Scott Murray's Blog, page 200
June 23, 2014
Cameroon v Brazil: World Cup 2014 as it happened
Neymar was the star on an occasionally fraught but ultimately comfortable evening for the hosts, who will face Chile in the second round
10.54pm BST
And that's that. Brazil deserved the win, though 4-1 is harsh on Cameroon, who were extremely lively in the first half and seriously worried the hosts for a while. They go home having salvaged their reputation after a poor first pair of games. The real difference tonight was provided by Neymar, who calmed Brazil twice when the nerves were really starting to jangle. They'll go on to face Chile in the second round, though Alexis Sanchez may be licking his lips in anticipation of running at this Brazilian defence, which doesn't look good enough to win a World Cup to me. But we'll see: perhaps they can do the time-honoured Brazilian thing of scoring more than they concede. Hey, it worked well enough in 1958 and 1970.
Anyway, let's not rain on their parade. It's a celebratory mood in Brazil tonight, with the hosts making it to the second round with the best performance of their World Cup so far. Certainly the most entertaining one, anyway. And to illustrate the national happiness, the final word of this report goes to Frederico Dalton, who has penned the nicest email that's ever been sent to a Guardian MBM. "Sometimes it feels very good to be a Brazilian. This year has been a difficult one for us, though: all the demonstrations, all the bad news about the preparation, the delays. But now it is all so wonderful! I so much enjoy having the tourists here in Rio. That is so beautiful. I am sorry for England. But please do feel proud: all the joy we are are experiencing right now would not have been possible if your countrymen had not invented this fabulous sport."
10.50pm BST
90 min +2: Willian in space down the left. He looks to sidefoot one into the bottom right from the edge of the box, but Itandje isn't going to be beaten like that.
10.49pm BST
90 min: There will be four added minutes.
10.47pm BST
88 min: A long Cameroon punt down the middle. Webo troubles Luiz a bit, though the Brazilian defender eventually mops up.
10.46pm BST
86 min: Top spot's a done deal for Brazil. Croatia have themselves a consolation goal against Mexico: 3-1.
10.45pm BST
The pressure's off Brazil, too. Mexico had just gone 3-0 up against Croatia. One more goal for them, and they'd top the group! But suddenly relief. A loose Cameroon pass from a quickly taken free kick deep in their own half. Some rat-a-tat triangulation, and Fernandinho's clear in the box down the left! He sends a laser-guided effort across Itandje and into the bottom right! Surely the Brazilians will have top spot now. And they'll avoid the Dutch, which is good news for the hosts because I'd imagine this defence wouldn't hold up too brilliantly against Arjen Robben.
10.42pm BST
82 min: Anyway, after a lengthy stoppage for running repairs to Gustavo, and that Cameroon sub, the free kick, 35 yards out, down the left channel. Dani Alves blasts a fairly witless effort straight into the wall. Deflected. From the corner, Webo is clattered on the lug by Luiz. The pressure's off Cameroon.
10.39pm BST
81 min: Choupo-Moting is replaced by Makoun.
10.38pm BST
80 min: Mbia is booked for upending Gustavo, who was making good along the inside-left channel with some haste.
10.38pm BST
79 min: Willian tries to find Fred in the middle, but the cross is deflected and the striker's offside.
10.37pm BST
77 min: It's just a pleasant kickabout now, this. Mbia threatens to break down the inside-left channel, but there's no real purpose in his romp.
10.35pm BST
74 min: Salli is booked for toe-punting Dani Alves on the instep. Ooyah, oof.
10.32pm BST
72 min: A change for Cameroon, too, with Aboubakar - a player who's put in a decent shift in this game, his last act a delightful little backheel from the centre circle that sent Salli into acres of space down the left and momentarily wrongfooted the hosts - being replaced by Webo.
10.31pm BST
71 min: Neymar jars his knee a little, and Scolari is taking no chances. The striker looks fine, in that he's wandering off the field without limping or grimacing, but he's instantly replaced by Willian. Precautionary, and very sensible. Neymar has been excellent this evening.
10.29pm BST
70 min: It's end to end, if we don't count either final third. First Salli has a probe down the left, then Neymar embarks on a skitter down the middle. But both young men are soon stopped in their tracks.
10.27pm BST
68 min: Neymar should be clear in the Cameroon area, straight down the middle. But he's overly eager to reach Ramires's low crossfield pass from the right, and is rightly flagged offside. The hat-trick will have to wait.
10.26pm BST
66 min: Brazil would obviously like another goal or two, but there's a sense that everyone's happy enough at the moment. Brazil are back in winning ways, while Cameroon have put on a decent show. No real urgency being shown by either side.
10.24pm BST
63 min: Ramires comes on for Hulk.
10.24pm BST
62 min: Neymar attempts to burst past Nyom down the left with a sassy snatch of skill, gripping the ball between his feet and jumping. But instead of attempting a simple Cuauhtemiña, the rabbit hop patented by Mexico's Cuauhtémoc Blanco back in the 1990s, he looks to run the ball up the back of his heel while in mid-air and flick it over his head. It doesn't come off, and Nyom rather refreshingly clips him round the lug for his cheek as the two jog back upfield. Neymar doesn't look happy about it, but if you try these things, this is what's going to happen.
10.19pm BST
60 min: Fernandinho is spoken to by the referee after a little tug on Salli's shoulder. He's in real danger of going in the official's little book soon, if he's not careful.
10.17pm BST
59 min: Cameroon make a change: Moukandjo is replaced by the Lens winger Edgar Salli.
10.16pm BST
56 min: Brazil are stroking it around the back. The jangling nerves seem a long time ago now. Contentment reigns.
10.14pm BST
54 min: Fernandinho clatters into Bedimo, as the busy left back looks to make ground down the wing. Not the greatest challenge you'll ever see. Bedimo does an awful lot of rolling around.
10.12pm BST
52 min: Brazil appear to be in the mood to blow away a few cobwebs. They're coming forward in waves. Waves. Anyone for more Tom Jobim?
10.10pm BST
Space for Gustavo down the left. The ball's clipped to the right post, where Fred slaps a header home from six yards! He's a yard offside, but the decision goes his way. As the ball nestles into the right-hand side of the net, Fred goes off on a bomb around the stadium. Relief? I should say so.
10.08pm BST
48 min: A fast start to this half all right. Fred has a whack from distance, his low fizzer going in at the bottom left but palmed out of play by Itandje. Brilliant save. Then from the corner, Enoh body checks Neymar down the left and should see his second yellow, but the ref is lenient. From the free kick, Neymar's dipping shot from the wing is tipped over. And from the resulting corner ...
10.06pm BST
47 min: Two early chances for Hulk. He kicks the ball against his own ankle and out of play when clear down the right. Then moments later he's free down the middle, but Bedimo tackles him in the penalty box brilliantly. If that was mistimed, Cameroon were in all sorts of trouble.
10.05pm BST
We're off again! A change for Brazil. Fernandinho is on for the very poor Paulinho. Cameroon get the ball rolling again, and then test it for pressure by blasting it into orbit. After 10 seconds, it falls back to earth, and is gathered by Julio Cesar. Meanwhile for those of you who like
bowing, scraping and furiously tugging your forelock
celebrity spotting, Prince Harry's in the crowd at this game. Here he is behind a balcony, striking the sort of stiff-backed pose favoured by your old-fashioned despots. I'm sure he'll look more relaxed when he rocks up at Wimbledon in a few days, as part of what must be a very gruelling schedule.
9.53pm BST
The Guardian half-time spa: I recommend a little reset and relaxation during the break, as that was rather more hectic than anyone could have reasonably anticipated. Kári Tulinius has sent in his favourite version of the aforementioned Águas de Março, and very calming it is too. Listen to Elis Regina do her silky thing ...
9.47pm BST
An absurd, topsy-turvy half ends with Neymar, Oscar and Fred ripping Cameroon open down the left with pretty little first-time triangles. They feed Hulk, who's clear in the area, down the left. But he's close to goal, there's not much time or room to play with, and his clumsy scuff is parried by Itandje. The corner's wasted, and that's the end to the opening 45.
9.45pm BST
43 min: Paulinho misplaces another pass, and Enoh is able to make good for the Brazilian box, down the middle of the park. Luiz is forced to cynically hack him down. That should be a yellow, but there's no card. It is a free kick, though, 30 yards from goal. Moukandjo pitching-wedges the ball into the area, whereupon a minor stramash breaks out. Eventually Dani Alves blooters clear, but once again the home defence didn't look particularly secure.
9.42pm BST
41 min: The Brasilia crowd are much happier right now. There was some genuine concern back there, with Cameroon briefly in the ascendency. Cameroon don't appear to be in any sort of mood to give up the ghost quite yet, mind you, despite going behind again. What a dismal showing in their first two games, a shame they didn't perform like this earlier. They're demob happy today, anyway.
9.40pm BST
39 min: Nyom embarks on what can only be described as a Garrinchian wander down the right. It's a baroque ramble, beating four men! Then he blooters a deep cross to the far post, where Dani Alves is forced to dispatch the ball behind for a corner. Moukandjo has a dig from distance at the taking of the resulting set piece, billowing the side netting, Julio Cesar always covering.
9.37pm BST
37 mins: Hulk has a batter towards goal from 25 yards. It's heading into the bottom left, a really decent whack, but Itandje is down well to parry round the post. From the resulting corner, Luiz can't guide the header goalwards.
9.36pm BST
They might not be so worried now. And this is brilliant. A long rake down the left for Brazil, and the ball eventually breaks to Neymar. He drifts inside, a dip of the hip and some glide in his stride, and upon reaching the left-hand side of the D, fires a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net, Itandje wrongfooted, everyone expecting the striker to continue on his way to the right. Another world-class finish, and that's four in three games for Neymar!
9.34pm BST
33 min: Not exactly. Moukandjo's delivery ends up at the feet of Mbia, on the edge of the area, to the left of goal. Mbia looks for the top right, and that was whistling goalwards in a very dangerous manner. Fortunately for Brazil, the ball's deflected out, and the next corner comes to naught. But these are very worrying signs for the hosts.
9.33pm BST
32 min: Nyom and Mbia triangulate down the right, forcing a panicked Luiz to intercept. But he can only slice out for a corner. Can Brazil deal with this one better?
9.31pm BST
29 min: Bedimo is in space down the left, and he's released towards the box by a lovely sliderule pass from Moukandjo. But he went too soon. Offside. Brazil are very worried, and all over the shop at the back. Have they started thinking the unthinkable?
9.28pm BST
The ball's shifted right to left. Nyom is allowed to break through a pathetic tackle by Dani Alves down the wing. He's in acres of space! He romps into the box and fires a low cross through the six-yard box, where Matip sidefoots home from close range!
9.26pm BST
24 min: Cameroon were looking good for a while before the goal, and they make it upfield again, Enoh jigging down the inside-right and shooting, the ball deflecting off Dani Alves and out for a corner. From that corner, Matip sees a header deflected onto the right-hand angle of crossbar and post, off Luiz for another corner. From which ...
9.23pm BST
21 min: This is also in danger of turning into a masterclass of comedy from Fred. Paulinho enters the Cameroon box down the left. He's in acres. A low ball towards the big striker, six yards out. Fred falls over. He first tries to nudge the ball goalwards with his buttocks, then lunges to nut it over the line while on all fours. But Itandje, in a DH Lawrence style tangle with him on the floor, gets to the loose ball first. What slapstick nonsense. I'm beginning to feel for Fred now, he's so desperate to score and get his critics off his back, his motor skills have gone.
9.21pm BST
20 min: This is already in danger of turning into a masterclass from Neymar, who meets a dropping ball on the edge of the Cameroon area, just to the left of the D. He swings a lazy left leg, and volleys gorgeously goalwards. The ball's going to crash into the net, just under the bar, but Itandje parries into the air, and Cameroon clear.
9.18pm BST
Brazil pressurise Cameroon down the left wing. Gustavo takes up possession and romps down the touchline. He whips a low ball into the area. Neymar opens up his body and guides a first-time sidefoot into the bottom-right corner, Itandje rooted to the spot! Such a delicate, precise finish! That's a lovely touch. Note to Cameroon: do not irritate Neymar.
9.17pm BST
15 min: Haw. Some old-school tactics from Nyom. He's chasing a long Brazilian punt down the left, with Neymar. The ball goes out of play. Nyom shoves Neymar into the bank of photographers behind the goal, just because he can, and to show him who's boss. Bad idea, though, because ...
9.16pm BST
14 min: A free kick for Cameroon, in the middle of the Brazilian half. Moukandjo launches it into the Brazil area. He very nearly finds the head of Aboubakar, six yards out, but the ball flies through to Julio Cesar, on the line. Any touch there, and it was an opening goal, because the Brazilian defence were sleeping there. Where were Thiago Silva and Luiz? Not anywhere near making a clearing header, that's for sure.
9.14pm BST
13 min: The Estadio Nacional in Brasilia is a fairly quiet and anxious place right now. Because Cameroon are on top right now. Aboubakar rolls a pass down the left for Choupo-Moting, who fires low into the area from near the byline. Luiz is forced to hack clear. Brazil started very strongly indeed, but they're looking nervous at the moment.
9.12pm BST
11 min: Enoh is booked for a pretty damn clumsy scissor challenge on Luiz. It wasn't full-blooded, and there seemed no malice. But it deserved censure.
9.11pm BST
9 min: Brazil don't look particularly solid at the back. Enoh goes on a wander down the left, and sends a low cross into the area. It's deflected back to Aboubakar, on the edge of the box. He's got time to take a touch and lamp a shot towards the right-hand side of the Brazilian goal. Not totally sure Julio Cesar would have got to it, but fortunately for Brazil, Thiago Silva is there to block. The resulting corner is a waste of time, but that will worry the Brazilians.
9.08pm BST
7 min: In between those two Fred chances, a half-chance for Cameroon to break clear on the Brazilian goal. Paulinho misplaces a pass in the midfield, and for a second it looks like Aboubakar will have a clear run down the inside-left channel from the centre circle! But the ball gets caught between his boots, and he can't get a steam on. Brazil got away with that one.
9.06pm BST
5 min: Another Fred shot, another one that's blocked, as he's sent into the area down the right channel by Hulk. But he's getting into positions. It only needs one to go in, doesn't it. The corner's swallowed up by an unchallenged Itandje. "Nice that you mentioned that match in 1975, that Cubillas goal still bring chills in my spine, specially since there's so little to cheer about Peruvian football now," writes Eduardo Villanueva of Lima. "But Brazil didn't play with a full squad in the Copa America that year. For reasons I'm no longer recall, they decided to use only players from Minas Gerais; the match itself was in Belo Horizonte. The reverse fixture in Lima was 2-0 for Brazil and Peru only went through the finals thanks to cheating by Peruvian officials during the drawing of lots."
9.04pm BST
3 min: Fred's misery continues. Neymar and Hulk combine down the right, the latter sprung free into the area. Hulk, to the right of goal, cuts the ball back for Fred, who should send a first-time slapshot into the net, Itandje having followed the ball when Hulk had it down the right. But his shot is snuffed out at source, blocked immediately by Matip.
9.02pm BST
2 min: Neymar takes, Brazil having loaded the box. The execution is appalling, chipped over every single yellow shirt and cleared easily by N'koulou.
9.01pm BST
And we're off! Brazil get the ball rolling. And within five seconds launch a Watford-esque long ball down the middle. Cameroon clear. But Brazil are soon coming back at Cameroon, Hulk racing down the right. Bedimo hauls him back by the face, and this is a free kick in a very dangerous position, just outside the Cameroonian area.
9.00pm BST
The teams are out! Brazil should be wearing the most evocative ensemble in world sport, their famous yellow shirts with green trim and blue shorts. But they're not. White shorts today. NOT ACCEPTABLE. Cameroon meanwhile are resplendent in their lovely green tops, a design classic in its own right, although one that looked even better when an absurdly oversized lion motif took up the entire left tit.
8.41pm BST
Three changes for Cameroon. One enforced: after raking his elbow down the back of Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic and getting himself sent off, Alex Song misses out. Another's sort of enforced: Benoit Assou-Ekotto also sits on the naughty step after planting the nut on his team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo. Aurelien Chedjou also drops to the bench. Henri Bedimo, Allan Nyom and Landry N'Guemo get the call.
Brazil recall Hulk, but that doesn't mean Fred's been packed off to the glue factory. He replaces Ramires, and we're back to the same team Scolari sent out to face Croatia. And didn't that go well. Time for the Fluminense striker to repay his manager's faith. He could do worse than take a little advice from When Saturday Comes illustrator Tim Bradford. [Warning: link contains dangerous earworm that eats into middle of head and refuses to come back out. The Guardian accepts no responsibility for etc., and so on, and so forth]
8.18pm BST
Cameroon: Itandje, Nyom, Matip, N'Koulou, Bedimo, Enoh, Moukandjo, Mbia, N'Guemo, Choupo-Moting, Aboubakar.
