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.

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Not this time...but 2012...?

Well...the dream is over. Greece have went crashing out of World Cup 2010 after losing 2-0 to Argentina, a game that saw Samaras cover around forty yards on his own, as Greece played the entire game looking to see how few goals they could concede. To his credit, as not only the lone striker but lone attacker, he did a decent job and should have scored after controlling the ball well, but after his first shot was blocked and he put the second one wide. So Georgios - I salute you for having a good world cup. You may not have won me £300 and you didn't actually score a goal, but I can only blame the 10 players who constantly stood in the Greek half while you went for the kill. You've still got it - and your many near goals were some of the best things I've personally seen at this World Cup, calling goalkeepers and defenders into action as well as providing plenty exercise for the World Cup ball boys. This is the end of Samaras watch 2010 my friends, but don't fear - as today I am announcing Samaras watch - 2012! I have no doubt in my mind that Georgios will not only lead his side to qualifying for the European Championship, but also claim top scorer in the tournament itself. Don't let me down Sam son.

Final Greece Points - 3

Final Samaras Goals - 0

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Another day of football and the World Cup is starting to get exciting as we are into the second round of group stage matches. This is a live edition of Samaras watch, and worldcupbuzz is your only place to follow all the action on potential golden boot winner Georgios Samaras. There is outrage in the football world today however, as Otto Rehhagel has lost the plot by dropping Samaras to the bench. This is a disaster for Greece's hopes, as we all know that first game which saw the big man not at his best was just a warm up for the lad. In his defence, he was playing out on the left wing. Nigeria will play Taye Taiwo at left back and Odemwingie, who was lively off the bench against Argentina may get a starting place. Remember, both these teams looked off the pace in their first game, I think we could see a few chances here, as both teams will want to win this, as a loss will likely see them eliminated from the tournament. I'm on Twitter as ever @Clusks, and you can of course leave a comment at the bottom of this page. I am watching on BBC from England:

- No Samaras. Pff! I should be manager of Greece, I can get goals out of the lad, I have enough faith in him to put a 10p bet on him being top goalscorer, I’m sure that would ignite him. On skysports.com, 76.5% of the voters think this will end up with a Nigeria victory, although after a terrible opening game for both sides I'm cautious to predict this going either way. Samaras watch refers to my 10p bet on Samaras to finish top scorer and Greece to win the world cup, with 3000/1 odds.

- Argentina game was good today, I put my money on Argentina to win it and they look amazing in attack, Messi's pass for Higuain's header was brilliant to watch. In England we did have another dose of ITV getting all weak at the knees for Lionel Messi. Colin Murray is hosting this game for BBC, which is surprising, I wonder where Lineker is? Murray just cracked a joke which was so unfunny, the pundits (Hansen, Adebayor and Dixon) didn't even politely laugh at. He said 'I wouldn't be surprised if Maradona called up Ossie Ardiles". Terrible Murray - just terrible.

- They've commented on BBC that Nigeria could do with winning this one to give Africa something to shout about, after South Africa were destroyed by Uruguay last night. It's never bigger proof that the FIFA rankings are untrue, North Korea the lowest rank nation in the tournament and they were better than South Africa.

- Key Man Watch: It's all about the strikers today as these teams need the win. Yakubu for Nigeria and Gekas for Greece. But this will change if Samaras comes off the bench.

- Oh dear, it looks like the stadium is half empty, despite an African nation playing here. It's disappointing, but the blame lies with FIFA for their poor method of selling (Internet) and high prices.

Kick Off!

2 Mins: Nigeria look a bit nervous again, they're over hitting passes and have a bit of a slow build up play. It's only been two minutes though, so hopefully they can calm down.

5 Mins: There was a cross that almost reached Gekas' head, but I missed most of the build up as BBC's feed was breaking up, there has been the odd one or two technical hitch at this World Cup (not mentioning any particular situations). On another note, I was going to do the earlier game between Argentina and South Korea, but I prefer to do the second or third game, even though both this game and France V Mexico have the potential to be borefest.

