistle, there is an argument between the two managers and (in terms of UFC) the South Africa coach has some wrist control over Domenech who may want to retire to a remote island after this as I doubt there are too many clubs who will want them as their coach. South Africa can build from this tournament, and we’ve often seen the benefits of having a World Cup in your country in how it helps national sides to grow in ability.

- The adverts have stopped and in actual fact, Domenech refused to shake Parreira’s hand which is why the argument started. What a disgrace, that man is an idiot. Whatever happened in the match, you show respect. Thanks for reading, I’m off to be sick.

When Siphiwe Tshabalala gloriously fired home the first goal of the World Cup it looked like we had a tournament on our hands. Unfortunately, France and Uruguay took to the pitch straight afterwards and in a heartbeat the previous match was a distant memory, I can’t remember the last time I watched a game that was so bad it hurt to watch it.

Day one pretty much set the tone for the rest of the opening matches. There has been excitement; there has been hints of brilliance. But so far the dull is outweighing the delightful, that could be down to many things – first game nerves, or it could be down to the ball which has been much complained about. A lot of passes are being over hit, the shooting so far has been so woeful it’s causing more problems for low flying aircraft than goalkeepers.

England’s Rob Green tried to shift some of the blame onto the Jabulani after his howler against the US. Green has come in for some stick from the forever fickle British press, but Captain Steven Gerrard came out and said that “the whole team is behind Rob Green”, in hindsight that would’ve been a good place to stand. On a serious note I hope Capello sticks with Green, if he drops him you may as well send him home as his confidence will be shot, and knowing our luck, Fabio will drop him then injury and suspension will lead to a recall and we’ll have a quivering wreck between the sticks. The entire furore over that incident completely covered the fact that a draw wasn’t a disaster for either side, and both should really qualify with ease.

The football so far hasn’t been up to much in the excitement stakes, but Holland, Brazil, Argentina and Germany have shown glimpses of things to come, on the flip side North Korea and Switzerland amongst others, have shown that you can get amongst the big boys, and that a shock is always on the cards.

The vuvuzela’s are set to stay, they do add to the atmosphere but you’d think that those incessantly blowing into them would take a break from time to time, if anything to clean out the massive amount of saliva that must get collected. Let someone bang a drum from time to time or maybe even have a bit of a sing song. That swarming drone wears thin over ninety minutes. The vuvuzela’s were given a stay of execution but thirty-six Dutch girls in matching dresses were not, they were ejected during Mondays match between Holland and Denmark as the dresses in question were part of a gift pack from a brewery, in an act of “Ambush Marketing”. It was a good spot to notice identical Orange outfits in amongst the thousands of Dutch fans. The real plus side in this story is that ITV viewers no longer have to listen to Robbie Earle’s less than lame attempts at punditry, as it was Earle’s ticket allocation that got the Orange ladies into the ground. All we need now is a similar plot to remove Andy Townsend and ITV may become mildly watchable again.

In a short while all eyes will once again be on hosts South Africa as they take on Uruguay. Three points for Bafana Bafana would boost their chances of making the last sixteen. Whatever the result let’s hope that this is the game that proves a catalyst for the rest of the competition.

Being from England, I’ve never been keen on our own national anthem. Sure, God Save the Queen will still get me excited, but I’d prefer it if Land Of Hope And Glory was our personal national anthem, and this mainly stems from the fact some countries have great national anthems. You may find national anthems boring, but no doubt you will not be able to deny that in an important game for your country, they can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I’m no expert on national anthems, I don’t even know the words to my own countries one, but I decided to have a little review of all the national anthems at this summer’s World Cup and come up with my five favourite. I would love to hear what your favourite national anthem at this World Cup is – it’s very important you know!

5. Germany:

A football team with more fierce rivals than any other nation in the world most likely, yet they win me over with their great anthem. It just sounds noble and epic, I’d definitely be proud to see my players singing this one. On another note, short and sweet. Recently England took on Sri Lanka in a game of cricket at the World Cup and Sri Lanka’s anthem went on for about five minutes whereas England’s lasted 30 seconds. We sang God Save the Queen and got one with it, good to see the Germans not over doing it.

4. Chile:

Listening to this makes me want to go to Chile, or at least meet some people from there; it sounds vibrant. What an intro that is! Then at the half way point it mixes things up and keeps up the liveliness, it’s a great tune that really represents the country well.

3. France:

I’m surprised how many people don’t realise this song is the official national anthem of France. I don’t know about you, but I hear quite a lot of people recognise the song when it’s played and admit they didn’t know it was the country’s song. It’s a famous tune and deserves to be in there, and is synonymous with the French nation. They may be one of the most frustrating footballing nations to watch, but their anthem certainly provides a bit of entertainment.