Subs: Feudjou, Assou-Ekotto, Djeugoue, Nounkeu, Eto'o, Makoun, Chedjou, Webo, Fabrice, Salli, N'Djock.
Brazil: Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, Luiz, Marcelo, Paulinho, Gustavo, Hulk, Oscar, Neymar,
Serginho
Fred.
Subs: Jefferson, Fernandinho, Dante, Maxwell, Henrique, Ramires, Hernanes, Willian, Bernard, Jo, Maicon, Victor.
7.30pm BST
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil has been a thing of wonder so far. Robin van Persie's header. Lionel Messi's goals. Algeria's first win since 1982. John Brooks's celebration. Andrea Pirlo's crossbar-bothering free kick. Cristiano Ronaldo's neck-saving cross. Thomas Muller's hat-trick. Karim Benzema's futile on-the-stroke-of-full-time stunner. The relentlessness of Alexis Sanchez. The emergence of James Rodriguez. Iran's determination. Guillermo Ochoa's saves. Ghana's quick breaks and spurned chances. Luis Suarez's miracle recovery. Bryan Ruiz, the Pak Doo Ik and Ahn Jung-hwan de nos jours. A stick. A stone. The end of the road. It's a sliver of glass. It is life. It's the sun. And the riverbank talks of the waters of March. It's the end of all strain! It's the joy in your heart!
Continue reading...
June 22, 2014
World Cup 2014 talking points: Ghana regrets, Argentina relief and Iran pride
June 21, 2014
Argentina v Iran: World Cup 2014 as it happened | Scott Murray
Iran were as magnificent as Argentina were poor, but there was nothing they could do about the moment of exquisite Lionel Messi brilliance that decided this game at the death
6.54pm BST
He's not bad, this Lionel Messi. Argentina weren't very good, and Iran were spectacularly brilliant, but there's no accounting for world-class strikes like that! A few tears from Ghoochannejhad, who could easily have won it for Iran not once but twice. They'll wonder about that penalty shout, too, but take solace from the fact that a win in their final game against Bosnia & Herzegovinia could still see them through. But it's two wins out of two for Argentina, and two stunning goals in two matches from Lionel Messi. Five more personal performances like this, and he'll have keys to The Club all right!
6.53pm BST
90 min +4: Haghighi with a long throw into the Argentinian area from the left. Sadeghi, frustrated, is too physical and concedes a foul. Poor Iran. Poor deflated Iran.
6.51pm BST
90 min +3: In the third of the four added-on minutes, Di Maria is brought off, with Biglia coming on. Purely a time-wasting measure.
6.51pm BST
Well, he's a little further down the road to settling The Big Argument. Messi takes up possession 30 yards out, level with the right-hand post. He takes a step forward, and a touch inside, then curls a stunning shot into the top-left corner! Unstoppable! Poor Haghighi had no chance!
6.49pm BST
90 min: Messi looks to release Lavezzi down the right. Too strong. Goal kick. Di Maria down the left. Haghighi punches clear. Here's Tanay Padhi: "This Argentina performance is crying out for Carlos Tevez, isn't it?"
6.48pm BST
88 min: Hajsafi is replaced by Reza Haghighi.
6.47pm BST
86 min: Another Argentinian corner down the left. Again it's easily cleared, and suddenly Iran are on the break! Jahanbakhsh twists and turns down the left, then fires a pass down the wing to release Ghoochannejhad! He's clear! He's not got the pace to tear completely free, and is forced to shoot from the edge of the box. His attempt, aimed towards the top right, is parried away by Romero! Argentina mop up. What a chance! What a performance by Iran!
6.44pm BST
85 min: Dejagah is replaced by Jahanbakhsh. Palacio attempts to surprise Haghighi at the left-hand post, but the keeper batters away for a corner that's easily dealt with.
6.43pm BST
84 min: Ghoochannejhad wins a free kick down the right. Iran load the box, but Dejagah blooters the ball out of play.
6.42pm BST
82 min: Lavezzi wins a corner down the right, off Pouladi, with some determined play. The ball's lumped into the box towards Fernandez. Not quite. Back it comes, Lavezzi embarking on a rococo wander down the right wing. Nope. Then Rojo gets fed up and looks for the top-left corner from a position 25 yards down the inside right. Not too far away, that. But on the other hand, Iran will be happy to see Argentina reduced to taking potshots from distance.
6.40pm BST
81 min: Rojo wins a corner down the left. Di Maria whips it to the near post, but it's easily cleared, the set piece not beating the first man. Argentina are soon coming back at Iran, but Lavezzi's slide-rule pass down the right, intended to release Zabaleta into the area, is overcooked and rolls into the arms of Haghighi.
6.38pm BST
79 min: Ghoocghannejhad goes on a determined run down the inside-right channel, but is unceremoniously stopped in his tracks by a crunching tackle from Mascherano, who chased him back. There's a player who won't be happy at the way this is panning out. That tackle suggests he's had more than enough. "If this keeps going like this," begins Dave Hill, "the door man at The Club you mentioned in the preamble will make Messi stand outside in the line while all the others gain entrance."
6.36pm BST
77 min: Time for change! Shojaei is replaced by Heydari, while Argentina make a double switch up front: the desperately poor Higuain and Aguero are hooked, with Lavezzi and Palacio coming on.
6.34pm BST
75 min: Argentina appear to have woken from their slumber. Di Maria - who has been busy today - breaks into the area and batters a low shot towards the bottom left. Haghighi is not of a mind to be beaten at his near post, and parries to take the sting off the shot, then falls on the ball to smother the danger.
6.33pm BST
74 min: ... with the box loaded, and everyone expecting a cross to the far post, whips the set piece towards the top left. He's beaten the flat-footed Haghighi, but the ball flaps into the side netting. The closest Argentina have come to a goal.
6.32pm BST
73 min: Shojaei is booked for bringing down Di Maria just outside the Iran area on the left. One of the few determined Argentinian bursts since the restart. In the whole match, really. But this is a free kick, to be taken by Messi, in a very dangerous position. He steps up, and ...
6.30pm BST
72 min: Pouladi crosses from the left, and Rojo is forced to bundle out of play on the right. Corner. It's swung to the far post, where Nekounam bustles with purpose, hoping to slam a shot home. But he's shoved Garay over. Free kick. Pressure off Argentina, who are rocking here!
6.29pm BST
70 min: Di Maria crosses from the left, Haghighi punches clear. But then it's a corner for Argentina down the right. It comes to nothing, but at least Argentina have eaten up a little time, and Iran are kept away from their danger area for a couple of minutes.
6.27pm BST
68 min: Iran again nearly take the lead, with the best effort of the match! Montazeri curls in a high cross from the right. In the middle, Dejagah attempts to Keith Houchen a flying header into the net. It's going into the top left, but Romero, his back arced, fingertips over. Dejagah takes the corner himself, and it's claimed by the keeper. That would have been a picturebook header! Iran are playing wonderfully well. This is a majestic display!
6.26pm BST
66 min: Hajsafi makes good down the left and swings a ball into the Argentinian area from the left. Garay slices a risible attempted clearance over his own crossbar. The corner: another scramble. Cleared: eventually. Argentina are beginning to show signs of panic. They're all over the shop!
6.24pm BST
65 min: Hajsafi has a dig from 25 yards. His shot balloons off an Argentinian leg and arcs out to the right of goal. For a second, that looked like sailing over Romero's head. Then, from the corner, what can only be described as a proper stramash in the Argentinian six-yard box! Ghoochannejhad can't get a shot away, and eventually Garay hacks clear. This is an appalling display by Argentina, and a brilliant one by Iran.
6.22pm BST
62 min: Argentina's day so far in microcosm: Messi twists and turns down the inside right, only to have the ball whipped off his toe by Teymourian. "In the recent protestations I couldn't help but notice the nicely embroidered match badges (with flags and opponents) on," writes Rory McGee, with reference to the kit problems Iran have been having lately. "Has the Iranian FA backtracked or does Carlos Quieroz have a nice little earner as the supreme seamstress of Iran?" The kits fit perfectly, too, so they haven't shrunk. Unless they bought a job-lot of XXXL shirts, in the full knowledge of what would happen once they stuffed them in the Indesit.
6.20pm BST
61 min: Yep, Rojo has been Argentina's best player. He romps down the left and fires a low cross to the far post. Higuain is again asleep, and I'm not sure where Aguero is. The left back has been consistently excellent.
6.18pm BST
60 min: But Argentina also have Messi, and he takes a Mascherano pass straight down the middle, then skitters directly towards the Iranian area. He opens up his body and looks for a sidefooter into the bottom left from just outside the area. Only inches wide.
6.17pm BST
59 min: Gago blooters miles over the bar from 35 yards. Argentina are a shower right now.
6.17pm BST
58 min: Di Maria in space down the left. He drops a shoulder to beat Montazeri, but Sadeghi is quickly over to block as the Argentinian thinks about cutting back from the byline. "The greatest living Dundonian referenced on the MBM," writes Simon McMahon, having just spotted the name of David Narey, no doubt. "This World Cup has just come alive."
6.15pm BST
55 min: Wow, this is all action now! First Nekounam is booked for a clumsy lunge on Gago, the Iranian midfield man wrapping both legs round his opponent's standing leg. (Which makes it sound worst than it was; it wasn't in the leg-breaker category.) Then Ghoochannejhad chases after a long punt down the inside-left channel. Zabaleta comes over and cleans out the striker, who gets to the ball first, in the area! That's a dreadful decision. They should be having an uncontested whack from 12 yards right now.
6.12pm BST
53 min: Here's another chance spurned. But this time it's by Iran! Dejagah is in acres down the right, as Iran break from the missed Aguero chance quickly. He whips a low ball into the centre, where Ghoochannejhad stoops to head from eight yards - straight at Romero. The Argentinian keeper parries, and gathers. That looked like the opener when the cross was coming over!
6.11pm BST
52 min: Rojo is arguably Argentina's best player this afternoon. Again he skates into space down the left. He curls a ball to the near post, where Aguero should power a header home. He connects with it, but lamely. That's a great chance spurned.
6.10pm BST
50 min: A little burst of Messi magic as he goes on a high-speed baroque ramble down the inside right, dragging the ball past Sadeghi with almost insulting ease. He slips the ball to the outside, where Zabaleta meets it first time with a confident sidefoot aimed for the top-left corner. Not sure Haghighi had that one covered, but it's too high. Just. Fine play all round.
6.07pm BST
49 min: Space for Rojo down the left. His cross to the far post isn't that far from Higuain, but the ball's dealt with by Pouladi.
6.07pm BST
48 min: Mascherano plays a clever pass down the right wing with a view to releasing Gago. Actually, it's not quite so clever, skipping off the turf and out of play down the right for a goal kick. Argentina have certainly come out with renewed purpose. They needed to.
6.05pm BST
And we're off again! Argentina get the ball rolling, having presumably applied their gamefaces at half-time. They certainly weren't wearing them in that opening 45. "As a French fan, I am almost sneakily hoping Argentina finish second in their group, because France can play as underdogs against them (with most favouring Argentina)," writes Arun. "Not to mention the fact that Argentina have barely been impressive save for one magical Messi moment. As a France fan I had no hope for this team - I believed it would be the same old story of futility - and then they went and beat Honduras and Switzerland with such style that they have now given us some hope. I almost expect it to all end in tears if we end up facing Bosnia." I love how football supporters can sniff out reasons to be pessimistic, less than 24 hours after a 5-2 win. The beauty of the game, right there. We all understand it.
5.57pm BST
Half-time advertisement: Quite a few of Argentina's famous World Cup showdowns have been covered, MBM style, in And Gazza Misses The Final (authors unknown). Games against England ('66, '86 and '98), France ('78) and Romania ('94), to be precise. Here's a snippet from that 86 game, featuring no football action whatsoever:
29 min: Steven makes his way to the corner flag down the right, but his cross flies straight out of play. Time for the Mexican television cameras to take another sweep of the crowd. What service on offer at the Azteca! An usherette carrying a tray of 15 ready-poured lagers is ambling through the stand with a view to vending them to thirsty punters. One chap, a young gentlemen with a fashionable Zapata moustache, sits behind a big bass drum. 'Well, he doesn't have too much to say, does he, the Argentine drummer?" sniffs the BBC's Barry Davies, although it's not clear what he's expecting from the percussionist, one third of the way through with the scoreline goalless. A coruscating, Gene Krupa style, ten-minute big-band solo?
5.49pm BST
Hajsafi has a dig from 30 yards. Nope. And that's the last act of a very impressive half by Iran. Argentina: not so impressive. Messi needs to up his game, but he's far from the only one. "Carlos Queiroz seems to have the recipe to keep Messi quiet down pat," suggests Prateek Chadha. "Iran have been almost as effective at shutting him out of the game as Manchester United were in the 2008 Champions League semi-final. Perhaps Queiroz can make a living purely as an anti-Messi consultant? Ronaldo for one would certainly be supportive of such a career move."
5.45pm BST
45 min: Corner for Argentina down the left after Di Maria busies himself. Fernandez leaps to meet it, 12 yards out, but can only send a weak effort high and wide right.
5.44pm BST
42 min: Zabaleta gives away a niggly foul down the left. Dejagah wheechs a high diagonal ball to the far post, where it comes off Rojo's back. Corner. Dejagah whips a stunning set piece to the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, where Hosseini rises brilliantly - and powers a header just over. He was looking for the top-right corner, and really should have found it from that range. Iran could easily be leading here. They certainly should have scored that, though I suppose that would have only equalised Garay's 36th minute strike if we're playing a game of If-ball.
5.41pm BST
40 min: Rojo has embarked on a couple of decent runs down the left. Again he finds a bit of space, but this time his cross flies straight into the fans behind the stand. Higuain, clear in the middle, isn't happy.
5.39pm BST
39 min: It's all Argentina, but Iran are right up in their grilles, and keeping their shape well. Pass, pass, passity, pass. Eventually Di Maria tries one flick too many, and Teymourian sticks a boot in to clear. Another defence of ITV's main man Tyldesley (24 min), this time from Fiona Jalinoos: "Actually Andranik is an Armenian Christian!"
5.37pm BST
36 min: Free kick for Argentina down the left. Messi whips a delicious, enticing cross to the far post, where Garay really should bury a header from a few yards out. But he can't keep it down. Terrible miss, but what delivery by Messi!
5.36pm BST
34 min: Fernandez bundles over Dejagah down the left. Free kick. The ball's slipped down the wing for Hajsafi, whose low cross is dismal. A shame for Iran, because Argentina were fannying around there, half asleep, and a decent cross could have put them in a wee spot of trouble. As it is, Fernandez can clear up his own mess. He's even got enough time for a clumsy, heavy first touch. This isn't an impressive Argentina performance so far. France certainly wouldn't be too worried if the two ended up meeting in the second round.
5.33pm BST
32 min: Teymourian hacks down Messi, who is attempting to turn on the edge of the Iranian D having picked up a little pass from Higuain. Messi takes the free kick himself, and looks for the top right, but though he gets the ball over the wall, he can't get it back down again, and his effort whistles harmlessly over the bar. Messi looks pained, as well he might.
5.31pm BST
30 min: It's fair to say that Romero hasn't had a whole lot to do so far. But then that's not really the point.
5.30pm BST
29 min: Argentina are beginning to feel a little bit frustrated. Iran haven't had a whole load to deal with, and here's Di Maria, down the left, Koncheskying a cross into Row Z behind the goal. A few impatient boos ring around the stadium. Meanwhile Lee Wallace comes in defence of Tyldesley (24 min): "I wonder if he's attempting to make Andy Townsend feel smart?"
5.28pm BST
26 min: Aguero knocks over the corner flag in a fruitless pursuit of the ball. He doesn't bother to put it back in its hole. Put it back! He doesn't, walking off like he doesn't care. In the end, the referee runs half the length of the field to do the job himself. Back in 1986, in the quarter final between Argentina and England, a linesman stopped play for over a minute, forcing Diego Maradona to re-sheath one of the corner posts when its flag fell off. If fixing things up is good enough for Diego, it's good enough for you, Sergio, young man!
5.25pm BST
24 min: Aguero wins a corner down the left. Argentina beginning to turn up the heat now. The ball's whipped into the area. Rojo meets the ball right in the middle of the box, and slaps a downward header inches wide of the right-hand post. A pithy critique of Clive Tyldesley by Charles Antaki: "ITV's commentator has just said that 'A lot of the Iranian players display their Christian names on their shirts'. Hmm."
5.23pm BST
22 min: Argentina tiki-taka it around awhile. Are we still allowed to use that term in a non-pejorative fashion? Possibly. Anyway, they suddenly pick up speed and triangulate into the area down the inside left. Higuain has his back to the goal, and lays off to Aguero, who attempts to curl one into the top right. That's going in, too, but it's palmed away brilliantly by Haghighi.