10 Mins: For two teams that need a win, we've had a poor start here, but arguably, Greece have looked more comfortable, it's another cagey game at the World Cup, but it could open up a bit more as the game goes on (we hope).

11 Mins: Greece have a freekick that is floated in by Karagounis, a decent ball but a good defensive header out by Joseph Yobo. BBC have Martin Keown as the co-commentator here, hopefully we'll see some exciting football or this could be one of the most frustratingly boring matches in the history of the game.

13 Mins: Katsouranis has a long range shot which is stopped by Enyeama who won't be beaten easily from there. Nice idea with the keeper off his line, but the Nigeria keeper was brilliant against Argentina, so it will be hard to catch him out from there.

14 Mins: First real sign of what Nigeria can do as Yakubu gets the ball down to Etuhu who plays the ball to Kaita, and he plays the ball back to Yakubu who is running into the box, but it's just a bit too long. Nice try though.

16 Mins: GOAL! UCHE! Oh dear, Greece un done by a set piece, as Uche takes a free kick from deep and Katsouranis jumps for the header but misses it. The keeper thinks that Odemwingie is going to get a touch on the ball, but he doesn't at all, and it's a goal direct from the free kick as Tzorvas is caught out in the Greek goal. Ideal start for Nigeria.

19 Mins: I can see a bit of urgency from the Greek's already here, they're taking quick free kicks and whipping balls in, they know that as things stand their World Cup is over.

20 Mins: Bizarre passage of play as no one can keep hold of the ball, and Greece attempt a one two that hits the referee, Haruna links up with Yakubu and is fouled for a free kick in a decent position for Nigeria. Taiwo attempts the blast, but it’s blocked by the wall.

23 Mins: Liverpool defender Kyrgiakos has a header at goal from a deep free kick, it’s decent but it’s gone wide. Greece could really do with a fast reply.

29 Mins: Nothing balls and a few poor free kicks, there’s not much to report from this game...

31 Mins: It's looking like Greece will need to make something work from set-pieces, as Karagounis strikers a corner to the head of Kyrgiakos only to see his chance go over the bar. Just seen a Nigerian fan with a book open in his hands while he dances around, it may have been the bible. The African fans are a different breed aren't they?

33 Mins: SENT OFF! KAITA! It was a bit dramatic from the Torosidis, but what is Kaita thinking of?! You kick out a player, off the pitch, and you're giving the referee an excuse to send you off. Nigeria are still winning but Greece all of a sudden may see this as a great opportunity. If they lose this, they'll be wanting his head in Nigeria.

35 Mins: Torosidis, the wing back, has made a great run and gets on the end of a deep cross, but he’s put his header into the ground and it goes wide. Nigeria could panic here now they're down to ten.

36 Mins: SAMARAS MAY BE COMING ON! HERE COMES THE BIG MAN - SAMARAS WATCH IS IN FULL FORCE HERE. Get off Papaststhopoulos, enter the future golden boot winner.

39 Mins: Greece are starting to go attacking here and Samaras is circling around the defence and Gekas has a header that goes over the bar.

40 Mins: Best chance for Greece so far, Karagounis plays it into Katsouranis who plays a first time ball into Salpingidis but Enyeama is called into action again in this World Cup. A ball comes back in and Enyeama is forced to tip it over the bar.

41 Mins: AHHHH!!! Samaras almost scored! poor corner flicked on by Katsouranis and Samaras is forced to just throw anything at it, but it is cleared off the line. Greece will kick themselves if they don't win this one now, Nigeria are broken! Unlucky Georgios son!

44 Mins: GOAL! HARUNA (OG)! Good play from the Greece players, as Katsouranis is again involved and lays the ball back to Salpingidis, his shot takes a horrible deflection off Haruna and Enyeama is beaten as the ball loops into the opposite side of the net. Just what they neded before half time. I wish that ball would have fell to Samaras...

