OK- substitute taken apart for "beaten". The point is valid. You couldn't beat Portugal. They were the weakest of the 4 teams in the semi-finals. The biggest problem you have is that you don't have world class forwards. Owen is a crock, Rooney can be knocked out of a game very easily by playing on his temper, and the rest are good, not great. You do have a world class defence when the extra midfielder is there, it's true. This makes you hard to beat , but makes it even less likely that you'll score. And unlike France last night, you can't defend a 1 goal lead. Lst night they shut down after they scored, and I really never felt that (Barthez horror apart) Portugal would score. Rovers never feel like that, Scotland certainly don't and neither do England.

Having just come back from both semi-finals, Eddie you're on planet cuckoo-land. England have been below-average to downright dreadful this tournament. Any one of the teams playing in the two matches would have taken England apart on current form, and the weakest of the 4, Portugal, actually did. The Italy/Germany match was a joy to watch. I was particularly taken by the number of times an Italian defender, with an opposing forward coming at him gave a little cushioned header into space for a midfielder to get. That's something I've never seen England do. We've all seen the manic head tennis that is prevalent in most British games. This waasn't that. It was controlled and directed. Thye really were a class apart. The funniest sight of the whole tournament, however, was the sight of THOUSANDS of English men ( bright red and ugly- spot them a mile off) wearing France scarves, t-shirst and hats and booing Ronaldo. ( the English accents, lary behaviour and mannerisms helped identify them too). Given what most English think about France, the hypocrisy was outstanding! Anyway, if there was any justice, the Italians would win for being very skilful. However I kind of hope France do it- for Zizou- one of the finest players ever. Oh and by the way, is there ANYONE who, if managing a playing against a team with Rooney in it, wouldn't have a game plan to get him sent off? If there is they're DUMB.

I bought all my tickets off the website. At face value. Off tomorrow to both semi-finals Yippee

Sir Alf Ramsey said that you play the best player that you have FOR EACH POSITION. So regardless of whether Lampard and Gerrard are "world class", they're both attacking midfielders who play in EXACTLY the same position. Therefore you decide which one's best and put them in. You don't make up formations to play them all. For god's sake we tried that at Rovers with our plethora of midfielders at one time, and that looked unbalanced too. Lennon is a right winger. Therefore, you put him, if he's the best one you've got- on the right wing. Putting him anywhere else is as sensible as putting him in goal. Pick a formation, and pick players to play the formation. Play them in as close a position as possible to the one they play for their club, and bob's you uncle. See, and I don't get paid £4m a year.

Thought that too about the goalkeeper!!! England going out doesn't bother me a jot- just mans I can happily watch the rest of the tournament secure in the knowledge that I won't have 40 years of bleating on about "when we were good" Also Repeat ad nauseam WHATEVER "FORMATION" ENGLAND TRY TO COME UP WITH TO USE THEM BOTH, GERRARD AND LAMPARD CANNOT PLAY TOGETHER. Anyone who still thinks they can knows bog all about football!!!! (Or has hibernated for the past 4 years)

Why? that's modus operandi for Lucas!

And he was very, very pretty!!!!

Again, to answer the question No

You beat me to it. Head and shoulders above what the little ugly thug will ever be. And he's younger.

We are delighted to inform you that within the Conditional ticket programme for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany you have been allocated 1 single tickets for the following match: Match #61: (Semi-final) W57 - W58, Dortmund, 04.07.2006 GET IN!!!! Both semis now!

The same Sweden that drew with, and should have beaten, England? The most hilarious comment I heard from an England pundit was "we're on our way, we're world class again". Why? Because you couldn't beat Sweden, a team who, Paraguay aside, haven't won inabout 10 outings? Get real. You have one fit striker and a twelvve year old whose mummy won't let him play 'cos the matches are on too late. You have two world-class midfielders who can't play together and that's about it. You have a captain who's about as much use as a chocolate teapot and a goalkeeper who has decided now is the time to forget how to keep goal. Definitely on your way!!!!

And as for the turnstile checks, the turnstile flashes up your sex and date of birth which one of the guys in the ground checks as you go through. I know because I took a look on the way in. There are a crowd of helpers outside the turnstile putting the tickets in and another inside checking what comes up.

Oh and Costa Rica, whom Ecuador just beat without raising a sweat are ranked 26 in the world compared with Trinidad and Tobago (who the "great" England managed to beat 2-0) at 47. Incidentally Paraguay are ranked 33. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a good story. Cafu? Enough said

You know someone's lost an argument when they bring in a totally irrelevant fact and try to make it seem even slightly important. It's immature which, given the writer, is apt.

Spain 4- Ukraine 0 (Ukraine actually have some good players- Shevchenko screams to mind) England 2- Trinidad and Tobago 0 (T&T have 5 players from the Scottish Leagues- not all of them from the Premiership). If you don't see that your assessment of the England team is hopelessly blinkered, I'm sorry for you. You won't win the world cup simply because you do not have a world class player for every position your coach intend to play. You may have 11 world class players, but they can't play together in a team. And Gary Neville is NOT and never will be, anything more than a journeyman.

Of course if you're in Germany, the BBC player doesn't work (well the sound does). So I'm watching in German and listening- with a 30 second delay- in English. Quite comical at times.

