What's better than the World Cup? the World Cup in Lego!!!

With the dust now finally settling on the England USA game, just one more final thing to add. The Guardian have recreated the highlights in glorious Lego!!!! I feel it is my duty to share as this thing is superb! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iEkp_t7CnA

I love the attention to detail, like how all the numbers are correct and the movement of all the players is recreated perfectly and i WANT that little stadium soooo much, yet the shirts are glued on semi-amateurishly. But just got to love the smiley faces, the unchanging smiley faces. To see Robert Green commit that error again in Lego (no wonder he didn't save the giant ball with his tiny hands), then bury his head in the floor like he did this past Saturday is impressive, but to see him lift up his head and reveal that manic smile just gives it an extra edge.

Also to see in Lego, Germany 4-0 Australia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MNgh-QbSQ0

the Zidane headbutt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJzEIIaM3U

the 74 final (Germany vs Netherlands) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C3xpbXHoTE

some match between England and France (the 'ref' makes it for me) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b5q5cwYbzc&feature=related

Day 3 and what's worse, those horns or the ball?

I am really enjoying the World Cup as are many other but i do have two major complaints, the noise of the vuvuzuela and the flight of the Adidas Jublani ball.

For the uninitiated, the vuvuzuelas are the plastic horns the fans are blowing at the stadium that sound like a swarm of flies (and what do flies swarm round?). Some fans have complained and many people watching on tv have complained and now even the players are unhappy. France captain Patrice Evra is definatly not a fan,

"We can't sleep at night because of the vuvuzuelas. People start playing them from 6a.m. We can't hear on another out on the pitch"

World Cup organising committee boss Danny Jordaan has admitted that banning the vuvuzuela is a possibility but can they stop and search every fan for plastic horns (good job Jordan isn't attending matches)?

On the other hand, the match ball. The Adidas Jublani ball that's been manufactured specially for this tournament. Multiple goalkeepers have complained about the odd flight of the ball and we've already seen more than one goalkeeping disaster which may or may not of been the Jublani's fault.....but FIFA has contractual obligations with Adidas so as money is involved, we won't see a change of the ball, let's hope the tournament isn't remembered for the ball and plastic horns.

Another thing to address is the amount of sending off's, three games today and three more sending's off, it seems either players haven't paid attention to warning before the tournament or referees are interpreting the rules individually.

Today's first game saw England's fellow group members Algeria face Slovenia in a match Slovenia impressed in getting a 1-0 from captain and former West Brom player Robert Koren (the goal was another long range effort where the ball bounced just before the 'keeper and they seemed to miss it entirely, while this may make England's Robert Green feel better, you have to seriously wonder about this ball, if i was to mean a team lost the final, is that fair/), it's no coincidence that after Algerian Abdelkader Chezzal was sent off, Slovenia scored, the favourites Algeria just never seemed interesting whereas the Slovenians played with all the passion expected at the World Cup, expect them to cause a few problems against the England midfield.

The big game of the day for me was Ghana vs Serbia and it followed the pattern of most games so far, slow build up play and one team screws up and has a player sent off, the other team wins, Lukovic may be unlucky to of been sent off for his two yellow cards but Ghana worked the harder and Serbia will find it hard to get out the group now after this defeat, they lack flair and a creative spark and Ghana could be THE African nation to watch.

The main event saw Germany (ironic they seemed so strong on the right wing) hammer poor Australia, if this was a boxing match, the referee would of stopped it well before the final whistle and 4-0 scoreline, the Aussies sadly just didn't seem on the same level as the much depleted German team, having Tim Cahill sent off means in my opinion they are highly unlucky to get through the group with him missing the next game against Ghana, people may get carried away with the German performance but the Australians were poor, i expected more from them.

England fail to get the Rob of the Green

Police have announced that reports of a large popping sound over the whole of England is nothing to be concerned about - it's just the sound of millions of England fan's bubbles bursting.....

The most anticipated game for England in four long, LONG years, one marked by optimism and hope and all those other nasty words that lead down the inevitable road to tears.