47 Mins: Taiwo has another shot from a freekick but its poor and collected easily by the keeper. Greece get a good counter attack, which ends when the ball is played high into the box, with Samaras almost getting his head on the ball.

Half Time!

- Well, well, well! Nigeria have a huddle at the end of the game and they'll need to sort things out. But a game that started out as a dull tie has exploded into life and you'll be gutted if you decided to skip this one. Greece look confident now they have a chance to attack due to Nigeria having ten men, and Samaras is on the pitch early, meaning if he gets a goal I will go mental. Great entertainment here eventually and the second half should be great.

- In any case, I can't emphasise how stupid that red card was. I wonder if he said something to him, but even then it would surprising if Kaita understood Greek. I can't wait for the second half!

- The Gaffer, like many others, was prepared for the worst in this game, and instead we're getting a great tie from the World Cup. Are we about to see another African team out of their World Cup? No surprise in the UK Twitter, Kaita is the top trending topic, people commenting how stupid he is basically.

Second Half Kick Off!

46 Mins: Odemwingie is having a strange World Cup, he's come off and Victor Obina is on in his place. Haruna has a crack from the kick off which is not a good sign, Nigeria don't seem confident, it could be a half of Greek football here.

48 Mins: Uche does well and looks to dink the ball across the box and Tzvoras is forced to tip it over the bar for a corner. Encouraging for Nigeria, and Greece can't turn off at the back. Samaras hasn't touched the ball yet unfortunately.

51 Mins: I'm not exactly sure where Samaras is playing here, is he playing in midfield? He seems quite deep compared to the other strikers and he was just pulling out left before. We need you in the box big man.

53 Mins: More disaster for Nigeria, Taiwo is off injured with a groin injury, even if Nigeria make it through the group stages it could be the end of his World Cup.

54 Mins: A ball flashes across the goal by Greece is almost met by Gekas but out for a corner. The ball comes back in after the corner and Kyrgiakos has another header at goal, but it's straight at Enyeama.

56 Mins: Sad to see Taiwo limp away from the game, Echiejile has come on to replace him, meaning Nigeria are no longer down to 9 men.

59 Mins: Where do I start?! Gekas has a shot at goal after poor defensive play at the back as Yobo heads it straight to the Greek striker, and it's straight at the goalkeeper, but all of a sudden Nigeria break with Greece light at the back and Obasi plays in Yakubu who has a shot saved by the keeper, but all Obasi needs to do is tap it in and his first touch takes it out of play. A chance for Nigeria to hit back there, wasted.

62 Mins: Samaras just had a shot from long range. It went a mile wide, I blame the ball.

67 Mins: I'm wondering at what point Greece go for it, they've got Argentina next so a win here would be what they need, whereas Nigeria may feel with a draw they can beat South Korea while hoping Argentina beat Greece.

68 Mins: Gekas looks a good player, doesn't give anything up. Nigeria are confused and he is able to pick up on the ball and play it into Salpagidis, but it's a good job Yobo got in the way as it was going in. Corner.

69 Mins: Again my heart skips a beat, a clever corner is played eventually to Samaras and he gets a great head to the ball but Enyeama saves Nigeria once again. If only!

71 Mins: GOAL! TOROSIDIS! It's been coming, surprisingly it's a mistake from Enyeama as a shot is drilled in by Tziolis and his can't hold onto it, and Torosidis is the quickest to react and toe pokes it into the net. No idea what happens from here, Greece could maybe do with getting their goal difference up. Nigeria need to go for this.

74 Mins: Another left back is injured for Nigeria, the man that replaced Taiwo, Echiejile, is going to come off after pulling his hamstring. Things can't get worse for them at the moment.

75 Mins: For all the criticism, Greece are really entertaining here as Karagounis has a long range shot which just goes wide. He claims that the keepers touched it, but he hasn't.

