IVORY COAST 0-0 PORTUGAL

The ITV gang were seriously down on this one. Why? I thought it was a cracker - if there had been a goal I was considering making this my game of the tournament. If anything I began to get mildly offended by the commentator's insistence that this game was a disappointment. What exactly were they expecting? 6-6?

Tetchy, physical, high tempo, a little bit gnarly: this was the first game between two teams who, you got the feeling, genuinely didn't like each other. It was great. And yet Drury & Beglin were determined to go on and on about the fact there was a Mexican Wave going around the stadium.

"Not always a good sign" said Drury. Oh, come on! If one more commentator repeats that sentence this tournament, I will buy myself a vuvuzela.

Jim Beglin remained determined to describe this one as "a pretty poor spectacle" on 86 minutes. By this stage I was wondering whether we were watching the same game. Which, in turn, got me thinking about context.

This goalless draw was watched online (not via ITV.com - oh no: ITV don't stream...) while at work in a west London office. This immediately made the whole experience more exciting. Dangerous even.

It was in the background, on my desktop, while I beavered away at my keyboard. Did this make me more likely to rate the match as a spectacle? Did this peek-a-boo viewing make it seem more exotic? Is the grass always greener?

I must admit to feeling more than a little bit jaded when I woke up on Sunday (admittedly the morning after the England - USA debacle) knowing that I had to watch THREE games of football that day. Including Algeria vs. Slovenia. Suddenly the World Cup felt like a chore. And yet today, another three-game challenge, felt exciting. Was this because I was watching incognito?

Not for the first time, I pondered the rose-tinted glasses that we football fans view tournaments of yesteryear. Many of my favourite memories are of games that I desperately wanted / tried to see, but failed. Or only caught glimpses of. Context is everything. Watching the whole thing is, strangely, less rewarding.

But that's not the attitude - not now. Not with 51 games still to go.

To conclude: just as I was pining for Barry Davies, Peter Drury made up for his previously pre-determined negativity by unleashing my favourite line of commentary on the competition so far.

As the familiar Ivory Coast manager made a substitution, our Peter proclaimed: "Sven-Goran Eriksson is tinkling the Ivories once more..."

Speaking of which:



THE STORY SO FAR

Match of the tournament: South Africa 1-1 Mexico

Player of the tournament: Thomas Muller (Germany)

Goal of the tournament: Tshabalala (South Africa v Mexico)