Whose World? What Cup? (Day 07a)

France appear to have self-destructed. When their offside trap blew up in their faces (if even they attempted such a thing, which I'm not sure they did), it was a simple 0-1 to Mexico. Then Abidal made an awkward challenge, and it was 0-2 from the penalty spot.

It's hard for people to remember that there was once an Empire of Mexico, and that California and Texas used to be part of it. But Mexico is an old and powerful nation, not just a source of pollution and illegal immigrants. Sometimes, a blinkered view of history makes us see things not as they are, but as we would like them to be.

So far, Spain and France in particular have shown that footballing powers are not immune to time, fate, history and the weight of glory. We will see more in the next few days.