Whose World? What Cup? (Day 13)

Tonight is going to be entertaining. In Group C, England, the USA, and Algeria all need to win to have a chance at progression; Slovenia need a draw but face a desperate England side who have looked to be worth about 5% of their nominal market value. The amusing thing is that the sides that win will certainly get through.

This is similar to Group D, where Ghana need a draw against Germany but the Germans need to win to book their place. Meanwhile Serbia meet Australia, with the Serbs needing a draw but Australia needing a win to have any chance. Nobody is safe, but Ghana is safest; they would have to collapse against Germany and Australia would have to win big against Serbia.

I am also amused by the presence of two former Yugoslav territories and three former British colonies. Then again, the odds of a former British colony turning up in any given random sampling of the world's nations are very high.

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At half-time, I am glad to see that England have shown more life than in their previous two matches combined. John Terry is still a graceless fellow with no sense of movement, though. But England lead 1-0.

Meanwhile, the cousins across the Atlantic should be leading 3-0 against Slovenia. I have no idea why they aren't.

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At full-time, the cousins have somehow conspired to both qualify for the next round. 1-0 in both matches. Tsk.

Flagged Down

I was mulling over the fact that many people can claim more than one citizenship, more than one allegiance, more than one flag. It makes for something that is more akin to a network of associations than patriotism.

I have lived in Atlantis for most of my 43 years. Yet I was born a citizen of Greater Albion, and to this day, officials of the European Union recognize my right of birth and think of me as a citizen of that Union. I can travel Europe without let or hindrance, so strong is the concept of jus soli in that part of the world. And yet I am Atlantean by jus sanguinis, the right of blood relationships.

But I wasn't really thinking of me. I was thinking of Algeria. If they had their two famous sons, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, on the team, they would surely have played them. Heck, if they had Zinedine Zidane, I am sure they would have been more prominent in the World Cups of previous years. But Benzema and Nasri are both French-flagged, and Domenech didn't even bother to bring them to South Africa this year. How sad!

Sometimes, various institutions flag you. If you are X, you cannot be Y. If you are Atlantean, come your 22nd birthday, you shall have no other allegiances lest you be expelled. If you are a Christian, you cannot be a Confucian. Stuff like that.

How to explain the rich legacy of networks that can make a person so many things all at once? But a house divided against itself cannot stand, so a man should make his allegiance clear and stick to them, I suppose. A gryphon cannot morph into a wyvern; a man cannot serve certain combinations of two masters.

Whose World? What Cup? (Day 08)

So the Germans can be beaten by the Slavs from Serbia, and the USA can only play football when taunted by old rivals. Same old, same old. It is shaping up to be a magnificent World Cup. Ideally, every favourite should be beaten at least once to heighten the tension and make the whole world sing (in rage, disappointment, joy or incredulity, it shouldn't matter much).

I'm going to sleep and watch England getting beaten by Algeria later on. Or at least, in a perfect world, this would be the case. Nadir Bel-Hadj, anyone?

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I woke up to a world in which the United States of America are better-looking than England even at football. Or at least, for now. From 2-0 down, they were almost 3-2 up, except for some confounding referrals, so to speak. Huh.

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I am in a world where Algeria look better than England. Maybe my dream will come true and anyone except England will qualify from this group. I'm normally an England supporter; after all, that's where I was born. But so far, this team has not made me feel good about English football.