Author Archives: adrian

Germany 1 – 1 Argentina (Germany win 4-2 on penalties) Plenty of people were looking forward to this being the match of the tournament, but it never really lived up to the hype. The quality of football was still pretty … Continue reading →

Just musing idly on the latest FIFA rankings, compiled in May. Here are the top 20 countries, along with their progress (where appropriate) in the World Cup… 1. Brazil — quarter finals 2. Czech Republic — group stage 3. Netherlands … Continue reading →

Brazil 3 – 0 Ghana Apparently, when the Brazilians went on to the pitch to warm up before the match, the Ghanaian players stopped their own warm-up session to gaze admiringly at the football legends on display. I don’t know … Continue reading →

Italy 1 – 0 Australia While yesterday ended in silent-era slapstick farce (or a Vietnam war movie, perhaps?) today’s play started with full-on soap opera tragedy. The match was no classic, and the Italians spent most of the first half … Continue reading →

England 1 – 0 Ecuador Well, once again it wasn’t pretty, but once again it was slightly less ugly than before. I’m not sure what to make of Ecuador. Powerful and creative against Poland and Costa Rica, they then looked … Continue reading →

It seems fitting that, in a World Cup where several big teams have produced decidedly mediocre performances, the refereeing has been similarly erratic. I’m reluctant to criticise the men in black, as the fast pace of modern football and the … Continue reading →

Ukraine 1 – 0 Tunisia Spain 1 – 0 Saudi Arabia I believe there was some football this afternoon. Having just returned from a sixteen mile walk over Kentmere Pike, I found myself more captivated by the dual charms of … Continue reading →

Czech Republic 0 – 2 Italy Ghana 2 – 1 USA Along with Group G, this was one of the most interesting in the run-up to the final matches. Any of these four teams had a chance of progressing, but … Continue reading →

Holland 0 – 0 Argentina Ivory Coast 3 – 2 Serbia & Montenegro With Group C’s final matches came further evidence to suggest that Ivory Coast could have been one of the surprise successes of the tournament, if only they … Continue reading →