76 Mins: Similar at the other end of the pitch, as Yakubu has a shot from outside the box which troubles the keeper but goes wide. He also claims for a corner despite nobody touching the ball.

77 Mins: Karagounis has another long range shot and it isn't saved convincingly by Enyeama and Gekas tries to follow up but can't. Not sure what Nigeria can do here, Greece are looking for more goals.

79 Mins: Afolabi has replaced the injured left back. Gekas is coming off for the apparently promising Ninis, who is the "future of Greek football" according to the commentators.

82 Mins: Quick corner from the Greeks, and it's a decent ball in that Nigeria struggle to handle, it eventually falls to Kyrgiakos on the volley, but he's hit the ball over the bar.

83 Mins: Uche shows a rare flash for Nigeria and manages to get inside, but shoots from quite a far way out. Flashes across the goal, but Tzorvas is confident enough to let it go out for a goal kick.

88 Mins: Nigeria are down and out here. The referee has had a shocker, after booking Samaras. How dare he.

90 Min: Greece are running the clock down and taking the result, there’s four minutes of added time.

92 Mins: Has anyone else seen that Greek fan in the crowd? He's the biggest man I’ve ever seen, arms like tree trunks!

93 Mins: Tziolis has a bit of space and decides he'll have a shot; Enyeama makes the save and puts it out for a corner.

94 Mins: Not even joking - great skill from Samaras, not content with keeping it in the corner, he goes by drained Nigeria defenders, but with a lack of options in the box he goes for goal from the tightest of angles and puts it wide. He's had a much better game today.

Full time! Greece 2-1 Nigeria

- Greece get their first ever World Cup win and goals. After Nigeria went down to ten men, Greece came to life and although the commentators still commented that Greece looked a poor outfit, I was a lot more impressed with them in this game. The fact is, they need to go at Argentina and presume South Korea will beat Nigeria, because after the way Nigeria have played in their two games it seems a given. Nigeria don't look confident, and I’m not surprised considering their manager hasn't been in the job for long, very unorganised and ill disciplined. The last games in this group could be quite interesting, I wonder if Maradona will play a full strength team against Greece. This game was great entertainment, and I'm sure Kaita will not be going back to Nigeria in a hurry.

- Samaras watch: Samaras came on as a sub as Kaita left the pitch for his stupid tackle and he did well. He had two real chances, one of which was cleared off the line and another that was saved by the goal keeper. I think he did well though, and I was yelping as his shots so nearly went in the back of the net. No goals for the big man, but hopefully against Argentina he will be back on the starting team sheet and I think he deserves it.

Once again lads - let’s remember the spirit of 2004!

Current Greece Points – 3

Current Samaras Goals – 0

- Just seen Maradona's press conference after the Argentina game, English pundit asked him if his affection for his players was something he learnt from his own playing days. Maradona's eyes went wide open in shock and his reply was "no, I like women. I'm dating a young 21 year old, she is blonde, and beautiful". He's a genius.

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If you've read some of my previous blogs, you may know that I put 10 English pence on Giorgios Samaras to win the golden boot at the World Cup and for Greece to win the World Cup. With odds of 3000/1, I would have been stupid not put this bet on, and today was the day of judgement for big Sam as the Greek boys went out to take on the mighty South Korea. I was heavily excited for this and ready to text all my mates in a group message which said 'i told you so'.

But...Greece were terrible and lost 2-0 after basically gifting South Korea two goals. I can't fault my man Giorgios, although he gave the ball away numerous times, gave no attacking options and was deeper than his full backs on more than one occasion  - he was the main man. Unfortunately, Otto Rehhagel must of been watching a different game as he brought off Samaras in the 60th minute. Some could argue Greece, maybe, played better when Samaras was off, but don't listen to those people Rehhagel! I have full faith in Samaras to win me this bet, and let's face it, now South Korea are out the way, Nigeria and Argentina provide an easy path to the next stage.