So it began, Steven Gerrard meeting expectations before Robert Green made a calamitous mistake (unless your American obviously), this is one spill they won't mind coming from us. The Robert Green jokes will fly around text messages for the next few days so no real reason to add to that (okay, just one, Steven Gerrard says the whole team are behind Rob Green, in retrospect, that's a good place to stand)



Let's look at the positives.....the referee had a good game. Though seriously, it wasn't that bad of a performance and England should of won, though they created a couple of chances, England were a far superior side for skill and possession, patient build up play that didn't work this time as the Americans did their homework and pushed Rooney wide, leaving Heskey in the centre, Lampard should of been in that space....but where was he? don't blame Green, if blame is to be pointed it's at the player that once again in the big games for England, dissappeared! It's hard to fault the other players, Heskey worked tirelessly and if he had his shooting boots (last seen in Leicester in 2000) it would of been so different. Gerrard led by example, winning the ball, playing the ball and making space, it's his hard work that led to the goal. On the wing Lennon was overawed by the occasion and the fullbacks stopped his runs, he had his moments though Milner was shameful tonight, he'll be lucky to play again in this tournament and he knows it, Wright-Phillips was pretty much the same as Lennon, tried but was closed down. In defence, Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson were restricted in getting forward, it's no coincidence that when USA broke Glen Johnson was out of position, decent games by John Terry and Ledley King were needed, there was no panic in the England penalty box.



The point is this, bar Green's mistake, he only had one real save to make and he did it well. USA worked hard in this game, personally i felt the pace of Jermain Defoe would of been more effective in the final 20 minutes than whatever Peter Crouch was meant to offer, the USA back line was pushing further forward (allowing Heskey to go for the world record in offsides, currently held by Italy's Fillipo Inzaghi in any international game he played), Defoe would of frightened them, Crouch only humoured them (this country has professional wrestling, Peter Crouch is just an anorexic wrestler to them). The Americans forced Rooney wide and didn't allow him time or space to play and they simply didn't allow England to control the flanks, yet England still should of won and that's a good sign. The USA played the game of their lives, they worked so hard for this point and England HAVE to take confidence from that, a win would of been good, a defeat unforgivable but a draw brings us back down to earth, if England are to win, it won't be at a stroll, if lessons are learnt now, it's better than in the knockout stages. In Fabio we must trust.

and at least Al Qaeda didn't make an appearance

After Heinze's goal, Nigeria were always playing ketchup.....

So, day two and two games down, England vs USA to go.

First the South Korea vs Greece game, not a spectacle of football but was good to see the ever efficient Koreans get underway, but it has to be wondered if the Greeks had even prepared, they looked shattered (like their plates at a wedding) in the final 20 minutes and look to be going out without a whimper. How the Koreans will fare against the Argentinians and Nigerians in the next two games will be very interesting.

Finally, El Diego returned to the world Cup stage 16 years after leaving in disgrace as a player. Sporting a fine beard (how much does this man want to turn into Che Guevara?), his Argentinians coped well against a Nigeria side clearly lacking creativity, on another day it could of been different but Messi is a fine player but while Maradona's men dominated, they failed to convince ( I was lucky enough to watch this with a Nigerian friend, from not expecting a thing from the game to believing in the last 5 minutes they were destined to score shows the drama of the tournament), the Greeks shouldn't pose a threat but the South Koreans will be harder to break down in their next game.

Anyway, quick blog to bring things up to date before the Al Qaeda dream of USA vs England

Day 1 - Great goal, first sending off and France underperforming

After years, months and weeks of patiently waiting, today was the day that World Cup 2010 began in the colourful country of South Africa.

With the dubious game of South Africa vs Mexico to start followed what looked by a main course of Uruguay vs France, it promised to be a good opening day and ended with a Roger Milla 2010 goal celebration award and Thierry Henry at the centre of a handball controversy (football can be so ironic when it wants to be)

On the down side, France vs Uruguay as one of the most dire games to ever grace the World Cup stage.....and the South Africans have invented a musical 'instrument' that rivals the bagpipes on the annoyingness scale.