5.21pm BST
19 min: Messi, 30 yards out down the inside-left channel, plays a cute little pass inside to Di Maria, who attempts to sidefoot into the top corner from the edge of the D. Which corner? Don't know. His first-time shot sails miles into the sky, centrally over the bar. All very good if we were playing rugby union, but we're not, are we. "I tried to explain to my 17 year-old son just how good Diego Maradona was," begins Gary Naylor, embracing one of the Great Impossible Tasks. "He's seen the youtube clips and knows about the stats, so I was trying to capture his essence (as it were). I ended up saying that everybody on the pitch, in the stands and watching on television was looking at him all the time, because he was the game. Messi isn't there yet - not many have been. Maybe Platini and Cryuff at their peaks and Beckenbauer at his most imperious."
5.19pm BST
18 min: Dejagah wins a corner for Iran down the right. Very determined and persistent. Fernandez clears the set piece with a fierce header. And Argentina are on the break, Di Maria zipping the yards away! Then Messi has the ball, heading towards the area. He rolls a pass out left for Higuain, who is about to cock his leg to batter a shot goalwards from the edge of the box, but Montazeri slides in to block.
5.17pm BST
16 min: Argentina haven't had too much joy. Iran will be happy enough with the way this game is going so far. Then again, Switzerland would have been saying the same thing at this point against France last night, and look what happened there.
5.16pm BST
13 min: Gago rakes a pass down the inside-right channel, prising open Iran with one thrust and releasing Higuain in the area. Haghighi rushes off his line and smothers the resulting shot brilliantly. The keeper's taken a rare old clatter there, Higuain having accidentally raked his shin and kneed him in the coupon too. He'll be OK, writes Dr Murray, the Guardian's resident quack who doesn't actually know. But he is sitting up, his leg strapped by the Iranian doctor, and not looking discombobulated in the slightest.
5.13pm BST
10 min: Not a great deal from Messi yet, but Di Maria twists and pirouettes down the inside-left channel, and is very close to releasing Higuain into the area with a back-heel. Very delicate and pretty.
5.12pm BST
8 min: Argentina are enjoying the lion's share of possession, although nothing much is happening right now. Rojo makes another run down the left and appears to have won a corner off Montazeri, but that's another set piece Argentina won't be taking. A poor decision. "I'm watching this in Berlin - and the build-up on the box is a ten-minute piece on Bach's organ," reports Matthew Tempest, formerly of this parish, I'll be bound. "Intellectual bunch, the Germans. Oops, I've got the wrong channel on." I'm sure the point stands. Funniest Ever You've Been Framed was on ITV2 before this match.
5.07pm BST
5 min: Aguero twists and turns in the Iranian box, just to the right of the goal. He's crowded out, the ball clanking off an Iran player's leg and away for a corner, but Argentina won't get the set piece, as the flag's gone up, presumably for an offside. Or a handball. Who needs detail?
5.06pm BST
4 min: A free kick for Iran, Hajsafi swinging it into the Argentina box from the left. The favourites don't deal with it particularly well, Fernandez and Garay allowing the ball to sail over their heads and out of play to the right of goal. Hosseini wasn't too far from meeting that with his neep, ten yards out.
5.04pm BST
3 min: A fairly bitty start to this game. Argentina finally string a couple of passes together, Rojo making good down the left. His cross into the centre is easily gathered by Haghighi. Meanwhile, just to clarify, the Queiroz gesture against South Korea was less a finger, more a full on up-yours fist. The sort that's often accompanied by a fruity bellow of GERTCHA in London drinkers, just before patrons enter into the nightly philosophical discussion.
5.00pm BST
And we're off! Iran get the ball rolling. "Please add Ronaldo to The Club," asks Nicholas. "You can't name everyone but you definitely need to name Ronaldo." The list wasn't meant to be definitive by any means, but Brazil's hero of 2002 is of course worthy, Nicholas. As is, say, Didi. And Bobby Moore. And David Narey.
4.55pm BST
The teams are out! Argentina in their famous and beautiful sky blue and white shirts AND WHITE SHORTS, THIS IS A COMPLETE DISGRACE, A SNOOK COCKED IN THE FACE OF TRADITION while Iran sport radiant red. Then the national anthems. Both songs are coming from the same place, with emancipation the common theme:
4.52pm BST
Before we get going, let's tip a collective titfer to Iran coach Carlos Queiroz, formerly of Portugal, Manchester United and Real Madrid. Partly for getting Iran to Brazil with wins over Qatar, Lebanon and South Korea. But mainly for spectacularly spoiling for a fight with Korean manager Choi Kang-hee, who had bitterly complained of "bad treatment" when his team lost a qualifier in Iran, and as a result found himself the subject of a t-shirt when the two sides met again in Ulsan. Queiroz wore a photo of a sulking Choi in press conferences ahead of the game, then showed the Korean bench the finger after the match, star striker Reza Ghoochannejhad having scored the only goal. Magnificent. He didn't spend all that time working alongside Sir Alex Ferguson without picking up a trick or two.
4.12pm BST
Argentina: Romero, Zabaleta, Garay, Federico Fernandez, Rojo, Gago, Mascherano, Di Maria, Aguero, Messi, Higuain.
Subs: Orion, Campagnaro, Biglia, Perez, Maxi Rodriguez, Augusto Fernandez, Demichelis, Palacio, Alvarez, Lavezzi, Basanta, Andujar.
Iran: Alireza Haghighi, Montazeri, Hosseini, Sadeghi, Pouladi, Shojaei, Teymourian, Nekounam, Hajsafi, Dejagah, Ghoochannejhad.
Subs: Ahmadi, Heydari, Reza Haghighi, Jahanbakhsh, Ansarifard, Hadadifar, Mahini, Alnameh, Rahmani, Beikzadeh, Beitashour, Davari.
3.30pm BST
Poor old Lionel Messi. 243 goals in 277 league games for Barcelona. 67 in 86 Champions League matches. 39 in 87 for Argentina. He's got six La Liga winners medals to his name, three from the Champions League, a couple of Club World Cups, four Ballon d'Ors, he's commonly regarded as the star of one of the greatest club sides ever, and the best player in the world of his generation. A poor season for him, as the one just gone supposedly was, saw him deliver 41 goals in 44 matches. This is not normal behaviour, whichever way you slice it.
All that achievement, all that brilliance, and yet if he doesn't make his mark on a World Cup, he'll never be admitted to The Club, the elite band of the greatest ever: Maradona, Pele, Garrincha, Varela, Beckenbauer, Muller, Zidane. It might not be fair, you might not like it, you might not agree with it, but it's the way a sizeable section of fans will see it. Good luck getting consensus on that!
Continue reading...World Cup 2014: day 10 as it happened
The England post mortems continue and news pertaining to teams like Iran, who are actually still in with a shout of winning the tournament
4.56pm BST
And on that bombshell, we're going to win down today's Big Rolling Blog O'Fun just in time for you to put your feet up and enjoy Argentina's match against Iran. Tune in tomorrow for more World Cup news and what not.
4.52pm BST
Great news for England: Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is fit! He took part in his first full session since straining a medial ligament in his knee during the 2-2 friendly draw against Ecuador on 4 June.
4.39pm BST
Touré brothers to stay in Brazil: Kolo and Yaya Touré will be staying at the World Cup in Brazil despite the death of their younger brother in England on Thursday, Ivory Coast officials said on Saturday.
The pair trained with the rest of the squad on Friday soon after learning of the death of 28-year-old Ibrahim Toure in a Manchester hospital and were due to practise again on Saturday at their base at Aguas de Lindoia, a football federation spokesman told reporters. There are no plans for the pair to leave Brazil to be with family in England, where they both play.
Ivory Coast play Greece in Group C on Tuesday and if they win they will advance to the next round. They failed to get past the first stage at the last two World Cups.
Ibrahim Toure was long in the shadow of his more illustrious siblings, having had a journeyman career in Ukraine, France, Egypt and Lebanon.
He was on the books of Ligue 1 club Nice for a year but never made a first-team appearance and last played at Safa, where he scored six goals in 10 games this season as they finished second in the Lebanese league.
Messages of condolence have come from Fifa and the Confederation of African Football plus English champions Manchester City, where Yaya Toure plays, and Kolo's club Liverpool.
4.31pm BST
4.30pm BST
4.28pm BST
Bad news for Italy ...
Italy medics confirm there is something wrong with Daniele De Rossi, so hes a big doubt to face Uruguay http://t.co/fzfWP5gl0w #ITA #URU
4.24pm BST
Bad news for Switzerland: Their defender Steve von Bergen suffered what looked like a very nasty facial injury last night and will miss the rest of the World Cup.
Von Bergen was led off the field in the fifth minute after he was caught in the face by French forward Olivier Giroud's left foot, leaving him with blood streaming from the wound near his left eye.
The SFV said the former Genoa and Palermo defender had suffered an orbital-floor, or blowout, fracture on the left side of his face. "The 31-year-old defender will return to Switzerland as soon as possible and undergo specialist treatment," said an SFV statement. Switzerland, who have three points from two games, face Honduras in their final Group E match in Manaus on Wednesday.
4.19pm BST
Good news for Belgium: Belgium captain Vincent Kompany said he expects to be fit to play against Russia in a World Cup Group H match tomorrow after recovering from a groin strain.
Kompany missed training with the rest of the team for a second day yesterday while he received attention for the strain which he picked up late in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Algeria.
"I am fine thanks," he told a reporter when asked about his fitness before taking part in a group training session at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. "If everything goes well today, there shouldn't be any problems."
Belgium are top of Group H after the opening games which also saw Russia draw 1-1 with South Korea.
4.15pm BST
This just in: Argentina coach
Lionel Messi
Alejandro Sabella has picked an offensive 4-3-3 lineup from the start as expected as his team seek to secure passage to the World Cup knockout stage in their Group F game against Iran. Abandoning the caution they showed in the first half of their opening game against Bosnia, four-times world player of the year and Argentina captain Lionel Messi starts up front with Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. Angel Di Maria, completes one of the world's most intimidating strike forces.
Iran, who opened with a dour 0-0 draw against Nigeria, will again pack the defence, leaving Reza Ghoochannejhad as lone forward and winger Ashkan Dejagah also seeking to threaten.
4.05pm BST
Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart have drawn the short straws and will front up for the media once they've finished the most pointless training session in the history of football. In other news, England won't be hanging around after their dead rubber match against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday. They'll be flying straight back to Blighty once that game has ended.
3.56pm BST
Cameroon infighting update. Former Cameroon coach Winfried Schaefer expected African sides to do better at the World Cup but was not surprised with the squabbling in his former team's camp, it says here. Was anyone surprised? Really?
"It's always about money," said the German. " It's always ahead of big tournaments. They work hard for four years and then they destroy everything over silly fights over money. "
Schaefer, who in a four-year spell coached Cameroon to the 2002 African Nations Cup title and took charge of them at the World Cup in Asia the same year, said the current squad lacked unity.
"It's like a cage of lions and they need a manager who disciplines them and is a strong leader. I've spoken to Samuel Eto'o and told him 'you don't play if you are not part of the group'. But in general the boys are good boys. The team is split in two groups. Eto'o and [Alex] Song. They need a strong group."
On the World Cup in general for African teams so far, he added: "I expected the Africans to do better. Ghana began playing great football against the US but then they played kick and rush against those huge Americans. I then saw one good pass and that led to the goal. The teams must not lose their African style."
Cameroon's players delayed their departure to Brazil in order to force more money out of their federation but have lost both games in Group A and are eliminated with one match to come on Monday against Brazil in Brasilia. The other four African sides in Brazil are all struggling to get into the knockout round.
3.41pm BST
Breaking news!!! Leighton Baines, Daniel Sturridge, Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka and Steven Gerrard are training separately, away from the main group of England players. Make of that what you will; my guess is they won't be playing against Costa Rica, although they might just be in particular disgrace and on Roy Hodgson's equivalent of the naughty step.
3.36pm BST
Is Oxlade-Chamberlain fit yet?
3.35pm BST
England training update. For reasons best known to themselves, England are currently training ahead of their match against Costa Rica. And for reasons best known to themselves (the fear of having a P45 waiting on the doormat upon their return home, probably), the press pack that's following them around Brazil are diligently watching them. I believe the technical term for such a monumental waste of everyone's time is "keeping up appearances".
Let's face it, footballers and journalists alike should all just sack off the session, hit the pub and get royally leathered. Most people would probably applaud such behaviour and the time for worrying about what idiots who'd frown upon it might think almost certainly passed a couple of days ago.
3.25pm BST
My friend the top Irish journalist Miguel Delaney is in Brazil and has taken time out from what sounds like a hectic meat-eating schedule to flag up this highlight from last night's ITV coverage. If you haven't seen it, already, it's Martin O'Neill reacting to some jovially disparaging comments from Adrian Chiles, then rendering his fellow pundits Patrick Vieira and Fabio Cannavaro speechless.
3.21pm BST
Of course apologies are all well and good, but there's no point offering one unless it's sincere. Wayne Rooney's seemed genuine enough and while I haven't heard Daniel Sturridge's, he seems like a nice fellow, so I'll presume he's sufficiently contrite. Here, for your amusement, are what sound like a couple of decidedly insincere apologies.
3.15pm BST
Well shiver me timbers and what's that lying two points abaft the port beam? Why, it's England's World Cup dreams lying face down in the briny. Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge have already fronted up and apologised for the early exit, after defeats to Italy and Uruguay. What we want to know is whether or not you think they should feel obliged to apologise. After all, it's not like they did anything really serious, like spill your pint, look askance at your girlfriend or voice an opinion on a social network site that doesn't tally exactly with your own. Cast your vote by clicking on this link.
3.03pm BST
Shocked to the core by the graphic nature of that furry filth, I now require a lie down in a darkened room, and bid you all a fond farewell. Barry Glendenning will be steering this ship
onto the rocks
safely into the harbour. Aye aye, Cap'n Baz!
3.01pm BST
Anyone remember Tip and Tap? The mascots from the 1974 World Cup?
2.56pm BST
That Ecuador-Honduras game last night was good fun. Perhaps not one for the purists, but good fun. Not least because the wilfully physical Hondurans managed to concede a free kick after three seconds, which is going some by any measure. You have to admire that sort of carry-on. They know they're almost certainly away home after losing 2-1, but won't be giving up hope, just in case. "We need to bow out on a high note," their coach Luis Fernando Suarez has said. "If you don't try everything it will play on your conscience forever. We don't want that to happen when we leave the World Cup." Switzerland watch out! They might be taking home a couple of your legs as souvenirs of their time in Brazil, along with maybe some nice coffee, a scale model of Christ the Redeemer, and whatever toiletries are still unopened in the hotel bog.
Meanwhile it appears I have unfairly maligned one of Lou Reed's more esoteric works (1.30pm). "What's wrong with listening to Metal Machine Music on an expensive stereo?" asks Spiff Blunge, who sounds suspiciously like a muso, heavy metal drummer, or at the very least a roadie to me. "It would have been time and money better spent than watching Iran versus Nigeria on an expensive home theatre." It's a fair point. I'll gaffer tape my mouth as punishment and say nothing more.
2.37pm BST
We're all big kids at heart, aren't we? But it's not time for hot milk and blanky yet. Until the World Cup shuts down between 7pm and 8pm, for the toddlers' truce that gives us time to tuck you up in bed, you can play with your Lego. Here's the latest brilliant brick-by-brick report! Enjoy, if you can bear to sit through England v Uruguay again. And take that piece out of your mouth! That's Luis Suarez's right leg!
2.24pm BST
Andy Hunter loves to go a-wandering, along the sandy track, and as he goes, he loves to sing, his knapsack on his back. That knapsack contains a laptop, folks, for Andy's off to the Estadio Castelao Fortaleza, with a view to reporting on Germany and Ghana later this evening. He's even stopped en route to send us this pre-match report of Germany boss Joachim Low effectively telling both Jose Mourinho and irate ITV anchor Adrian Chiles to stick their opinions somewhere north of Ceará (i.e. where the sun don't shine):
Joachim Low has offered a little insight into the world of Thomas Muller. The striker earned both acclaim for his hat-trick against Portugal and criticism for his histrionics that preceded Pepe's dismissal on Monday, with Jose Mourinho claiming his compatriots had made life easy for the Bayern Munich player.
Low retorted: "Thomas Muller is important for us not only in terms of what he can do on the pitch, where he is unpredictable but always there to score a goal. He is important in terms of the motivation he gives to his team-mates. He is a lively character, he is good fun, he is always positive and he believes the national team is very important. He'll go around and talk to everyone at dinner, he is a real team player who brings everyone together. He transmits this happiness to the team and that is very important at a tournament."
2.00pm BST
Pools news:
1.53pm BST
To the tragic news of Yaya and Kolo Toure's brother Ibrahim, who died on Thursday. Yaya and Kolo have, contrary to earlier reports, decided to remain at the World Cup with the Ivory Coast squad. "The Toure brothers, Kolo and Yaya, have decided to stay with the team," announced a spokesman for the Ivorian Football Federation. "They are not leaving Brazil." Ivory Coast face Greece in Fortaleza on Tuesday. A win will see them through to the second round. Ibrahim had been suffering from cancer.