Remember boys - the spirit of 2004!

Current Greece Points - 0

Current Samaras Goals - 0

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So they almost didn't make it, but in the end won the last two games to make sure they would be part of the World Cup party. It all came down to the final match to get through though. They had to win in Montevideo for the first time in 33 years to make sure they finished 4th in the South American group. Argentina scrambling to finish 4th? Behind those giants of South American football Chile and Paraguay.

Maradona used 102 different players in his first 14 months and the players who didn't make the squad are probably the biggest surprises of any of the finalised 23 man squads in the competition. No Cambiasso and Zanetti, both imperious for Internazionale this season. No Coloccini or Milito in central defence and no place for Real Madrid's midfield tyro Gago. Surely 5 excellent players, but deemed surplus to requirements for Maradona in South Africa.

So, the manager cuts 5 players which most people would imagine should be in the Argentinian squad and a relationship with Juan Roman Riquelme that is non-existent at best. A qualifying campaign that almost ended in disaster, a tactical mess that sees the manager play 4 centre backs in defence and an inability to get Lionel Messi to replicate his domestic form. So why do they worry me so. I've got this nagging feeling that everything is going to click in to place come June 11th.

All common sense points to Argentina continuing the widely chaotic form into the World Cup. I doubt Maradona will change from his rigid 4-4-2 formation to let Messi play as he is used to in Barcelona's 4-3-3 style, but then again, should Maradona build Argentina around Messi, or alternatively should the Worlds best player be able to adapt to a change in style?

So why do I feel that they could be genuine challengers? What is it that troubles me so? I thought they'd go all the way in 2006, but they fell apart against Germany and limped out of the competition. I'll be honest, I have a secret admiration for Argentina, I do. I know, as an Englishman, it should be part of my patriotic make up that I should despise them, but I can't. Maradona, handball aside, is still one of my favourite players ever. I boo Brazil and cheer on one of my countries fiercest footballing rivals.If England don't win it, I want Argentina to do so. No really.

Yet even through rose tinted spectacles, I still think they were very,very fortunate to get here. Any team who loses a qualifying game 6-1 away from home, is flying by the seat of their pants in regards to being a challenger for the title. Tactically, it doesn't work, some of the players who haven't been chosen make me scratch my head and the worlds best player struggles in the system, but still they nag away at me.

They're in a group that could hold a few surprises, with the effective if dull Greeks, the unfancied Nigerians and the passionate South Koreans. It is a group that could cause them problems, but still I think they'll have too much to not get through. It's the one group that I'll be keeping a keen eye on, purely to see if Argentina can finally make this tactical disaster a beautiful spectacle.

Please leave me your comments and you can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/paulbestall

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Future golden boot winner

They say that the bookies always win when it comes to betting, but they don't have to if you end up having a laugh along the way. Skybet have a slogan which states 'it matters more when there’s money on it' and of course if you're familiar to betting on football matches you'll agree with this statement, as the chance to win big money is an exciting prospect that can mess with your emotions at times. I'm not a massive gambler myself, I do like to put £1 accumulators on for weekends and have the odd bet if I feel like it, but I do it more as a means of having fun rather than seeing it as a way of making money. In my first year of university, me and my mates watched Euro 2008, and with a lack of England to support on in the tournament we looked at other ways to make the tournament more meaningful. I'll come back to that later, but in the mean time, here are a number of bets you can put on to have a bit of fun:

Samaras and Greece?

That’s right. I put 10p on Greece to win the World Cup and Georgios Samaras to win the Golden Boot, with odds of 3000/1. People laughed, but I cite the 2004 European Championships to support my proposal. This basically means if Samaras scores in Greece's first game I’m going to be going mental and dancing around the streets. I'll be ringing every single one of my mates asking them if they think it's such a stupid bet now. I have faith in big Georgios, sure he failed in the Premiership and only has five international goals, but doesn't it just feel like this is his summer? I am slightly regretting it now I see Palermo is guaranteed a place in the Argentina squad, I’ll have to compromise by putting both of them up front in my World Cup fantasy team. Maybe I’ll win that cash prize as well.

