Tuesday, June 29, 2010

ARGENTINA 3-1 MEXICO

Oh brilliant - now my second team are out as well!

But at least they went down fighting - almost literally. And surely that's what the England players should have done after Frank Jnr's phantom goal: surround the linesman (sorry, Referee's Assistant) and refuse to play on until he's looked thoroughly ashamed of himself... and then play on and concede two more goals.

So at least our boys got the second half of that equation correct.

It's a shame to see two good sides paired up this early in the tournament - this game had enough quality on show to be at least a Quarter Final - which is something we thought could also be said about Germany-England (prior to kick-off anyway). But second round it was and, if this knockout phase is teaching us anything, it's that football history has a way of repeating itself.

And so, just like at the last World Cup: Argentina knock Mexico out at the last 16 stage, in one of the games of the tournament so far, with a potential goal of the tournament sealing their win (goodbye Tshbalala - 17 days and 51 games unbeaten).

Please note how I refer to this flashback as being from the previous World Cup. As the tournament has gone on I have become increasingly obsessed by the insistence of commentators (both radio and TV) to discuss trivia in calendar years rather than measuring time in tournaments. It's misleading to the point of being ridiculous.

For example: when it was dramatically announced that Italy are "the first defending champions to fall at the group stage since 2002" this actually meant: France went out in the first round just two World Cups ago, and THEY were World Champions!

When Denmark's appearance in the competition is described as "their first tournament since 2002" this translates as: the Danes skipped the one in Germany.

At the beginning of the 2014 World Cup, assuming we qualify, England will have been unbeaten in World Cup finals matches for four years. If anything, failing to qualify could see us stretch this record even more impressively. Actually, this might be worth considering...

Scotland haven't lost a World Cup match since 1998:



THE STORY SO FAR

Match of the tournament: Slovakia 3-2 Italy

Player of the tournament: Thomas Muller (Germany)

Goal of the tournament: Tevez (Argentina v Mexico) - [2nd goal]

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