1.30pm BST
Good old Wayne Rooney! He's been on Facebook, presumably to make his Scrabble moves. [Note to self: pop onto Facebook after posting this entry and make your Scrabble moves.] Having secured himself a couple of bingos in his games against Coleen and Moyesy, he then posted an apology to England fans, a mea culpa for the team's performance at this World Cup, which has been either less than ideal, or a wonderful homage to the 1950 campaign, depending on which way you look at it. Here it is:
Absolutely devastated to be out of the World Cup. Going into each game we had great belief in ourselves but unfortunately it hasn't worked out. Sorry to all the fans that travelled and at home that we haven't done better ... gutted!
1.12pm BST
Afternoon, everyone! Sadly, I'm afraid that contrary to Mr Doyle's grand claims, all that's on offer today is a cold Scott Murray. Not even tepid. Scott's a-cold! Po' Scott's a-cold! No news, you see. Right, I'm off to have a proper rummage around the wires. There's got to be something, somewhere, with a World Cup going on. Back in a minute! I'll not let you down!
Legal disclaimer: I might let you down.
12.59pm BST
I think we can all agree that what's needed now is some hot Scott Murray action. I won't stand between ye. Bye!
12.39pm BST
What happened to the great Rashid Yekini? Simon Burnton explores a strange tale.
12.21pm BST
Here's Vitor Alvarenga on Nani:
It was Portugals first training session after the humbling defeat against Germany and Nani showed up with a star and his squad number shaved into his hair. It was as if he had not quite grasped that this was the time to knuckle down rather than show off a new haircut.
A fresh crop does not necessarily mean a player will fail to work hard, of course the newly shorn Luka Modric has showed plenty of application at this World Cup but it does, perhaps, hint at a players priorities and, more importantly, it reinforces the feeling that Nani sometimes is more about style than substance. There is no doubt that the Manchester United midfielder is outrageously talented. He has everything you expect from a world-class footballer: quick feet, mesmerising technique and stamina. But it never quite comes together for him.
11.49am BST
"Just to say the best sub ever was John Aldridge v Mexico in 94," bawl;s Oli Duncan. "Just for the swearing and rage really - that was good TV." So good it's worth another look:
11.36am BST
All those Ghana fans hoping that Kwadwo Asamoah will be restored to midfield to provide the Black Stars with much-needed creativity are set to be disappointed, according to the well-informed Veronica Commey.
Kwadwo Asamoah stays at LB, Afful Harrison replaces Daniel Opera at the RB with KP Boateng starting. Ghana vrs Germany. Line-up soon.
11.31am BST
Manchester United have just announced that Antonio Valencia has signed a new three-year contract at the club.
11.17am BST
Brian McMahon, who is know to his friends as Brian McMahon, has got in touch to recommend Toto Schillachi as the greatest sub in World Cup history. "He began the tournament on the bench, came off to score the winner against Austria and went on to achieve greatness!" blurts Bri.
11.12am BST
Sionnaich's treatise below the line on team emblems gave me a moment's levity, especially this observation:
Meanwhile in Honduras:
" Ok. We're all ok with a whopping big capital H as our emblem? Great. See you all in the hotel bar for Martinis night."
11.00am BST
Julian Keith is the first to suggest a candidate for the best substitute in World Cup history. "Hello there Paul," begins Julian in a good old-fashioned email. "Since hes the man of the moment Tim Cahill is a good shout. He was subbed on against Japan in 2006 and scored the equaliser and then the go-ahead goal in the 3-1 win. Quite the illustrious little World Cup career."
10.44am BST
"Spewin' that Benzema's final goal was chalked off (not to mention his peno!)," spews the catchily-named ID3995119 below the line. "He was my pre-tourney selection for Golden Boot. Who, if anyone, did you plump for PD?" I went for Sergio Aguero and an each-way thing on Eden Dzeko, which are further reasons why I'm hoping for a goal splurges in today's matches. Now here's a question for you: what is the best substitution in World Cup history?
10.21am BST
Thanks to Paul Reidy for pointing out via twitter that it is 20 years ago today since Diego Maradona scored against Greece and gave that maniacal glare into the TV camera, which, surely, is football's equivalent of Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny" moment in the The Shining.
10.16am BST
It is my long-held belief that England would perform better at World Cups and so on if they prepared for matches by listening to something more invigorating than God Save Our Queen, which, whatever about its all-round worthiness or lack thereof, is a dreary number. Iron Maiden's The Trooper strikes me as a suitable replacement, blending patriotism, for the anachronistically inclined, and drive. Mention of Maiden gives us a handy excuse to refer to this fine interview with Bruce Dickinson, in which, amongst many bon mots, one of the greatest vocalists in rock history discusses the similarity between his band's fans and football supporters.
If you're a rabid supporter of a football team and you believe passionately in that team, the fact that they have a couple of off seasons doesn't stop you supporting them. As long as they maintain the integrity and don't take the piss. They can play appallingly as long as they're trying hard, and you'll forgive them. If they do it repeatedly over a period of years and then acquire a manager that makes everybody wear pink lipstick and a strange tutu then you may consider your allegiances.
10.07am BST
Here is a link to an article with some talking points from yesterday's matches.
10.06am BST
Anyone like to predict the total number of goals that will be scored in today's three matches? I'm going to have a shot at 15, although you wouldn't completely rule out Argentina scoring that amount alone against Iran, Carlos Queiroz's defensive obduracy notwithstanding. Ghana could suffer at the hands of Germany but could also threaten going forward themselves and Bosnia and Nigeria could be a goal-fest too, even if the match will feature two of the best goalkeepers in the tournament, Vincent Enyeama and Asmir Begovic. Speaking of high-scoring World Cup contests, perhaps you'd like to read more about the circumstances surrounding the biggest win in the tournament's history, Hungary's demolition of a heroic El Salvador side. It's a great tale. Here's a snippet:
[El Salvador] players were especially angry that they did not even have a pennant with which to perform the traditional exchange with opponents before kick-off. Their 20-year-old goalkeeper Luis Guevara Mora decided to improvise. "When we arrived, we saw that all the other teams had brought gifts for their opponents, shirts, flags and even a book relating the history of football in their country. As for us, we hadn't brought anything," he recalled in 2007. "Then I spotted a pine tree and cut a piece of wood from it, into which I carved the words 'El Salvador'. And that's what we gave them."
9.30am BST
What about the Swiss media's reaction to the spanking by their neighbours? I'd like to say local tabloids have run with headlines such as scALPed or Hellvetica but that's not how they do things there, apparently. Instead La Tribune de Geneve has assessed each player : here are their marks out of 10:
Benaglio 4; Lichsteiner 2 (has rarely been so bad given a hellish time by Benzema .. and his attacking contribution was almost non-existent); Djourou 3 (the least bad of the Swiss defenders; Senderos 3 (the Djourou-Senderos axis gave a bitter reminder of the days when Arsenal's defence had an open-door policy); Rodriguez 3 (completely anonymous); Inler 4 (Devoured by Matuidi . the captain of the national team hade made an awful start to the tournament it's becoming worrying); Behrami 3 (swept away by the blue tide); Dzemaili 5 (cut the deficit from a freekick and was asble to bring some precision to the passing); Mehmedi 5 (clearly the best Swiss player on the pitch); Xhaka 5 (Hitzfeld stubbornly continues to play him as a false nine but the weeks go by and he still hasn't justified the faith put in him); Shaqiri 4 (maybe we expected too much from him); Seferovic 4 (isolated, he made no impact on the game)
9.13am BST
"Dizzying!" No, not my reaction to being ordered to begin live data entry at 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, but the headline on the front page of today's L'Equipe. The French media are justifiably euphoric with Les Bleus' recent form, which just keeps getting better and better and reached new heights last night with the 5-2 destruction of Switzerland. That's Switzerland, people, with a defence marshaled by Phillipe Senderos and Johan Djourou! Snipes aside, France were mighty impressive yesterday and the performances of Moussa Sissoko and Olivier Giroud, who did not start in the comprehensive win over Honduras in the first match, gave further indication that Didier Deschamps has an array of good options at his disposal at knows how to use them. Franck Ribery is missing a party, France aren't really missing him.
France should have won 6-2, of course. Karim Benzema had a goal ruled because the referee, almost like Clive Thomas many moons ago, blew for full-time as the ball neared the line. That was supreme pedantry by the official, as the spirit of football generally seems to dictate that you wait until the ball is in a neutral part of the pitch before calling full-time. But that is hardly an adequate arrangement and is borne of yet more negligence by the same governing body that cultivates murkiness around most refereeing decisions. There needs to be far more transparency about how decisions are made and how time is kept. One day we may even get 90 minutes of action. A wise person wrote more extensively on this issue here.
8.55am BST
I'm handing over to Paul Doyle now, who will keep you abreast of all the latest updates. I'll leave you with an extract from Owen Gibson's five reasons why England are going home that's pretty hard to disagree with:
Throughout the buildup, the biggest question mark was over Englands defence. There was much consternation over whether the first choice four would stay fit. As it turned out, even that didnt help much.
Once Englands area of towering strength, it has become their biggest cause for concern. Glen Johnson and Leighton Baines offered attacking threat but were shown up defensively.
8.52am BST
One team who are already through to the last sixteen are Costa Rica. They've beaten Italy and Uruguay, and a point against Group D whipping boys England will see them top the group.
As you can see, there was quite the party in San José, the Costa Rican capital, after the whistle yesterday. Their fans haven't felt this good since Juan Cayasso scored against Scotland in 1990.
8.40am BST
So, Argentina play Iran today in search of a second win in Group G - and they could well be through to the knockout rounds before the day is out. As Jonathan Wilson points out, many great players have come and gone since the albiceleste last landed a trophy (the Copa America, back in 1993).
They're among the bookies' favourites, while our own power rankings but them fifth after the stuttering win over Bosnia. If Messi, Agüero and co need a few pointers, they could stick BBC Two on now - the 1986 World Cup film is on. That was Argentina's last World Cup win, led by
José Luis Brown
Diego Maradona.
8.26am BST
Teams-in-the-World-Cup-longer-than-England department: South Korea and Algeria play tomorrow in Porto Alegre. With Belgium looking favourites to top Group H, a win for either could go a long way to seeing them into the second round - especially with Russia looking less than impressive. They're both being very good natured about the whole thing, though:
Algerias offensive players are fast and each one of them has their own talent. I dont think Algeria is an easy target, said South Korea's Ji. If we play like we did with Russia, then our chances are good.
Vahid Halilhodzic blamed a lack of conditioning for Algeria's failure to hold on to their lead against Belgium a shortcoming that has seen the squad given extra training at their base in Sorocaba. I have told my players that they should not be ashamed of themselves, said the Bosnian. But this game against Korea is now the decider.
8.11am BST
Good morning. Niall here from a sun-kissed
King's Cross
Copacabana on day ten of the World Cup. There's another three games to look forward to today. I know this tournament has been pretty drab and uninspiring so far, but let's try and make the best of it.
Today's games are as follows:
8.01am BST
While were on the subject of big numbers, Japans clash with Ivory Coast was, perhaps surprisingly, one of the most viewed matches at this World Cup, with 34.1 million Japanese viewers tuning in to watch the Blue Samurais 2-1 defeat. Brazils opener against Croatia, meanwhile, attracted a whopping 42.9 million viewers in the host nation, while the US and Ghana was watched by 11.1 million in the States. England v Italy (14.2 million on the BBC, 12.8 million on RAI 1) and Germany v Portugal (26.4 million on ARD) were other big draws. And that's enough number-crunching for one day.
7.33am BST
In more serious news, the South China Morning Post is reporting that Macau police have busted a bookmaking racket that allegedly took HK$5 billion ($645 million, or £379 million) in illegal bets - including a single HK$40 million bet - on World Cup football matches in a week. Feel free to speculate what exactly that monster punt was on.
7.21am BST
Nigerias No1 is a goalkeeper whose skills used to seem the wrong way round: Vincent Enyeama was seen as a dab hand at scoring penalties but not much cop at saving them.
Read Paul Doyles fascinating profile of Enyeama, the man who should ensure Nigerias late clash, the final day ten match, against the impressive Bosnia, will be anything but dull.
7.12am BST
There is another intriguing match-up later on in Fortaleza, where Germany play Ghana, and the brothers Boateng - Kevin-Prince and Jerome - meet once again on the international stage. Heres Andy Hunter on the elder siblings role in stoking the fires ahead of the game:
Kevin-Prince Boateng might have played the diplomat. He could have displayed the maturity that has marked his rise as a leading player for Milan, Schalke and in the fight against racism in football. But there is something about confronting Germany at a World Cup that encourages the provocateur in Prince. For the second time in four years, the Ghana midfielder faces Joachim Löws team as a pantomime villain out to settle a score against the land of his birth. Once again, he has been instrumental in the casting.
7.05am BST
And so to today. And its not a bad schedule with, as mentioned before, Lionel Messis Argentina playing Iran first up. The potentially bad news for Gulf nation is that Messi appears keen for his side to trust their attacking instincts more than they did in their opening victory over Bosnia.
We are Argentina and I think we need to concentrate on ourselves without fixating on who we are playing. We feel more comfortable with two up front and me behind because it makes it easier to counter-attack and, because we have more people in attack, we have more possibilities.
6.46am BST
In yesterdays other match, Enner Valencia became the World Cups joint top scorer as Ecuador beat Honduras 2-1. If you missed it, catch up with Sid Lowes match report from Curitiba.
6.43am BST
Anyway, thankfully, its not all about England. How about the remarkably unified France, who hammered Switzerland 5-2? Are Les Bleus dark horses? Or just horses? Or neither. Read Jonathan Wilsons match report from the Arena Fonte Nova.
6.31am BST
And so, in time-honoured fashion, to the inquest into Englands latest debacle. Scapegoats are needed and fingers are cocked, ready to point the finger of blame. Owen Gibson gets us started.
6.08am BST
Costa Ricas stunning victory over Italy, the result which hammered the nails into the Three Lions coffin, should not have come as too much of a surprise though. Having now accounted for both Uruguay and Italy, it turns out the Central Americans are a pretty decent side, who should not have been overlooked, writes Amy Lawrence:
In the brouhaha over Englands forlorn hankering for a handout from Italy, scant attention was paid to Costa Rica. What an oversight. How deserving they are of recognition for a gargantuan World Cup achievement. To qualify for the knockout stages after two games and look down on three former World Cup winners is as extraordinary as Spains implosion.
6.02am BST
Good morning. Or not, as the case may be for England fans who are still coming to terms with the fact that their national side remains as woeful as ever, having now officially failed to progress from the group stage for the first time since 1958.
To ease/compound the pain, why not listen to the latest edition of our World Cup daily podcast?
6.01am BST
Mike will be here to guide you through the day shortly, but until then here's Jonathan Wilson's preview of Argentina's game against Iran later on.
Given the players they have produced over the past two decades, there is something ludicrous about the fact that Argentina have not won a senior international tournament in 21 years the longest drought in their history. They have, in that time, won an Olympic gold in 2004 and, between 1995 and 2007, five Under-20 World Cups. The present side, which features six players from the 2005 squad (a seventh, Gabriel Paletta, is with Italy) may deliver, but Argentina, who face Iran in their second group game on Saturday, are in danger of wasting an almost unprecedented seam of talent.
Part of the reason for the success at youth level was the work done by José Pékerman, now the manager of Colombia, and his assistant and then successor Hugo Tocalli. Its true we have underperformed, said Tocalli, and we cant find the reasons. Its not easy. Nobody can say that Argentina lack players. We do have great players 2002, 2006, 2010 ... but winning the World Cup is not easy. Fitness is vital, but they can be tired and its difficult. Also luck, because in 2006 we were winning 1-0, had to make two forced substitutions and everything changed. Im a fan of long-time projects, and they offer results, look at Spain, it started with the youth teams and the same with Germany, [Jürgen] Klinsmann and then Jogi Löw, who was his assistant. Argentina has gone crazy, switching from projects very quickly, without having stability.
Continue reading...World Cup talking points: France fired up, Italy flop and Costa Rica dream
June 20, 2014
Switzerland v France: World Cup 2014 as it happened
France put on a stunning show as the Swiss were steamrollered by Karim Benzema, Oliver Giroud, et al
10.02pm BST
Switzerland's task in the final game depends on what happens between Honduras and Ecuador later tonight. But France are effectively through as a result of that performance: even if they lose their final game, and two other teams reach six points, their goal difference should be their pal. That was a stunningly entertaining match, with France superlative. They went to sleep a bit towards the end, letting in a couple that'll give the Swiss succour going into their game against Ecuador. But Friday 20 June
1958
2014 has been a good day for them. A statement's been made by free-scoring France.