The opening game featuring the hosts, really looked up against it the first half and if Mexico had a natural finisher, they would be a side to be feared, yet it was South Africa who made the break through, Tshabalala (that is a man's actual name, not a Teletubbies) scoring a blinding goal (and if anyone can explain that celebration, please let me knowhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVWUHW3Mk5Y)to set the tournament on it's way and though Mexico had more than enough moments to score, it was old faithful Rafa Marquez, the centre back, who tapped in to make it 1-1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVOBOEVSBU8. South Africa having the opportunity to win it in the last minute, hitting the outside of the post but the crowds (and in fact my own) reaction to what could of been a glorious start for the home side reminds just how special this tournament truly is.

France (was their all white kit made from leftover flags from the war?), for all their talented players, simply aren't a team, arguing amongst themselves and their manager, they simply seem a side making up numbers before going home when it'll be all change when Laurent Blanc takes the reins as head coach (why this was announced before the tournament i don't know, only serves to dishearten the team). Uruguay looked sprightly and made a decent effort and troubled the French and it will be interesting to see them in the two further games (i have a great money making scheme, buy loads of blank dvd's and sell them as highlights of this game).

Each team has one point, on Wednesday South Africa face Uruguay and the following day France go head to head with Mexico, if a team wins in these games they will be strongly fancied to go through (come on Mexico!!!)

But there is plenty to be optimistic about, the stadiums and the pitches looked absolutely superb, the crowds certainly up for it and Argentina and England (John Terry's form away from home has been excellent this year) get their campaigns underway tomorrow

A beginners guide to the World Cuo

This is a series of questions about the big event, slightly tongue-in-cheek, but hopefully informative too.

When is the World Cup?

Starts this Friday, from June 11th until July 11th

Where is the World Cup being held?

South Africa, it's the first World Cup to be hosted by an African country

Is South Africa the Nelson Mandela country?

Yes, it is

Will the World Cup be on TV?

Of course, in the UK it's live on BBC and ITV in glorious HD, in the US, it's on ESPN

How many teams are their in the World Cup?

There will be 32 teams in total, separated into 8 groups of 4 to start with

How many games will be played per day?

Three, to begin with for each teams first two games, then two a day after that

Who's the favourite to win the World Cup?

Brazil and Spain are the teams with the shortest odds

Can i bet on it?

Yes, from top goalscorer to who will referee the final

How does this World Cup work then?

The 32 teams are divided into 8 groups of four, each group plays a round robin with three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for being beat. The top two teams from each group progress to the next round where it's single elimination

Wait!....single elimination? Isn't football full of draws?

Not in the knockout rounds my friend, from the second round of the World Cup onwards, the teams play 90 minutes, if the score is level, they play 30 minutes of 'extra time', if the scores are still level after that, penalty kicks are taken to decide the winner. England have the worst record for for losing in penalty shootouts

Will David Beckham be playing in the World Cup?

No, he's injured

How about Pele?

No, he's retired

How about the headbutt guy from last time?

Zinedine Zidane? no, he retired too, his last game was that 2006 World Cup final

So....no Beckham, no Pele, no headbutt guy, which players are worth watching at the World Cup then?

Leo Messi of Argentina is the current holder of world footballer of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal always excites, Wayne Rooney of England plays like a kid after drinking a gallon of Sunny Delight, Kaka, Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Xavi Hernandez, Peter Crouch.....okay, take your pick but not Peter Crouch, with some games in 3D, you may think a daddy long legs is in front of the screen

Who should i support at the World Cup?

Preferably your home country, if they haven't qualified, take your pick of the others

Which World Cup games should i watch?

Everything from the Second Round onwards has the potential for heart-stopping drama. In the group stage, some of the games to watch are South Africa vs Mexico (June 11th), the colonial revenge matches: USA vs England (June 12th), Portugal vs Brazil (June 25th) and anything involving Argentina because Maradona is their coach and Messi is their star player

Are there any Colombian singers involved in all of this?