2. Brazil:

We hear it all the time at every World Cup, and if you haven’t heard it before get ready to be familiarised with it. The world’s greatest footballing nation backed by a great and vibrant anthem, this song must really fire up the Brazilians before they start the match. Although I usually love Brazil, their great anthem will not stop my 2010 World Cup boycott of them, as Dunga has broke my (and probably yours) heart by dropping Ronaldinho for the South African tournament. Give the people what they want Dunga, I want to hear some of Ronaldinho’s fantastic singing on that anthem.

1. Italy:

I’ve always been a big fan of Italian football, it used to be shown on Channel four when I was young, and as I didn’t have Sky it was my only outlet for football. I still follow Italian football a lot, and most of my favourite players are the big names that graced Serie A in the 90′s and early 00′s. So I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the Italian national team (although Totti, Toni and Del Piero will tell you when they’re not worthy of a call up, Lippi – not the other way around!) and I just love their anthem. If you ever get a chance to read the lyrics to the song as well, they’re going on about making someone Rome’s slave or something and dominating the world. Got to love those Italians.

Laurent Blanc To Be Next French Manager

Bordeaux Manager Laurent Blanc will accept the French Football Federation’s offer and take over the French national team after this summer’s World Cup. At Bordeaux Blanc, 44, achieved the French League and Cup double but finished a disappointing sixth in this year’s campaign.

“Girondins Bordeaux have been informed by Laurent Blanc that he wanted to answer favorably to the French federation (FFF)’s solicitation to become the France coach,” said Bordeaux in a statement. “”Girondins Bordeaux expect to hear from the FFF on the question of the compensation linked to the release of their coach.”

Blanc was a member of France’s 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Cup winning teams. “Blanc proved he was able to be in charge at club level. But coaching a national team is a different job,” said current French manager Raymond Domenech. The French federation is expected to make their official announcement on Thursday.

Beckham Still Determining Role For England In South Africa

Despite being ruled out for Fabio Capello’s squad due to injury, David Beckham has been offered a coaching position by the Italian manager. No word on what Beckham’s precise role would be but the former captain described the offer as an “honor.”

Beckham holds the record for caps for an outfield player with 115 but his hopes for playing in a fourth-straight World Cup were ended due to an Achilles injury while playing for AC Milan.

Beckham has been focusing on his duties as vice president for England’s 2018 World Cup bid. He presented England’s bid book to FIFA last week where he discussed his new role. “To represent them off the field is something new, and something special and something I’m enjoying,” he said.

Clinton Backs USA Bid

Former-president of the United States Bill Clinton has been named honorary chairman of the U.S. 2018/2022 World Cup bid. The U.S. is competing with nine other nations to host one of the two World Cup bids to be awarded Dec. 2.

Clinton was president during USA 94, the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup. “In my travels around the world – from the dirt fields of Lusaka, Zambia, to playgrounds in schools across America – I’ve seen the transformative power soccer has to bring people together and transform lives on and off the field,” said Clinton in a press conference outside the Harlem FC offices.

Dick Advocaat Secures Russian Coaching Job

Dick Advocaat is set to be unveiled as the new coach of the Russian national team, succeeding fellow Dutchman Guus Hiddink. Advocaat resigned last month as Belgium head coach after only six months on the job.

“Advocaat will arrive in Moscow on Tuesday and will be presented to our executive board,” Sergei Fursenko, the Russian FA president said. “His task would be to lead our team to the finals of both Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup. He’s a real workaholic. He knows all our [top] players which is a big plus.”

Hiddink will resign his post effective June 30 after failing to guide Russia to the World Cup following a two-legged defeat to Slovenia.

Additional Articles

A guide to the nightlife in Durban, South Africa (Goal.com)

Bob Bradley discusses U.S. National Team as camp opens (Soccer By Ives)

Japan’s World Cup bid includes a heavy dose of Avatar (World Cup Blog)

South African air security brought into question (BBC)

World Cup hopefuls train at high altitude (Sports Illustrated)

Kicking off the World Cup Buzz podcast’s two months of coverage, the Talk network welcomes back Andy Brassell, one of the media’s leading experts on professional football in Western Europe. Andy joined me late last week to talk about the nations from his coverage area who will be competing in South Africa as well as offer a pick for this summer’s finals.

We will be back with another expert on tomorrow’s podcast, but until then, please enjoy Andy Brassell’s views on some of the European nations we’ll start seeing coming June 11.

Author’s Note: You never hear Andy plug it, but Andy has a rather good book in print All or Nothing: A Season in the Life of the Champions League which he didn’t mention during our interview, but given how gracious Andy is to not only this show much to so many others, I wanted to relay my recommendation.