9.54pm BST
The referee blows his whistle. And he's the Clive Thomas de nos jours, because a split second later, Benzema is lashing a first-time conversion of a right-wing cross into the top left from the edge of the area! He races off to celebrate France's sixth goal, but it won't count! Some of the home support will be nodding wryly as they recall Thomas ruling out Zico's header against Sweden in 1978. But this doesn't cost anyone a win. What a performance by France! What a performance by Switzerland as well, but not necessarily in the same way.
9.51pm BST
90 min +1: A stat. The number of you who have emailed in with the "Swiss defence like Swiss cheese - full of holes" gag: 897. But it's a good gag. I'm not knocking it.
9.49pm BST
90 min: There will be three added minutes of this. If their 1954 quarter final against Austria is any sort of benchmark, Switzerland have enough time to scramble a draw here. It's on!
9.47pm BST
89 min: Cabaye is booked for a totally pointless hack on Dzemaili's ankles. He was booked in the first match against Honduras, and will now miss the Ecuador game. It's almost as if he did it on purpose to get out of the groups with a clean slate.
9.46pm BST
Inler chips a ball down the inside-right channel. Xhaka springs a poor French offside trap, Koscielny sleeping, and lashes a stunning first-time effort into the bottom-right!
The comeback's on
!
9.44pm BST
86 min: Shaqiri has a whack from distance. It's heading towards the bottom corner from 25 yards, but Lloris is behind it all the way.
9.44pm BST
84 min: Switzerland on the front foot at last. Lichtsteiner sent into space down the right. His low, dangerous cross is bundled out by Koscielny. The corner comes to naught. Everyone would take the final whistle right now. Anyway, Rob Marriott (69 min) and Julia Kite (76 min) have got Mac Millings' creative juices flowing: "In light of their ignominious early exit, here's my England All-Time World Cup Failure XI. I didn't pick many defenders. Seemed appropriate.
9.41pm BST
82 min: France replace Valbuena with Griezmann.
9.40pm BST
Suddenly things don't look so bad for the Swiss. Still very bad, but not quite so bad. A free kick 30 yards out. Dzemaili forces a low shot through a pathetic three-man wall, Benzema jumping out of the way a little, and it zips into the bottom left! No clean sheet for Lloris, who was caught sleeping a little there.
9.38pm BST
79 min: Switzerland string a few passes around the middle of the park. They're going nowhere, but that's not really the point. We're a little bit closer to the point at which they can scuttle off into the changing room and lick their wounds. This is a mauling. "Is it too late to unsign Senderos?" wonders Villa fan TW Adams (49 mins), checking the conditions on the back of his receipt.
9.35pm BST
76 min: Switzerland are in tatters. Ruins. Matuidi and Benzema both have fierce strikes at goal from close range, only to be denied by ludicrously good blocks from desperate Swiss bodies. This is an astonishingly good performance by France. "It's been a rough 24 hours for England," concludes Julia Kite.
9.34pm BST
75 min: Dzemaili hacks Matruidi to the ground, a result of 60 seconds' worth of oles! from the crowd.
9.32pm BST
Direct brilliance from France. Inler cedes possession in the middle of the park. The white shirts stream forward. The ball's shuttled to Benzema on the edge of the D from the left. He keeps it going to the right, where Sissoko is romping down the channel. He meets the ball first time, and flicks an extravagant effort into the bottom left. That's picture perfect!
9.30pm BST
72 min: Anything could happen to Switzerland now, who are all over the shop at the back. A simple Cabaye ball down the left, and Evra is sprung clear into the area. He looks to flick into the top right with his left peg, but doesn't connect properly.
9.29pm BST
71 min: A corner down the left for Switzerland, after Varane deals with a free kick coming in from the other wing. Switzerland find the head of Xhaka, not for the first time this evening. His header squirts wide right of the goal.
9.28pm BST
69 min: Drmic comes on for Seferovic. "How often in recent years have England gone to a major tournament in a state of national panic regarding the fitness of Rooney or Beckham or Owen or whoever?" asks Rob Marriott. "And here are France, without their best player, without one of the best players in the world indeed, and they're ruddy brilliant. I think people here possibly fuss too much."
9.27pm BST
Brilliant from France. Pogba, 40 yards out down the inside right, flicks a pass with the outside of his boot to release Benzema into the area. The striker, running down the channel and facing away from goal, twists and guides an instant strike under the sprawled Benaglio and into the net. Wonderful football - but embarrassing for Senderos, who attempted to intercept with a high kick and only connected with a therm of hot air.
9.24pm BST
66 min: A limping Sakho, suffering from some sort of ailment of the leg, is replaced by Koscielny.
9.23pm BST
65 min: Shaqiri skedaddles down the right wing and reaches the byline. He clips a cross over a stranded Debuchy and to the feet of Mehmedi, six yards out. He should score, but Lloris comes off his line like lightning to put him off, and the Swiss scoops over. Magnificent keeping.
9.22pm BST
63 min: Oh Matt Cast (62 min)! If you believe emails published in this tatty old report have some sort of chaos-theory effect on a match happening half a globe away, then it appears you've just done for Giroud. He's been hooked for Pogba.
9.21pm BST
62 min: Mehmedi curls a ball into the French area from the left. It's only six inches over Seferovic's head at the far post. It's not much, but it's something for the Swiss. "Could Andrew Gerrard (15 min) cast aspersions on Giroud before every France match, please?" begs Matt Cast. "It's working out pretty well so far."
9.19pm BST
60 min: France play a game of After You, Claude, in the Swiss area. The ball's shifted left and then right, Giroud, Benzema and Valbuena failing to decide who'll take the shot. Eventually Benzema lumps it goalwards from a central position on the edge of the area. It balloons out of play, off a Swiss back. The corner's wasted. The French fans don't care, they're making a hell of a racket anyway.
9.17pm BST
58 min: Dzemaili, 30 yards out, just to the left of centre. He's picking up a pass coming in from the left wing. One touch inside, a drop of the shoulder, and he's sending a rising shot inches wide and high of the top-left corner. Lloris, standing stock still, is kidding on he had that covered. And he may well have. But if so it was some snap judgement to leave that alone, because it was very close.
9.14pm BST
55 min: Giroud's having a very good game. He picks up possession 25 yards out, turns, and batters a low shot wide right of the Swiss goal.
9.13pm BST
54 min: Shaqiri is trying his level best to get something going for the Swiss. He sashays away from Sissoko down the inside-left channel, but upon reaching the edge of the area, drags a terrible shot miles wide right of the post. "I have never seen Sakho run so fast," notes Ian Copestake. "He does seem to find extra mph playing for his national side. For Liverpool he is immense but more as a liner docked in the Mersey is immense."
9.10pm BST
52 min: Shaqiri dances down the left wing and draws a foul from Sissoko. Free kick, which is effectively a corner. The winger gets it up and whips one to the near post, where Matuidi puts the ball behind for a corner. The resulting set piece is met by Xhaka, who heads high and wide.
9.09pm BST
51 min: The Swiss are seeing a lot of the ball, and the French, perhaps thinking the job is already done, seem quite happy to let them have it and play a containing game.
9.07pm BST
49 min: News on the stricken Swiss defender Von Bergen. He's in hospital, getting a broken cheekbone seen to. He also may have a problem with his eye socket, so they're checking that out. Anyway, on to his replacement tonight. "As a Villa fan, I'm interested in how Senderos is doing," writes TW Adams. "Is he even on the pitch?" Yes sir, oh yes he's on the pitch. "I see the Swiss have let in three in 45 minutes. I have a feeling he'll fit right in at Villa Park."
9.06pm BST
47 min: And this is a determined start to the half by the Swiss, who may have been given some beneficial advice in short, sharp burst by Ottmar Hitzfeld at half time. Mehmedi bombs down the left, and is stopped in his tracks by a majestic tackle from Sakho. French fans will have had their hearts in their mouths there, because as Liverpool fans will know, the big man's got a habit of mistiming those quite spectacularly on occasion.
9.05pm BST
And we're off again! Switzerland have made a change: Dzemaili has come on for Behrami. The new man lays off on the edge of the French D, allowing Seferovic to lamp a shot over the bar from the edge of the area.
8.49pm BST
Half-time entertainment: It's 1958 again! And this is about as European as it gets, even if it is a performance by an American musician.
8.48pm BST
Benzema nicks the ball off Inler in the middle of the park, races down the left channel, and looks for the bottom right from 20 yards. But his shot is weak and saved. And that's that for the first 45 minutes. Technically we're at the halfway mark, but of course we know this is already over. Didier Deschamps' side have indeed been scoring like it's 1958 all over again. You can't really blame the Swiss too much, either, they've been steamrollered.
8.44pm BST
43 min: This is in danger of turning into a rout. Valbuena has another dig, this time from the edge of the area, latching onto a low cross from the left and battering it towards the bottom right. Benaglio does extremely well to parry. This is without question the most impressive half of football by any team in this 2014 World Cup so far, with the possible exception of the Dutch clipping Spain repeatedly around the lug last weekend.
8.42pm BST
Sakho heads clear. Varane rakes a long pass along the ground down the left. Giroud is released into acres. He romps into the box and rolls the ball across towards Valbuena, who rams a shot home at the far post. That was a stunning counter-attack! This game is over.
8.40pm BST
39 min: Mehmedi slips a little pass down the left wing to release Shaqiri into the area. For a second he looks like getting into position to shoot or cross, but he's quickly surrounded by white shirts. It'll be a corner. From which ...
8.38pm BST
38 min: Seferovic looks to slide the busy Shaqiri into the French area down the left, but Debuchy steps in to intercept. Poor Switzerland just don't know what's hit them. They've had a good go at trying to respond, but they're not seriously troubling France, that Behrami-Shaqiri double shot apart.
8.36pm BST
36 min: Shaqiri tries to get something going for Switzerland down the left. He drifts inside and attempts to turn on the burners down the channel, but Varane is quickly across to block.
8.34pm BST
34 min: Benzema's penalty wasn't the best. He was looking for the bottom-left corner, but wasn't anywhere near finding it.
8.33pm BST
32 min: BENZEMA MISSES! AND THEN CABAYE HITS THE CROSSBAR WITH A VOLLEY FROM SIX YARDS, WHEN ATTEMPTING TO CONVERT THE REBOUND INTO AN EMPTY NET! Probably no need for all those caps, but they've done the job. Good save from Benaglio, low to his right, is all that's left to say. How on earth are France not 3-0 up?
8.32pm BST
31 min: PENALTY TO FRANCE! Benzema goes on a dribble into the Swiss area down the left. Djourou sticks out a clumsy leg, needlessly let it be said. And the referee's pointing at the spot!
8.31pm BST
30 min: It was nearly 3-0; now it's nearly 2-1. Bahrami takes a stride or two down the centre of the park, then lashes a low shot towards the bottom-left corner. It's a brilliant effort, and Lloris can only parry out to the left. Shaqiri takes a touch and batters a shot across the goal, inches wide of the right post. Seferovic can't slide in at the far post to convert.
8.30pm BST
29 min: Giroud turns Senderos, 20 yards out, then blooters a ball towards the top-left corner. It's only just over the bar. The Swiss defender was all over the shop there.
8.29pm BST
27 min: Shaquri with a free kick for the Swiss down the right, level with the edge of the penalty area. He swings it in. France clear, though not particularly well. Mehmedi, on the edge of the box, hammers a shot into the floor which balloons up and over the French back line. It comes back down at the feet of Behrami, level with the right-hand post, six yards out. He smashes the ball past Lloris, and races off to celebrate, but the linesman puts a stop to his gallop with an offside flag. The correct decision; there was a couple of yards in it, the French back line having come out with extreme purpose, as one.
8.26pm BST
25 min: France are going for the killer blow here. Benzema embarks on a determined skitter down the inside left channel. He looks to thread a low shot into the bottom right. It's on target, and not without pace, but Benaglio gets down well to smother.
8.25pm BST
22 min: Turns out there were 13 seconds between the goals. Thirteen seconds! If Matuidi's goal owed a little to some generous goalkeeping, it was still a cracking finish. And as for Giroud's header. Man! It was a staggering leap over Behrami, and what a connection he made with the ball! It quickly looped up and back down, before whistling into the top right. Benaglio managed to get fingers on it, but there was no chance of stopping it.
8.21pm BST
20 min: Switzerland are in shock. Valbuena with a free kick down the left. He whips it into the area. Benzema attempts to flick the ball over the outrushing Benaglio and into the top right, but he overcooks it and the effort flies over the bar. And up goes the flag: he was offside anyway. What a sudden surge by France this has been! This game was pootling along, nothing happening, and suddenly it's in danger of being done and dusted already, unless the Swiss get their act together quickly!
8.19pm BST
The Swiss lose the ball straight from the kick off. Benzema sets France in motion downfield. The ball's slid out to Matuidi down the inside-left channel. He takes a stride into the box, and larrups a low shot into the bottom left! What a finish, though you have to question Benaglio's keeping there, near post and all that.
8.17pm BST
What a header by Giroud! A corner from the right. It's fizzed onto the head of the Arsenal striker, on the penalty spot. He powers it into the top right, with men on the line! There was no stopping that!
8.16pm BST
15 min: France seeing a lot of the ball, but doing very little with it right now. Giroud, his back to goal down the right wing, tries to hook a pass over his shoulder for the rampaging Debuchy, but the ball's too heavy. "Senderos and Djourou versus Giroud?" begins science's Andrew Gerrard. "It will be interesting to see what happens when a stoppable force meets two moveable objects."
8.13pm BST
13 min: The game sputters to life after a long lull in the wake of Von Bergen's injury. Cabaye has a whack from 20 yards. Three points in rugby union, but no good here.
8.11pm BST
9 min: In fact, it was the nose Von Bergen copped it in. He's not going to be able to continue, blood seeping from his stunned phizog. He looks very queasy indeed. He stumbles off the field, to be replaced by Senderos. At least that stoppage for injury hasn't ruined this match's momentum, for there wasn't any.
8.09pm BST
7 min: Giroud, competing for a high ball, toe-punts Von Bergen in the teeth. If that happened in a Warner Bros. cartoon, his mouth would now look like a piano keyboard, and play Merrily We Roll Along whenever he smiled. Giroud's very lucky not to get a booking for that. It wasn't deliberate, but it was out of control and dangerous.
8.06pm BST
6 min: Benzema appears to have turned up to this match, indeed this World Cup, in form. He's already got two goals in his 2014 bag. Now he's looking for a third, and nearly gets it, dropping a shoulder down the inside-left channel, taking a step inside, and curling a shot towards the top-right corner. He's got Benaglio beaten all ends up, but the ball flies to the right of the post. Only just. A fine effort.
8.04pm BST
4 min: Benzema, just to the left of the centre circle, sprays a gorgeous diagonal ball to the right side, where Debuchy threatens to break into the box. He can't quite control the raking pass, and Von Bergen is able to intercept and clear. But that was a lovely crossfield rake.
8.02pm BST
2 min: Both sides take the opportunity to have a wee stroke of the ball. Everyone just warming up, finding their feet.
8.01pm BST
And we're off! Switzerland get the ball rolling. A rare old atmosphere, but we should be taking that as read by now. Mehmedi attempts a shot from 25 yards down the left, but the ball's blocked by Varane before it passes the 24 Yards To Go signpost.
7.58pm BST
The teams are out! France in white shirts instead of their beautiful blue, for some reason. The Swiss in radiant red. Time for the anthems. The Swiss national jingle is a beaut.
7.16pm BST
Switzerland reward their matchwinner against Ecuador, Haris Seferovic, with a starting place: Benaglio, Lichtsteiner, Djourou, von Bergen, Rodriguez, Behrami, Inler, Shaqiri, Xhaka, Mehmedi, Seferovic.
Subs: Sommer, Ziegler, Senderos, Lang, Barnetta, Stocker, Dzemaili, Fernandes, Gavranovic, Drmic, Schar, Burki.
France go with two up front, Paul Pogba dropping to the bench: Lloris, Debuchy, Varane, Sakho, Evra, Sissoko, Cabaye, Matuidi, Valbuena, Giroud, Benzema.
Subs: Ruffier, Cabella, Griezmann, Mavuba, Mangala, Sagna, Digne, Pogba, Remy, Koscielny, Schneiderlin, Landreau.
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland)
7.00pm BST
It surely won't be out of spite or schadenfreude, but supporters of L'Equipe Tricolore will be fairly content with the news that England have been knocked out in the first round. That means there's a little something of 1958 in the air. That was the last time England found themselves packed off on the first boat home, and coincidentally it was a very good year for the French. Just Fontaine scored a hat-trick in their opening game at the finals in Sweden against Paraguay, as France won 7-3, and didn't stop. Two more against Yugoslavia, another against Scotland, two against Northern Ireland, another against Brazil, and finally four against deposed champions West Germany in the third-place final. Thirteen goals in a finals, a record never to be beaten. Albert Batteux's team also starring Raymond Kopa!!! could well have reached the final had Vava of Brazil not disabled captain Bob Jonquet in the semi with an appalling act of thuggery. Ah, l'esprit de 1958 dans l'air! Parfait!