What an odd question, but yes, as it happens Shakira is singing the official song of World Cup 2010

Why don't Americans like 'soccer'?

Why don't Americans like soccer?

With U.S.A. competing in their 5th finals in a row (England are only playing in their fourth after ironically failing to qualify for USA '94) and a team ranked 14th in the world by FIFA (not to mention the largest bonus scheme for the event for any nation in World Cup history, potentially worth $20.6m of $895,000 per player for winning the tournament (about £620,000), I'm taking a look at why a country with such a large base to pick players (population approximately 309m), evidently a large money figure to improve players and training complexes, this is a country that could be a world leader in the world's most popular sport, yet they choose not to have an interest.

Despite decades of strenuous efforts to promote soccer to American youth and sports fans and despite the phenomenal success of the American women's soccer team in international competition, 'soccer' remains the neglected stepchild of the American sports scene. The fact the country don't progress past the group stages hardly raises an eyebrow within the nation, compare this to the black cloud that descended over the country when the American men's basketball team failed to win the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

So why don't Americans like 'soccer'? there appear to be two basic explanations, the first is 'marketplace' as sports in this country are filled with baseball, basketball, American football and to a lesser degree, ice hockey, leaving no room for popularity to grow. Andrei Markovits, the Boston Globe's soccer correspondent wrote;-

'America filled its own sports space with three games thus 'crowding out' soccer's chances of becoming part of America's sports culture'

I'm not convinced, marketplaces are inherently dynamic, if 'soccer' were a worthy object of American sports fans interests, it would enjoy greater popularity.....but it doesn't. Which brings me to the second common explanation for it's lack of popularity and the answer i get when asking most Americans why they aren't excited about the World Cup, " 'soccer' is boring". They like high scoring games (basketball scores are rarely under 100, American football has high scores) but in my opinion, a goal scored in football is rarer than a 'touchdown' and even rarer compared to a 'slam dunk', so what that elusive goal is scored, ear shattering howls of euphoria erupt from players, announcers and fans alike, as if their very souls were being released from the depths of hell, compared to a '2 pointer' in basketball which gets another round of applause.

Goals are indeed a rare commodity in 'soccer', so much so that 'soccer' is essentially, a zero sum game. The number of goals is meager, it never grows (a 4-0 thrashing isn't all that common), so games are fought over an intensity that is almost never found in American sports, this isn't boring, it's just deeply unsatisfying to Americans brought up on deskilled levels of competitive games where the final result isn't applauded as much as in 'soccer'.

The fact of the matter is, Americans don't subscribe to the 'zero sum' mentality, nor have the belief system nor the temperament for such an endless sport as 'soccer', they like their sports teams to score and to score plenty, they believe this gives value to their 'buck', why labour for the sake of labouring, it's perhaps a lack of sophistication or maybe a large enjoyment of exceptionalism, needing goals galore to gain any enjoyment, whatever it is, i feel it's a shame that such a patriotic nation won't be fully behind a team and able to take joy at competing with the world's best, their interior sports (baseball has the World Series, well......American teams take part as only really America plays baseball, same with American football, a few small pockets of people may play the sport but most nations would play rugby instead) meaning they only compete against themselves. Maybe this tournament will catch the public eye, it can only be for the benefit of the sport if it does.

Now, let's look at what some of the American celebrity's are saying about the tournament, High School Musical star Zac Effron said he can't wait for the States' game on Saturday....against Manchester United!

Actor Jason Segel (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Slackers) called the England team 'the UK' and got his dates wrong saying 'my best friend is British and left the room crying five years ago during the World Cup'

Jackie Chan said his favourites to win are 'Barcelona and Milan'

I approached wrestling personality Jeremy Borash to do an interview for the blog, the reply i got back on 31st May, 12 days before a ball is even kicked, was 'sorry for the delay, hope you enjoyed the World Cup!'

Other stars like Eva Mendes and Vanessa Hudgens had no idea the tournament was about to start but to give him credit, rapper Snoop Dog was more knowledgeable, saying 'I believe Brazil are going to win'