Whose World? What Cup? (Day 17a)

After a humdinger of a match between Germany and England, in which I think justice was done for both 1966 and 2010, I have woken up from my inter-match nap to think about Argentina v Mexico.

I really can't decide who I want to win this. Which is a good thing, unlike my situation in the previous match. I think this time I will let the two teams do the talking with their feet. And I hope the refereeing and everything else is perfectly unbiased. Or equally biased, since humans are a biased lot.

Actually, I do have something to add. If Argentina win and it's Germany v Argentina in the next round, who would an England fan support if forced to do so? Tough one, that.

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At first, it seemed as if Mexico were better at both attack and defence. Then it all fell apart after Argentina scored a hotly disputed offside goal in the 26th minute and the Mexicans lost their heads and their concentration. Another goal was conceded shortly thereafter. I feel as if I'm writing an obituary, and it isn't even half-time.

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Well, now it is half-time. And some of the lads are having a go at each other outside the tunnel. Madness. This is upsetting. I'm not sure it's worth watching anymore. Sigh. I even see Diego 'Hand-of-God' Maradona trying to calm things down.

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Final score: 3-1 Argentina. Not totally deserved, but the result is right; the better team won. Much better show from Mexico than England though.

Whose World? What Cup? (Day 12)

Just yesterday I was mulling over Dale Johnson's article on how each team might yet qualify for the next round of the World Cup. What caught my eye was the suggestion that South Africa might yet qualify if the unlikely happened — say if they beat France 3-0 and either Uruguay or Mexico won in their match together.

Half an hour after these matches started, France is trailing 1-0 and have had a man (Gourcuff) sent off for violent elbow use. How interesting...

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37 minutes and a few more South African attempts later, Mphela has scored to make it 2-0 and they've also had an attempt denied for being offside. You can sense the electricity in Bloemfontein. It is almost as if every one of the lighting towers is a Tesla cannon.

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Uruguay (population about 3m) is leading Mexico 1-0 now. The plot thickens...

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...and then thins, as first South Africa concede a goal and then Mexico holds Uruguay to 1-0. A good outing though, from South Africa. The dream almost became reality. Mexico go through, probably to face Argentina. Uruguay will face the runners-up from Group B. We'll know more in a few hours' time.

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.