The Swiss may prefer to broaden this out to a more general 1950s vibe. A little extrapolation, and we're back to 1954, when Switzerland hosted the tournament, and got through a group containing both England and Italy, thrashing the latter 4-1 to make it to the quarters. It's the furthest they've ever got in a World Cup. Those of us now conditioned to the Swiss boring fans to impotent tears during the knockout stages of major international tournaments might be surprised at how that 1954 quarter-final panned out. The match ended 7-5 (!!!) to Austria, the highest-scoring game in World Cup history. But the goals tally only tells the half of it.
Continue reading...World Cup 2014: day nine as it happened!
Share your pictures, videos and stories via GuardianWitnessComment: England got everything right apart from the football
4.50pm BST
And with that, our rolling report comes to a controlled halt for another day. Time for the real action to begin! It's the fascinating Group D match between Italy and Costa Rica. If you're an England fan, you'll be cheering on Italy for the win that keeps Roy Hodgson's side alive. If you're not an England fan, you'll be too busy smoking a large cigar right now. Paul Doyle has all the news. Adeus!
4.47pm BST
More
mindless prattle
uplifting rhetoric from everyone's pal, Sepp Blatter!
I am very happy man, very happy. The quality of the football has been the best there has ever been in the group stage, all the teams are attacking and there have been lots of goals. Look at my face - you can see I am very happy.
4.42pm BST
Some welcome news for Greece. Or is it? Their striker Kostas Mitroglou, who hurt his side last night in the goalless draw against Japan, will be fit in time for their final game against Ivory Coast. All good and well, but for my money his replacement Theofanis Gekas was much more impressive, and performing in a side down to ten men, too. "Mitroglou looks set to play in the last group game," announced some shill or other for the Greek FA. "He will undergo some more checks but looks to be OK." I'd start Gekas against Ivory Coast, me, and only throw on Mitroglou if it's getting late and Greece - who need a win to have any hope of progressing - need a goal or two. To be honest, even if he's named as sub, a fit-again Mitroglou will be odds-on to get some sort of run-out at some point, because the chances of Greece peppering the Ivory Coast goal are not great: they've only scored twice in their eight World Cup finals games, and both of those came against ten men. I'm looking forward to this winner-takes-all clash already, and now, having said all that, fully expect Mitroglou to score a stylish hat-trick.
4.25pm BST
Star performer in last night's Uruguay-England match? Well, OK, Luis Suarez. But special mention should be reserved for Uruguayan defender Alvaro Pereira, who was briefly knocked spark out after Raheem Sterling's knee clattered into his temple. Upon being administered a squeeze of the magic sponge, he jumped to his feet and refused to be substituted according to the team doctor's wishes, jumping up and down in the style of a character in a silent movie whose large sheet of glass has just been broken by an out-of-control Ford Model T. The player's energetic display of anger was enough for him to get his way, and minutes later he was cleaning Glen Johnson out with the tackle of the tournament. But the world players union FifPro aren't happy that he was allowed to continue, and have demanded a Fifa investigation. Here's a snippet of their statement:
Football is awash with incidents in which players suffer potentially concussive blows to the head and stay on the pitch. In Pereira's case, he demanded to play on, overruling advice from Uruguay's team physician for him to be immediately substituted. FifPro understands that in certain moments, faced by the pressures of such an important international stage, many players would react in this way. There are times, however, when the players also require greater protection against the prospect of making any rash decisions.
4.12pm BST
This is magnificent. You've been sending in pictures of assorted World Cup tat accumulated through the ages. From stamps commemorating England's 1966 World Cup win by predicting Nigel de Jong's tackle on Xabi Alonso 44 years before it happened ...
3.52pm BST
Also yakking his neck, popular Fifa bigwig Sepp Blatter!!! Here he is, with a different take to Scholes on last night's big game.
I think England were unlucky. England looked like a good team.
3.48pm BST
Paul Scholes, who had taken a monastic vow of silence between 1992 and 2013, is on the talk again! You can't shut him up these days, and a good thing too, as the man speaks much sense regarding England's hapless campaign. He's been telling it the way he sees it, shooting from the hip, and giving it to you straight, the way it is, on his Paddy Power blog. The short end is, he'd have played Ross Barkley instead of Jordan Henderson, brought Ashley Cole to the party, and given both Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka a hoof up the hole for that second goal last night, dishing out advice with each thrust of his boot.
Going into the tournament we all feared the back four were never not going to concede goals - and now it has been proven ... There is no way you can blame Steven Gerrard for not getting more on the ball from a header in the middle of the park for Luis Suarez's second goal. The defenders didn't sense the danger ... We have got two full-backs now in Leighton Baines and Glen Johnson who are great going forward - but we've got great forwards already. We need solid defenders and we're not blessed with great talent in this area. Not bringing Ashley Cole was probably a mistake - not so much for his attacking qualities - but more his defensive ones.
3.32pm BST
In lieu of breaking World Cup news, allow me to level with you. I'm still reeling from covering, in my role as the Guardian's big gig correspondent, the Japan-Greece game last night. It wasn't the best. But I have to confess a love for the Greek national football team that's been growing ever since their Euro 2004 win, which annoyed hipsters and purists worldwide and therefore has much to commend it. They strangled the life out of that game last night after going down to ten men, and battled for the point that kept them in the tournament. They could even have snatched it at the end, Georgios Samaras and Theofanis Gekas both going close. Samaras also attempted a Pele v Czechoslovakia '70 at the start of the second half. Actually, the more I think about it, the better that game was. A real grower, like an album that needs a few listens. The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman, perhaps, which just sounds like noise when you first put it on. But everything begins to slot into place around his plastic horn after four or five spins. Japan, incidentally, were a timid disgrace, but at least their fans tidied up the stadium again, so well done to them for that.
3.13pm BST
Hello. Having put in a shift, Paul Doyle has done one, so let's see this rolling report through until the bitter end. Now, then, what's happening? Not much, I'll be bound, but let me have a look around. Give me a minute, go on.
2.53pm BST
France and Switzerland duel this evening and the showdown is being billed in France as the first real test of the team's possible weakness - the centre of defence, where Mamadou Sakho and Raphael Varane form the youngest, least-experienced central defensive duo in the tournament. Surely it's still a darn sight better than Switzerland's.
2.21pm BST
Roy Hodgson speaks several languages and is often depicted as a master communicator. However, he belied that reputation at Liverpool, where many of his utterances suggested he had not quite grasp the magnitude of his mission, and he has made some odd gaffes during his time at the helm of England, such as annoying Rio Ferdinand by entrusting his thoughts on the centreback to random travelers on the Tube: and now Luis Suarez has revealed that the England's managers words in the build-up to last night's game helped motivate him. No, it wasn't a joke about space monkeys, it was the careless suggestion that Suarez is not world-class. "In England they talked about the injury and the coach had words that annoyed [me], Suárez was quoted as saying on the Uruguayan website Tenfield. Read more here.
2.06pm BST
According to reports in Italy, the ankle niggle from which Andrea Barzagli has been suffering since the England game is not serious enough to rule the centreback out of Operation Rescue England this afternoon.
1.51pm BST
The Brazilian media have been full of sympathy for brave England this morning. See?
Brazilian sports daily Lance! pulling out all the stops after #ENG's defeat to #URU yesterday #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/paRKXO8qpf
1.42pm BST
We need Rihanna on a pundit sofa pronto. The sometimes-clad songstress was tweeting regularly during last night's big match and got to the meat of the matter with customary directness. Sample:
Man they know better than to give Suarez that much room bruh!
1.06pm BST
The latest episode is available now.
1.04pm BST
Luis Suarez alluded to another layer to the story of Uruguay's remarkable victory last night when he ran to celebrate his goals with Walter Ferreira, the physio who helped him to recover in time to torment England. What was not widely known was the Ferreira himself has been fighting cancer in recent months and was not even sure he would have the strength to travel to the World Cup. Suarez did much of his rehabilitation at Ferreira's house because the 63-year-old was unable to get to his clinic. "The truth is that I am grateful," Ferreira said in an interview on Uruguayan radio. "I am grateful that the coaching staff had the confidence to send Luis to work with me without any project. I could not go to the resort and he went to work in my house and I appreciate that so much.
12.23pm BST
Julie De La Cruz was rummaging around e-bay for amusing tat this morning and found
12.21pm BST
Unlikely scenarios that could help rescue England: I: Fifa officials realise that there have not yet been any goals direct from freekicks in this otherwise goal-tastic tournament and decide that this is disrespectful to the heritage of the hosts and must be addressed immediately: so the referee in today's first match is ordered to keep awarding freekicks to Italy until Andrea Pirlo nets one.
12.03pm BST
The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) has just made a very sad announcement on its website: Ibrahim Touré, the younger brother of Kolo and Yaya, died yesterday in Manchester at the age of 28. No further details have been disclosed. "In such a sad situation, the players from the Ivory Coast national team, and the entire delegation here in Brazil, show their support to the Touré brothers and their whole family. The president of the Ivorian Football Federation and the executive committee ask Ivorians for their prayers."
11.52am BST
Cameroon's contribution to the World Cup so far has been a couple of moment of low farce, including when Benoit Assou-Ekotto aimed a headbutt at team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo towards the end of the Indomitable Lions' mauling by Croatia. L'Equipe today casts further light on that incident, explaining that Assou-Ekotto's ire was raised by the wideman's failure to pass him the ball ... and he had not calmed down by the time team returned to the dressing room, with insults being exchange and a bottle hurled before Vincent Aboubakar stepped in to separate the pair. The brouhaha might have continued if officials had not arrived to announce that Assou-Ekotto had been selected for the post-match random drug test.
11.42am BST
Morning. Or should that be mourning? That Luis Suarez, eh? If only England had been given some kind of clue to his qualities, then Roy Hodgson could have come up with a plan to combat him. Now we're left depending on the Queen: will she or won't she serve her country and promise Mario Balotelli the bonus he seeks?
11.35am BST
I'm afraid I must now hand over the liveblog baton to Paul Doyle. You can reach him at paul.doyle@theguardian.com. Bye!
11.25am BST
Can you recognise the hand-drawn Panini stickers? Probably, but you might as well make sure here.
11.15am BST
Champions League, World Cup and European Championship-winning clumsy tactic-clown Vicente del Bosque has been backed by the Spanish FA despite his side's World Cup calamities.
"From top to bottom in the Federation we are all behind Del Bosque," Jorge Perez, Spain's director of football, told radio station Cope. "If we have the best coach around, why would we change? He wont be affected by the criticism. His family might convince him to leave, but we aren't going to find anyone better. Del Bosque has not resigned. If he does, we will try to convince him to stay."
11.12am BST
With the benefit of a few hours' thinking time and perhaps a tiny amount of sleep, Daniel Taylor has written an excellent piece on England's defeat by Uruguay:
Ultimately, it always comes back to the same thing. When Roy Hodgson and his players arrived back in Rio de Janeiro it was to the best training facilities in the city. They have a 72-strong entourage from the Football Association including a psychiatrist, nutritionists, a turf specialist, a cook and at least one guy whose job seems to be to spray the players with water when they start overheating. They have industrial fans and heat chambers and individually tailored recovery drinks after inviting scientists from Loughborough University to study their sweat patterns.
Hodgson has talked to Sir Dave Brailsford and Lord Coe about how to co-ordinate a successful team and everyone is agreed: nothing more could have been done to create the right environment. No excuses, Wayne Rooney had said. Steven Gerrard described it as the most meticulously planned operation he had ever known. Hodgson could scarcely have sounded more confident. Anyone who thinks we cant win the World Cup has to be barking up the wrong tree, he said, two days before landing in Brazil.
11.05am BST
The next few hours' worth of team activity in Brazil:
10.52am BST
Media Monkey has news of Diego Maradona's new TV show in Venezuela: "De Zurda (From the Left) mixes politics with football commentary and analysis and according to Maradona was created because 'thats the way El Commandante Chávez would have wanted it.'"
10.48am BST
The FA have published Steven Gerrard's post-match reaction:
They were weak at the back and they were there for the taking. Once we got the equaliser we tried to use the initiative to get the second. At 1-1, as a team, we went for the second goal and maybe we should have been more experienced and gone for the draw.
Who knows what will happen at the moment. Italy are a fantastic team and capable of winning both games but we're clutching at straws. The position we're in is the position we didn't want to be in coming into the tournament, relying on other people's results. It's very difficult at the moment.
10.47am BST
"Can I just assure you that those of us here in Australia have been shaking our heads in disbelief that Ben Williams scored a World Cup gig," writes Matthew Thompson. Keep an eye out for that Honduras-Ecuador game to get out of control. It's just as well that Honduras are such a gentle, caring side known for making life easy for match officials, then.
10.41am BST
Is there anything that Japanese people won't wear on their heads? I mean, every country is followed to World Cups by a legion of colourful supporters with face paint addictions and an enormous collection of gaudy costumes, but Japan's seem to take it a step further. Some of these people seem to be wearing a sheep with a Wimbledon seat cushion on top, attached to their bonce by chin-strap. Why would anyone do that?
10.28am BST
10.13am BST
And here's the very same Owen Gibson's report from the mixed zone in Sao Paulo. A taster, on me:
One by one they stepped blinking into the brightly lit corridor of uncertainty, clasping their wash bags like comfort blankets.
Daniel Sturridge, so effervescent and full of life in his pre-match interviews and now displaying an expression somewhere between fury and heartbreak.
10.10am BST
Here are Owen Gibson's thoughts on last night's England game. I don't know why the video was recorded next to a random Brazilian A-road:
9.56am BST
"Based on last night's result, England are clearly unlikely to make the Last 16," I'm told. I kind of knew this already, I think. "Bloomberg Sports, the world's leaders in sports analytics technology, have run the numbers and can say that England have a 12.9% chance of progressing. Full numbers below"
ENG: 12.9%
URU: 47.3%
ITA: 86.4%
CRC: 53.5%
9.40am BST
Today's match referees:
Italy v Costa Rica: Chile's Enrique Osses, who you may remember from appearance in Ivory Coast v Japan, will control this one.
9.27am BST
Media's Roy Greenslade has cast an eye over the reaction to last night's defeat in the British press. Click the link for the full version, but here's a sample:
Among those who ran front page stories, the headlines and copy told a story that sounded as if writers and sub-editors had worked while sobbing.
Over a picture of Wayne Rooney wiping his eyes, the Metro headline said "On their Wayne home." The Daily Telegraph, harking back to that famous Kenneth Wolstenholme commentary in 1966, said: "Fans think it's all over as Uruguay triumph".
9.23am BST
Hello everybody! So I'll get my personal ball rolling with some Luis Suárez quotes from last night. Is it just me or has he totally invented some motivation here? I mean, whatever works for him and it clearly does work for him but nobody I know has laughed about his attitude over the last few years. They've been amazed by his attitude (to football) or horrified by his attitude (to Evra and Ivanovic, and what those incidents suggested about him). But laughter? Not that I recall.
Before the game too many people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years. This is a very good time for me. I want to see what they think now.
9.16am BST
Oh, Simon's here, so I'm going to hand over to him now. Ta ra.
9.13am BST
David Wall is backing Sepp:
So England lose close games to teams just ahead of them in the FIFA rankings yet people say Sepp doesn't know anything about football. Five-more-years! Five-more-years!"
9.09am BST
I'll tell you what could be tasty? Honduras v Ecuador tonight, that's what. There'll be more biff than Froch-Groves II. In November's 'friendly' there were just the two red cards in a 2-2 draw. Carlo Costly (remember him Birmingham fans?) scored both for the Hondurans and, surprise, surprise, Wilson Palacios was sent off. He can't be sent off tonight, though, because he was sent off against France.
9.00am BST
David Hytner is keeping an eye on Italy, who have been getting a lot of praise for the way they hogged the ball against a still-optimistic-and-pumped-up England in the opening game.
It was the manner of the performance that earned Italy the plaudits. They are used to being lauded as streetwise tournament result-getters but it has been different over recent days, when they have heard a lot of praise from around the world for the attractiveness of their game. They completed an incredible 93.2 per cent of their passes. It feels good to be praised.
8.52am BST
Here are the highlights from Japan 0-0 Greece
8.48am BST
With all this focus on England's failings, it's worth pointing out the huge improvement in Uruguay's performance from their shambolic showing against Costa Rica. I watched that match and their midfield was a porous mess, struggling to gain control against one of the most unfancied teams in the tournament. Last night, the three of Rios, Rodrigu and Gonzal never once allowed England to gain control. Rios, particularly, improved 10-fold, chasing the ball like a dog after its favourite toy. While Suárez ultimately proved the difference, had the rest of the Uruguay squad not stepped up as they did, there would have been no platform upon which a victory could be built. It's no surprise that Lugano's absence from the defence resulted in a much improved resilience at the back too.