Holland as well

Then those strikers must be real kak. I lost count of how many times it was passed back to the goalie in the second half. If you couldn't hear the boos every time it happened, you're deaf!! Such a very bad game. At least I can hope they won't go much further, although looking at France and Switzerland................!!!

I've just returned from the game. Graham Poll was his usual self- all flamboyant gestures and poor decisions. Korea are officially my "hate" team now. Not only did they spend the entire time trying to get a Togo player (any Togo player would do) sent off, but they played the worst and most negative football of the world cup so far. At the start, the neutrals were quite evenly split, by the end, there wasn't a neutral in there- all of us were supporting Togo. That said, Togo were poor!

I think he's just coming back from injury. They didn't want to risk him.

Just had dinner at the Australian team hotel. Gus Hiddinck is very nice to talk to. And the food there is excellent. (the team were all having a card school or something similar after dinner I saw one very tall one that I couldn't identify- as it had short hair and the only outfield beanpole doesn't, my guess is one of the two reserve goalies and one very small and weedy one with a tattoo on his calf- who I think might be Luke Wilkshire) Actually have a ticket to Australia v Brazil. Go Aussie go!

A word of advice if you're going to the world cup. Firstly, if you're going to matches, do a little swotting before you go, and secondly, go having had more than 12.5 hours sleep out of the previous 72. Especially if you've promised to write about the game!!! I went to Mexico v Iran yesterday. I can't give a match post-view or anything like it- firstly having done no research I hadn't the faintest clue who anyone was (althought the name Fonseca seemed vaguely familiar), and secondly, having had no sleep, I kept doing that "staring into space" thing and suddenly realise I'd missed about 10 minutes of the game completely!! What I will say is that wandering around in a daze before the game, it seemed that everyone was wearing the same shirts (the Mexican away shirt is very similar to the Iranian home one from what I could see) and on entering the ground I thought only one team had brought any supporters. Being somewhat out of it, it took about 15 minutes for me to realise that some flags had horizontal stripes rather than vertical ones. It took me a little longer (the Iranian goal in fact) to realise that about half the people round me were actually Iranian. (I said I wasn't very observant that day!) It was all very confusing. As to the game itself, the standard of football surprised me. In the first half there was lovely one touch fast free-flowing football from both sides. There were great passages of play where each team put together lovely passing movements, ending with shots on goal- in fact the only way either side seemed to get the ball from the other was after shots on goal. Maybe that was from a lack of tackling, or maybe it was just skill, but it was one of the impressions I did retain. In the second half the beautiful play was restricted to the Mexicans who had stepped up a gear, or maybe I was just a little more alert after 3 diet cokes!!. One thing I did notice was the Mexican captain. For a start he had a pony tail and was very pretty, but for another, he seemed to be allowed to play pretty much wherever he wanted. At first, this was as a central defender (with the occasional foray to right back for variety). After a time, however he seemed to get bored of this and took to loitering with intent in the midfield. As, from what I could tell from the programme, the substitutions made were attacking ones, this didn't seem to be of the coach's doing!!! However, playing at there obviously wasn't satisfying enough either because lo and behold, there he was in the opposition box. His poor team-mates must have either 1) have been very confused or 2) been very versatile and used to him, because it didn't seem to reduce the quality of their defending and did improve the general link-up play! The atmosphere in the ground was great. People seemed to be getting on very well and there was a lot of good-natured chanting. Also a lot of the women who turned out, after I came to a bit, to be supporting Iran were not wearing the traditional headscarf. This surprised me a bit, but it was great to see them joining in every bit as much as the menfolk. Outside the ground was fun too- the mexicans were very taken by any female with blonde hair and I kept getting stopped and asked who I was supporting. They were very charming as well!!! I did, however feel sorry for the two daft England fans who turned up wearing their shirts. Given that Iran were one of the two teams, and the political situation being what it is, you might have thought discretion was the better part of valour. (I heard a lot of English spoken by non colour-wearing people) But oh no, not them!! They had to put up with things being hurled at them, and a rather large Iranian flag, held by 4 VERY large Iranians blocking their view. Fortunately they were of the wet and weedy English persuasion and after attempts to get the Iranians to move by polite request failed, they simply left. I dread to think what would have happened had any American fans turned up in colours!!! So- not a match review, more a few observations about a fun day. I then went back to my hotel and managed more sleep in one night than I had in the previous 3. (So as you can tell, I wasn't staying in Nuremberg city centre!!!) As to my original point, I've just thought- Australia v Brazil. They wear the same coloured shirts too- a sea of green and gold and more confusion. At least I might be able to identify a few players on each team this time though!!!

Nah- not worth it. However I heard the song just before last weekend, and haven't been able to stop singing it!

As my number 2 team in the WC finals (No 1 = Australia- Lucas Neill really IS very pretty!, No 3- Trinidad and Tobago who have a player called Jason Scotland) I'm hoping they look a bit better than in Japan. Still having fond memories of being at THAT game in Lisbon!!!

Glad no-one's predicting a pasting, as Poland have a very good goalkeeper (Boruc of Celtic). "Magic" Zurawski is also very good on his day.