The ridiculous accumulator:

There’s a tabloid in Britain that’s currently offering £100m to anybody who can correctly predict a win, lose or draw in every game of this summer’s World Cup. I tried to do this myself on skybet, but unfortunately their accumulator would only let me put a maximum of 15 games, but that means I have predicted the first 15 games of the World Cup and with my predictions I got odds of 33876/1. Some would say this is not going to happen, and I also had a bit of a bias with my above selection of Greece and Samaras, but the longer it goes on the more I will believe! I'll be doing this a number of times, and no doubt when I collect my winnings I can retire for life. If you can put on every group game then go for it, remember - you're a footballing expert.

The 'what’s next' game:

This was what we all did in Euro 2008. Basically I was watching games with my mates, and all the left over change we got from nights out we used to bet against each other. For example, I’d say to one of my mates 'I bet you 5p that Germany get the next throw in', which would usually be met with the reply 'you're on' and so we would watch in anticipation for the next throw in. I've never been so excited over seeing a throw in, it felt as good as seeing a goal for my team. You can do it with anything though, corners, goal kicks, yellow cards etc. So the first day I made a good 30p, but then I was down 10p. Don't let yourself get pounds into debt though, I’d recommend rehab for that.

If anyone has any other suggestions we'd love to hear them. Also, no need to thank me on the tip about Greece and Samaras.

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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.

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Who will advance from Group B of the 2010 World Cup? Will it be Greece, Argentina, Nigeria or South Korea? Cast your vote above and share your feedback in the comments section below.

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The first legs of the European World Cup play-offs took place yesterday (Saturday) and Russia, Portugal and France all take slender advantages into their second legs.

Portugal managed to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in Lisbon in their first leg.  With Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of the tie through injury the Portuguese had to rely on the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Liedson and Deco for their creative spark but all three were guilt of below-par performances.  It was Manchester United winger Nani who created the spark for Portugal's only goal - his cross was headed home by Bruno Alves in the 31st minute. 

Before the home side opened the scoring Bosnia had been happy to defend but after going behind they carved out some great chances and were unlucky not to level matters.  They rattled the woodwork four times in search of an equaliser and they should go into the second leg on home soil in full-confidence.

The stand-out tie when the fixtures were drawn was the Republic of Ireland's play-off with France.  Last night's game at Croke Park was a fairly cautious affair in all honesty with the French dominating possession though chances for both sides were few and far between.  The Irish nearly opened the scoring through Stoke City's Liam Lawrence but his shot was diverted past the post after a crucial block from Patrice Evra.  The French managed to force a breakthrough in the second-half when Nicolas Anelka's shot was deflected beyond Shay Given.  Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni remains confident his side can emerge victorious after the second leg in Paris on Wednesday but it will be a massive task for the Irish and the French have to be considered firm-favourites with their one goal advantage to reach the World Cup next summer.

Russia managed to take the advantage in their play-off with Slovenia by beating them 2-1 in Russia.  Everton winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov got both goals for Russia who were made to work hard by the visitors. Slovenia managed to halve the deficit with just two minutes of normal time remaining thanks to substitute Nejc Pecnik who grabbed a vital away goal.  Pecnik's strike does give Slovenia a great chance to cause an upset ahead of the second leg in Maribor.

The tie between Greece and the Ukraine in Athens ended goalless, meaning the Ukraine should probably now be considered favourites with home advantage for the second leg.  It was a tight affair between the two sides and despite good chances for Greece's Theofanis Gekas and the Ukraine's Ruslan Rotan neither side could break the deadlock. 

The second legs take place on Wednesday with France, Bosnia, Ukraine and Slovenia enjoying home advantage.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting horse racing Ireland and the Grand National 2010 for Betfair.

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