8.40am BST
Ray Wilkins has spoken, everyone. What could England have done better? "I'm not an aggressive person, but England should have tested Suárez's knee," says Ray.
8.34am BST
Podcast action! You've still got half an hour to go before work starts, unless you are me. So listen to World Cup Football Daily on yesterday's action.
8.30am BST
A good day to bury bad news. Hull City have dropped the club's name off their new badge. Oh Assam Allam, you sneak. Good try. But it's going in this blog whether you like it or not.
This is a more stripped back and modern approach which still celebrates the club's heritage and history by focusing on our famous and well established Tiger's head. We have also introduced '1904' to the crest to document the year our club was formed. Our first ever step into European competition is a new era for us all and we are all excited about the season ahead," said Allam's son, Ehab.
8.22am BST
Octopuses, elephants and parrots predicting scorelines is old hat.
Halfway through the match our young daughter cried out from her cot. She'd spectacularly filled her nappy. Better prediction than the psychic octopus.
Thanks Rowan Hooper. And I bet you that nappy isn't going to hang around to live another day is it?
8.17am BST
Morning. Gregg here for a bit. Hey England fans, there's still hope. Oh, what's that? So, apparently no side has ever lost their first two group games and qualified. Italy will need to win their next two games. Mario Balotelli will have to be in Queen-kissing form. Cesare Prandelli says Balotelli can "take us to the moon" when he's on form. So that's it then. Italy will have to go to the moon for England to qualify. That's how desperate it is.
7.59am BST
Phil Jagielka isn't expecting to be playing in the last 16:
There's a small chance but we are not exactly expecting something like that. We have to go out there and give a good performance against Costa Rica.
It didn't go our way with Steven [Gerrard] flicking the ball on, and you just hope that he mis-hits one, but he hit the target and they win the game. We've not seen it again, but as a defender that's the last thing you want to see. A punt down the pitch, a flick-on and a goal. As you can tell by my voice, everyone is absolutely devastated
7.46am BST
Another email. "As a neutral who follows British press regularly, I find the delusion surrounding the World Cup in England only comparable to that surrounding the EU," writes Yazan Badran. "The truth is, England are a mediocre team at best. Not a single player is truly world class. None of them have experience playing in other leagues, or dealing with other footballing cultures, and it painfully shows in how one-dimensional the team is."
Well, Fraser Forster plays in Scotland, but that may actually reinforce your point.
7.40am BST
In thw comments section, there has been quite a bit of interest (well, one person) in the fish-eating spiders invading the world. Well, here's some breaking news on that. And apparently the link to Barney's blog didn't work. It should now. But here it is just in case you missed it.
7.28am BST
An email! From David Wall!
"Was there something wrong with ITV (at least in my region) last night again, did they show different matches in different areas? The game I watched was pretty much the one in which England played the way everyone wanted before-hand, attacked, looked pretty dangerous, should have been facing 10 men from mid-way in the first half, and lost to a couple of brilliant finishes after a school-boy error and a weak tackle in the middle of the pitch (reminiscent of Beckham against Brazil in 2002). But everyone else seemed to have watched, and were complaining about a game where England's performance was being compared badly to the one away in Ukraine in the qualifiers in which they'd taken football back to the dark ages"
7.19am BST
Tony Cascarino has had a pop at the England defence.
I don't want to keep banging on about John Terry, but Chelsea's captain would never have been caught like that; he would never have been suckered into that static position where you get caught by the man behind the ball and then, suddenly, the ball is in the net.
7.06am BST
Luis Suarez has been rather chipper after his two goals last night. Let's see what he has to say for himself:
Before the game too many people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years. This is a very good time for me. I want to see what they think now.
"I told him [Steven Gerrard] to keep going. He's the best player I've played with on the pitch. This is an unlucky moment for him. I don't like it when he hurts like this. I said 'Keep going, forget this game, you're one of the best'.
6.31am BST
Are you an England fan? Want to hear more England fans complaining about England? In English? No? Don't watch this then. Not an England fan? Fancy chuckling away at grumbling England fans crying into their red and white fuzzy wigs? Watch this then:
6.19am BST
Mario Balotelli: not satisfied with dismantling the mystique around shaky, outdated insitutions like England's defence, he's now started on the monarchy. If there's a more skilled attention-grabber in football than Mario, I am yet too meet him/her. Technically, I've yet to meet Mario too but these are small details:
If we beat Costa Rica i want a kiss,obviously on the cheek, from the UK Queen..
6.04am BST
Morning. Want to read the best piece out there on England's failings at the World Cup? Look no further than Barney Ronay's article on Steven Gerrard. The Premier League doesn't come out well from the whole thing.
And want to read the best piece out there on why Australia have a very talented coach at the helm? Look no further than Aaron Timms's excellent piece on Ange Postecoglou.
6.00am BST
Tom will be here soon. In the meantime, catch up with the latest edition of our World Cup Daily podcast.
June 19, 2014
World Cup Football Daily: Luis Suárez double breaks English hearts
Japan 0-0 Greece: as it happened | Scott Murray
A rare dull game, as the ten men of Greece hold on for a battling draw against a toothless Japan
12.54am BST
And that's that. A fairly dreadful game, really. Greece, the buffoonish actions of their captain Karsouranis apart, come out of that quite well in the end. A resourceful and staunch defensive display from their ten men, and they so nearly snatched it a couple of times late on through Samaras and Gakas. Japan, however, will regret a lame and toothless display. That result's no good for them; they'll need to beat free-scoring Colombia in their final game. But for Greece there is more hope. Their game against Ivory Coast could be interesting. But they need to win, so will need to add to their all-time finals total of two goals in eight matches. Over to you, Georgios ...
12.51am BST
90 min: There will only be four minutes of injury time. Japan aren't particularly happy about it, given Greece's, erm, professional approach to this game. Karnezis, with all that faffing around earlier, has jiggered the space-time continuum, hasn't he.
12.49am BST
89 min: Greece commit too many men upfield for once, over-excited by that Gekas chance. Japan flood upfield. Okazaki is making good down the left, so Torosidis upends him with the penalty area in sight and cover nearby. Yellow card. Endo, to the left of the D, curls a majestic free kick towards the bottom right. It's curling in, but the excellent Karnezis is behind it all the way.
12.47am BST
88 min: Gekas drops a shoulder down the left and hammers low and hard towards the bottom left. The effort's blocked. So close again! Greece have been mainly about defence since going down to ten men, but whenever they've attacked, they've looked very dangerous.
12.46am BST
87 min: Nagatomo in more space down the left. He tries to clip a cross into the centre, but it's intercepted with the box loaded by Manolas. The Japanese full backs have probably been their best players.
12.44am BST
85 min: Nagatomo, near the byline down the left, cuts back and looks for a spectacular one into the top-right corner. A decent effort, but it was probably going wide. We'll never know, however, because Yoshida gets in the road of his own player's shot and it balloons out for a goal kick.
12.42am BST
83 min: Uchida has been a constant threat down the right. He steams into plenty of space down the wing again, and fizzes in a low ball. But there's nobody in blue gambling on a run, and Greece hack clear.
12.41am BST
81 min: Kone bustles away down the right. And wins Greece a corner. It's his last act of the evening, as the board goes up with his number on it. He trots off, very slowly, to be replaced by Salpingidis. From the corner, Karagounis whips the ball towards Samaras, who guides a header wide left from 12 yards. A bit more on that, and Greece would have taken the lead! You'd expect Samaras to do better there. So nearly a classic Greek smash-and-grab raid, one their magnificent (and hilariously hipster-baiting) Euro 2004 side would have been proud of.
12.37am BST
78 min: Okubo drops a shoulder, 25 yards out, and sends a swerving, dipping shot towards the bottom left. It's a great effort, and one that's met by a strong fist from Karnezis, who parries brilliantly.
12.36am BST
76 min: Karnezis uses up what seems like three hours to take a goal kick. He can't have taken three hours, unless he's done something to the space-time continuum. You'd put nothing past this Greek side, who appear to be very good indeed at letting the clock run down. Jose Mourinho will be green with envy if he's watching.
12.34am BST
74 min: Japan are pushing Greece back now. Okazaki falls over while trying to meet a right-wing cross on the edge of the box. He's been shoved in the back by Manolas, both hands! That could easily have been a penalty kick. You've seen them given.
12.31am BST
71 min: Nagatomo gets busy down the left. Reaching the byline, he whips a ball into the six-yard box. Papastathopoulos gets the ball stuck under his feet. Okazaki is sniffing around. Finally the ball breaks from their tangle to the right, where Uchida is bombing in. He batters a shot wide from close range. So much for hoping for three goals to keep this World Cup's average up: one will do. One! Anyone? Anyone?
12.28am BST
68 min: Japan should be leading. Yamaguchi sprays a delightful crossfield pass from left to right, releasing Uchida into the area. The rampaging full back's run has drawn the keeper off his line. Uchida rolls a ball across the face of the unguarded goal, but it's a bit pacy, and Okubo, coming in at speed just to the left of the left-hand post, can't turn the ball in. Instead, he welts it into the heart of the stand behind the goal. Oh for goodness sake. That's in keeping with the rest of this match, which has been a cornucopia of witlessness.
12.25am BST
67 min: Free kick to Japan down the inside-right channel. Endo and Honda take an age to decide what they're going to do. After the best part of a minute, Honda scuffs a toe-poke into the shins of the first man to break free from the wall. That is spectacularly useless. His goal against the Ivory Coast seems a long, long time ago right now.
12.24am BST
65 min: Greece are the bosses of Japan right now. Another cheap free kick earned down the left. Karagounis batters it into the area. Kawashima wanders into a melee and just about punches it clear. This is dismal, but Greece aren't caring. They're scrapping to stay in this World Cup, and breaking up Japan's rhythm very nicely at the moment. Japan are not using their extra man very well.
12.21am BST
62 min: Samaras earns a cheap free kick by falling over down the left wing. The free kick is headed clear by Yoshida, though the ball's quickly shuttled down the right by Torosidis, who whips in a cross that's claimed securely by Kawashima. "The pictures of the two managers at the top of this report look like bad Photoshop copies of George Bush and Dick Cheney," suggests Jonah Kyle. First we have up-to-the-minute references to Michael Owen at half time, now it's Bush and Cheney look-a-likes. Topical stuff, the sort of cutting-edge stuff you'll have come to expect from us here at Guardian Unlimited Football.
12.19am BST
58 min: Corner for Greece, the result of a fairly agricultural hoof down the left. That results in a corner on the other side. And then another, from which Gekas plants a stunning header towards the bottom left from 12 yards out! It's in all the way, but Kawashima is down brilliantly to Gordon Banks the ball (well, OK, not quite) away from danger. That's a brilliant effort, and a save of equal merit! Splashes of class at last, though of course we're still goalless.
12.16am BST
57 min: Hopefully a little bit of quality trotting on here. It's Kagawa, who had a shocker against Ivory Coast, giving the ball away repeatedly and with reckless abandon. But he surely can't put in another performance like that. He's short on confidence, but here's the perfect opportunity to get his groove back.
12.14am BST
55 min: Endo blooters the resulting free kick straight into the startled coupon of Maniatis. There's no point sugar-coating it, this game is awful.
12.13am BST
54 min: Japan are enjoying the lion's share of the ball. Samaras is booked for cutting Okubo off at the knees, the Japanese striker dancing around 25 yards out, just to the left of goal.
12.09am BST
51 min: A free kick for Japan, 40 yards out down the left. Endo whips a ball to the far post, where Honda does his best to get a head to the ball. But his run's mistimed, and the delivery's too high anyway.
12.09am BST
48 min: A slow start to this half. The exception being the Pele homage, obviously.
12.07am BST
And we're off again! A change for Japan, who switch their captain for Endo. And we nearly have a sensational start to the half! Japan are prannying around in a huddle. Then their keeper trots back to the area. So Greece simply kick off quickly, and Samaras attempts to score into the unguarded goal from the halfway line! His effort drifts off to the right, the nearest he'll ever get to being compared to Pele. It was almost a carbon copy of the great man's effort against Czechoslovakia in 1970! It would have counted too. Japan were so dozy there.
12.00am BST
Half-time entertainment: A musical reminder to viewers in Britain of Japan's World Cup.
11.50pm BST
Well. There's another 45 minutes, lost to the ether.
11.48pm BST
45 min +2: Maniatis plays a gorgeous long diagonal ball from 40 yards out along the inside-left channel to Torosidis, breaking into the area in acres down the right. He's clear in the box, and should be allowed to shoot, but the flag goes up for offside. An appalling decision. Greece are within their rights to be furious, but appear to have given up and do little more than shrug.
11.45pm BST
45 min: Karagounis, taking a set piece just to the left of the centre circle, launches long. Torosidis, level with the right-hand post, isn't far from planting a proper header goalwards, but can only get light eyebrows on the ball.
11.43pm BST
43 min: Goals, please! Come along, we've all stayed/got up.
11.43pm BST
41 min: Greece respond to losing their captain/idiot by sacrificing Fetfetsidis in order to bolster the centre of the midfield with Karagounis.
11.42pm BST
40 min: Torosidis tries to free Samaras into the area with a cute pass down the inside-right channel. It doesn't come off. But the ball rolls back to him and, deciding that he may as well roll the dice under the circumstances, unleashes a screamer towards the bottom right. Kawashima parries magnificently. Nothing comes from the resulting corner, but what a shot! The nearest we've come to an opening goal, and it's the ten men of Greece. The beauty of football for you, right there, in a nutshell. Actually, this game probably isn't the best time to be prattling on about the beauty of football, but you get the general point.
11.39pm BST
38 min: And you think England's captain had a nightmare tonight. Katsouranis, already on a yellow, picks up his second booking of the night after sliding in on Hasebe, who was going absolutely nowhere. Greece have been struggling, and they're really up against it now.
11.37pm BST
37 min: Another skitter for Nagatomo down the left, another ball towards Okubo in the middle, another move that comes to nothing. But Japan are the dominant side now. If they had a Luis Suarez, they'd be a couple of goals up now.
11.36pm BST
35 min: Your medical correspondent, Dr Murray, is a right quack. Winging it on 31 mins, he told you that there was "no serious injury" to Mitroglou. Well, he's just been replaced by Gekas, holding his side and grimacing. Just as Mitroglou has been hooked, so Dr Murray should be struck off.
11.34pm BST
33 min: A bit of space for Nagatomo down the left. His cross into the box is decent, but Okubo heads clumsily over the bar from ten yards. A decent chance, and a fairly inept finish, albeit not a sitter.
11.32pm BST
31 min: Mitroglou and Hasebe come together in the middle of the park, entirely innocently, and both roll around for a bit. No serious injury. A lull, which is not exactly what this game needs.
11.31pm BST
29 min: Another free kick for Japan, and this time it's a decent one. Just to the right of the D, Honda whips a fantastic effort over the wall and towards the top right. Karnezis gets behind it to parry very impressively, though the loose ball nearly breaks to Osako, sniffing around. Japan can't make anything of it, and Greece eventually mop up.
11.29pm BST
27 min: Katsouranis is booked for a cynical trip on Osako, who was looking to break upfield at speed. Japan were reacting to a decent initial move by the Greeks. The excellent Maniatis danced in from the right and, for a second, looked to have time to shoot from the edge of the area. But Konno put paid to that idea with a stunning sliding tackle. At which point Japan looked to break, whereupon ... here, this entry has a similar cyclical structure to Finnegans Wake. And admittedly is probably not much easier to comprehend.
11.26pm BST
24 min: Free kick for Japan wide left, 25 yards from goal. Okubo launches it over Yoshida's head. The ball flies out of play on the right. Not a whole lot of entertainment being put on here, but the crowd are still giving it plenty.
11.23pm BST
21 min: And now it's Greece doing their level best to open the scoring. Holebas makes good ground down the left, drifts inside, and curls a low cross into the box with the hope of finding Mitroglou, six yards out. Kawashima comes out to claim.
11.22pm BST
20 min: Here, this was nearly it, too! Osako glides in from the left and looks to curl one into the top right from 20 yards. He's only a ball's width away from a spectacular strike, as I'm not sure the keeper was fingertipping that away if it was on target.
11.21pm BST
19 min: Okazaki cuts in from the right and attempts to send a low curler into the bottom left. Karnezis is behind it all the way, and gathers. "I think you should know that the favourite for 1st goalscorer in this match is No Goalscorer, followed by Kostas Mitroglou and Giorgios Samaras," reports Mike Wood. "I'm not confident either." Oh I'm full of confidence. This World Cup has hardly put a foot wrong yet. It's just a matter of time before the dam breaks. I'm
shamelessly tempting fate
publishing your email while I can.
11.19pm BST
18 min: Honda, 40 yards out down the left channel, shapes to shoot but checks and clips a clever diagonal ball towards Osako, hovering just inside the box down the inside right. The striker's offside, but that's better from the Japanese, who have already made 132 passes to Greece's 26, albeit few of them executed in the final third.
11.16pm BST
16 min: Okubo twists and turns in the middle of the park, 35 yards out, and attempts a shot. Papastathopoulos is right up in his grille and blocks the effort, snuffing it out pretty much at source. Japan aren't offering much up front at the moment.
11.15pm BST
13 min: A mime from the Japanese captain Hasebe, who performs Man Waiting For Bus Considers Lying Down And Having Little Sleep While Waiting For Bus. Maniatis nips in and makes to bugger off with the ball, but he's tugged back by Hasebe, suddenly awake again and no longer interested in the contemporary arts. That's a cynical tug, for the Greek midfielder was heading towards the Japan area. A yellow card all day long. The free kick, launched into the area from 40 yards, comes to nothing.
11.12pm BST
10 min: Another blooter from Greece, but in the more creative style, as Kone takes a few strides down the inside-right channel and attempts to score from 40 yards. I'm not sure he was giving Kawashima the credit a keeper at a World Cup deserves, but you get nothing if you don't ask.
11.11pm BST
9 min: A downfield blooter launched by Greece, this time. A strange business down the right, with Maniatis in acres, but opting not to chase after the ball, presumably under the impression he was miles offside. But I'm not totally sure he was. The assistant ref didn't raise their flag at any point. A chance to romp free down the right. Think the Luis Suarez goal earlier tonight, only with added indecision (on the part of Suarez, to be clear, not Phil Jagielka or Gary Cahill).
11.08pm BST
7 min: Honda isn't very far from slipping Osako clear into the area with a lovely little dink on the edge of the D. Greece clear. Yoshida returns the ball in the blunt-instrument style, Okazaki nearly latching onto the long hoof. But the ball bounds out of play to the left of the goal, Greece just about shepherding it out.
11.06pm BST
5 min: Holebas wins a corner for Greece down the right. The resulting set piece is all huff and puff, the ball not breaking to a white shirt, and eventually getting hacked clear by a blue one.
11.05pm BST
4 min: Mitroglou is sent into a little space down the inside-left channel by Samaras. The striker bustles and gets a shot away, looking to Suarez the Japanese keeper Kawashima at his near post. But the effort's blocked and mopped up by the keeper.
11.04pm BST
2 min: Okazaki goes on a skedaddle down the right, cutting inside. His low cross is deflected out to Yamaguchi, on the edge of the area. He sends one low fizzer goalwards. Blocked. Then he sends another in roughly the same direction. That's dealt with too. Greece looking a bit ropey at the back, there, though, and remember they've got a terrible habit of shipping goals early doors.
11.01pm BST
1 min: Japan knock it around the middle for a while without going anywhere. Sterile domination, they call it, or tiki-taka. Switch to Plan B, folks! Plan B!
11.00pm BST
And we're off! After a long wait for the clock to tick round to 7pm local time, Japan get the ball rolling, with the place jumping. A magnificent atmosphere at the Estadio das Dunas in Natal, as there has been pretty much everywhere, really. What a lovely World Cup this is! (And for those reading in the Guardian's homeland of England, don't let Mr Roy and Luis Suarez ruin it for you.) The goals-per-game average at this World Cup is currently a round, plump and delicious three. Don't let us down, lads!
10.54pm BST
The teams are out! Japan will be playing in their first choice blue, while Greece are in one of their our-home-shirts-are-white-rather-than-blue phases, and are in their current favourite kit as well. The players line up to listen to their national anthems.
10.20pm BST
Japan drop the out-of sorts Shinji Kagawa to the bench: Kawashima; Uchida, Yoshida, Nagatomo, Konno; Hasebe, Yamaguchi, Honda, Okazaki; Okubo, Osako.
Subs: Sakai, Morishige, Endo, Kiyotake, Kagawa, Kakitani, Nishikawa, Aoyama, Inoha, Saito, Sakai, Gonda.
Greece introduce Fulham striker Konstantinos Mitroglou and Genoa winger Ioannis Fetfatzidis to their starting line-up: Karnezis; Torosidis, Papasthathopoulos, Manolas, Holebas; Fetfetsidis, Katsouranis, Maniatis, Kone, Samaras, Mitroglou.
Subs: Tzavellas, Moras, Tziolis, Karagounis, Vyntra, Glykos, Kapino, Salpingidis, Christodoulopoulos, Gekas, Samaris, Tachtsidis.
9.30pm BST
the Soccer Nippon Daihy, for those not conversant took 44 years to make it to a World Cup. Japan first had a go at qualification in 1954, eventually reaching their first finals in 1998. But they wasted no time in making a few impressions on the tournament. Their record of three defeats at France '98 distorts their actual performance: only against Jamaica did they truly disappoint, putting up a decent show in one-goal defeats against highly fancied Argentina and eventual semi-finalists Croatia. Four years later, as joint hosts, they made it to the second round, topping a group containing Belgium and Russia, before going out rather lamely to semi-bound Turkey. In 2006, they were a minute away from leading Brazil at half time during a group match, but Ronaldo burst that particular bubble and they eventually went down 4-1. Last time round they made it out of the groups again, doing for Denmark and Cameroon, before being beaten by Paraguay on penalties after a 0-0 draw, which let's face it is a fate that's befallen just about everyone at some point or other. And while their start to their 2014 campaign wasn't ideal a 2-1 loss to a Didier Drogba inspired Ivory Coast what a goal by Keisuke Honda!
Continue reading...June 15, 2014
US Open 2014: final round live! | Scott Murray
2.01pm ET
Yes, shots are out there. A fast start for Keegan Bradley, with birdie at 3. How he'll regret that 76 yesterday after a pair of 69s. Ian Poulter birdies the opening hole, while Steve Stricker picks up a shot at 2. They're all at +3. This is likely to start cooking quite soon.
Speaking of which, I'm off to quickly refuel with a big bowl of the only foodstuff to be marketed by a singing golf glove, and which may or may not taste similar to the sandy dunes of Pinehurst No2. In the meantime, Rob Bleaney is - like a nourishing pint of plain to a grateful Flann O'Brien - your only man.
1.54pm ET
Daniel Berger hit the opening shot of this tournament. His last shot at the 2014 US Open was a three-footer for birdie after a fine approach, and that means he's signing his name to a 66. Will that prove the best of day? A few players further up the leaderboard (Berger ends at +7) will hope to follow the 21-year-old American's lead. Magnificent round.
1.51pm ET
Hole in one news! Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, with a 7-iron on the 172-yard par-three 9th. He whips it into the front left of the green. It takes an immediate right turn, and rolls serenely down towards the hole. One of those that's obviously going to drop, long before it actually does. What a shot! Up on the tee, Johnson drops his iron over his head, turns and performs a rather sweet double fist pump, a circular motion as smooth as that swing. Then a fist bump with his playing partner Kenny Perry. And then he runs down the gallery, high-fiving a never-ending row of hands. There have been 43 previous aces in US Open history, the last 12 months ago at Merion. That one, you may recall, was made by Shawn Stefani, a gift from the golfing gods to make up for the 85 he'd shot the day before. Johnson's appears to have been payback for the double-bogey he took at 7, which isn't quite as spectacular a turnaround, but it's good enough!
1.43pm ET
Oosthuizen sadly bogeyed the last, by the way. A shame, because that would otherwise have been a four-under 68. Doesn't make much difference to the South African, of course, who is well down the field, finishing at +9. But it shows there's a score out there. Or there might be: of course the course is going to (literally) get harder as the sun keeps cooking it. But still, the point's been made.
1.41pm ET
Matthew Fitzpatrick finishes his amateur career by tapping in for par at 18, and signing for a stunning final-day 69. He's +11 overall, and of course the low amateur. His playing partner Louis Oosthuizen smiles broadly and offers him warm congratulations. The knowledgeable North Carolina crowd give the up-and-coming Sheffield star a huge reception. And here's something for his CV. Fitzpatrick, of course, won the silver medal at the Open Championship last year. The only other player to hold both Open and US Open low amateur titles at the same time? Bobby Jones, in 1930. Not bad going, huh?
1.37pm ET
A weekend to forget for Toru Taniguchi. The Japanese veteran shot a painful 88 yesterday, fully 18 strokes over par. He ended the third day at +23 for the tournament, and he's certain to finish this tournament in 67th and last place, having carded another six bogeys on his way to a 76 today. Chances are his woeful overall total of +29 will ensure he's an embarrassing ten shots worse than the penultimate straggler: Boo Weekely, also back in the clubhouse, finished a mere 19 over par for the tournament. But Clayton Rask is doing his level best to spare Taniguchi's blushes with a late run towards the bottom. He's currently +17, having just double-bogeyed 10 and triple-bogeyed 12. Dearie me. Now, dispatches detailing the travails of struggling professionals can always be read as snide, of course, but nothing's further from the truth. These gentlemen have more talent in their little fingers than a two-bob hack will ever have in their entire body. But weekend hackers need a little boost sometimes, and it's good to know that the best can struggle like the rest of us.
1.17pm ET
On the subject of Johnson, here's the always entertaining Butch Harmon on Sky, giving one of the most trenchant quotes of the sporting decade so far: "Dustin isn't - I don't know how to say this nicely - he isn't the most intelligent person in the world." Harmon then goes on to suggest that this works to his advantage, as he'll be going out today and taking everything on, and to hell with it. Which explains a lot about Dustin's many major meltdowns, but what an entertaining player. It'll be heartbreaking if he doesn't land one at some point.
1.10pm ET
And now some historical fuel for those hoping to hunt down Kaymer. Sky are showing re-runs of Dustin Johnson's incredible antics over the opening holes of the final round of the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach. He was three in front going into that round, and four behind after five holes. His amateur turn at the side of the 2nd green was one of the most jaw-dropping meltdowns ever seen on a sporting stage; two weekend hacks to advance his ball less than a yard as he attempted to find the putting surface. And then a drive at 4 dispatched into the briny. Only Dustin can implode as spectacularly as that, of course. Then again, sport has myriad ways of telling very strange stories. Imagine if he finally won the major he's been threatening to land for years, as the beneficiary of one of the game's great collapses! No, it'd be too ridiculous. But just imagine it.
1.01pm ET
Louis Oosthuizen is having the sort of round that'll give the chasing pack some serious succour. He's -4 for his round today through 14 holes, with birdies at 1, 5, 10 and 13. Daniel Berger is now -3 after his third birdie of the day at 12. And a bit further up the leaderboard, Billy Horschel has added a birdie at 3 to the one he carded on the opening hole. Seems there could be something out there. Plus the fact, consider: a birdie for Rickie Fowler and a bogey for Martin Kaymer at the 1st, and suddenly the lead would only be three strokes. Anything could happen this afternoon. It'll be time to give ourselves over to the affliction of golf fever, that feeling that only comes at the business end of a major tournament, very soon.
12.49pm ET
G-Mac, as we heard earlier, wedged his Optimistic Titfer onto his noggin at a jaunty angle this morning. But the Sky summariser and former Ryder Cup player Howard Clark has just been asked about the pin positions, and his reply began with an involuntary smirk, shake of the head and small splutter of laughter. "I thought they might have given the players a little bit of respite today, but I cannot find one pin where the slopes of the green gather the ball towards the pin. They all repel the ball. They throw the ball away. If you get a couple of yards on the wrong side, they just throw the ball off the side of the green." Clark then went on to describe birdies as "a thing of the past". Ian Poulter, mind you, thinks the pin locations are "a touch friendlier than they were yesterday", though of course that statement is extremely relative, and anyway he has to think like that, or what's the point in going out there? Whoever's proved right, we could be in for a lot of entertainment.
12.41pm ET
A second birdie for G-Mac at 3, wedging to six feet, but he's dropped a shot at 4 and remains at +6. A few early starters in the red for their rounds, though: the aforementioned Fitzpatrick (-2 now today after a smooth putt for birdie at 13!), Berger (-2 through 11) and Oosthuizen (-3 through 12), as well as Billy Horschel and Jim Furyk, who have birdied 1 and 3 respectively, and are +5 for the tournament. "He may not have the game or charisma, but in golfing terms, if Martin Kaymer wins today he can only be compared to Seve in achievements by a European prior to turning 30," opines Seamus Devlin. "Outstanding." Yep. In fairness, you'd have to have some act if you were planning to compete with the much-missed Señor Ballesteros in terms of charisma. But Kaymer's achievements are already pretty stunning: a PGA Championship, time spent as world number one, the decisive putt at a Ryder Cup, and an unofficial "fifth major" in the Players. Perhaps Rory McIlroy's two majors, near miss at the Masters, and overall celebrity pizazz - things seem to have constantly happened to him ever since he broke onto the scene - runs Kaymer close? Rory's got four years on Kaymer, too.
And then of course there's the stellar career of Sergio Gar
[You are fired. Ed.]
12.29pm ET
The last round of the brilliant young Matthew Fitzpatrick's amateur career, and already he's made sure he'll have something to remember it by. Of course he's already guaranteed to end the tournament as low amateur, but he's just raked in a 40-footer on 11 for birdie, a lovely embellishment to the day. You'll not see a more spectacular putt in this final round, and he's a very, very respectable +11. His performance on Thursday and Friday, holding his own alongside Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose, was simply magnificent. Good luck to the young man as he embarks on a professional life travelling all round the globe, playing the greatest game in the world, sampling different cultures, meeting new people, the sun beating down on his sponsored cap, the money rolling in, the constant sense of achievement and wonder as he makes use of a rare god-given talent ... it's hard sitting here writing these reports sometimes, I can tell you that for free. Luckily there's not too much time to stop and think.
12.14pm ET
One man who's been almost totally forgotten this week has been Michael Campbell. Memories of Pinehurst's first-ever US Open winner, the late Payne Stewart, are always going to take precedence. But Campbell won Pinehurst's second US Open in 2005. That's a victory worth remembering today, because third-round leader Retief Goosen went into the final day with a three-shot advantage over second place, dropped six strokes on the front nine, and ended up carding an 81. The lads in second place at the 54-hole mark were no less hapless: Olin Browne shot 80, while Jason Gore ended up with an 84. That's worth repeating: the leading trio going into the final round of the US Open returned cards of 81, 80 and 84. Campbell, four behind at the start of play, shot a best-of-day 69 and deservedly took the title. So nothing's done and dusted.
11.58am ET
G-Mac's taking his own advice, leading from the front, showing the way forward, etc., and so on, and so forth. He's birdied the opening hole, though of course he's too far back to play any serious part in today's narrative. He's +6 for the tournament now. He's not the only man under par for his round at this early stage today. Daniel Berger, who hit the first shot of this tournament, made the first birdie, and therefore was the first leader of the 2014 US Open, has picked up a shot at 5 to move to +10, while the 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen is -2 for his round after birdies at 1 and 5, and sits alongside Berger at +10. Kenny Perry, hole-out hero from the scrubland at 14 yesterday, has also birdied the opening hole. But that's only four men out of the 25 to go out during the last two and a half hours. Whether G-Mac's internet-distributed prediction of a birdie-fest (sort of) will come to pass, therefore, is anybody's guess. Which of course is journalistic shorthand for "I have no idea, please disregard this waffle".
11.49am ET
First things first, then. Is it possible for someone in the field to post a score that will worry Martin Kaymer, he of the five-stroke lead? According to Graeme McDowell, the pins are "not quite as brutal as yesterday" and that it "looks like a score may be achievable today". Spreading these opinions as he is on the popular social
bullshitt
networking service Twitter, G-Mac finishes his dispatch with a hashtag flourish: #golow. Sound advice. Go low, people! Go low! Whether the weather will help the chasing pack in their quest is another matter: early overcast skies are expected to give way to sun, a big yellow menace likely to bake those VW Beetle / Tortoise / Turtle / Upturned Soup Bowl greens and make aggressive birdie-chasing golf even more difficult. But time will tell, which of course is journalistic shorthand for "I have no idea, please disregard this waffle".
11.00am ET
It wouldn't be right to heap extra pressure on Martin Kaymer, but then we'd be remiss in our duties not to mention it: only one player has ever led a US Open field by five shots at the 54-hole mark, then failed to lift the prize. Step - or rather stumble - forward, Mike Brady. In 1919, at Brae Burn Country Club in his home state of Massachusetts, Brady went into the final round five clear of the 1914 champion Walter Hagen. He then shot a dismal 80. Hagen, playing behind Brady in the days when tee times were rather more random, set about eating into the lead. Eventually he stood on the 18th tee, having taken 71 strokes. A birdie up the par-four last would snatch the trophy.
Brady had been waiting nervously in the clubhouse for word. He got word. Hagen was a born showman - to illustrate, here he is taunting the secretary at Royal Cinque Ports by parking a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce in front of the clubhouse and swilling champagne in the back seat - and upon creaming an iron to eight feet to set up his birdie chance on the last, sent for Brady to come see. Brady shuffled out, with the gait of the condemned. But Hagen lipped out. Par. The scores were tied, and Brady would get a second chance in an 18-hole play-off.
Continue reading...Scott Murray's Blog
- Scott Murray's profile
- 3 followers
