Yes, I was disappointed when England went out on penalties yet again but at no point in the competition did England play as if they deserved to go further than the quarters.

Germany on the other hand thoroughly deserved to be in the final and were desperately unlucky to be knocked out by two superb Italian goals in the final minutes of extra time.

Germany played with energy, passion, positivity, belief and a great team spirit. Everything England lacked. I’m so sad they’re not in the final. My heart is with Germany today.

Technorati tags: germany, football, worldcup2006, soccer

What a shambles. Portugal next. Oh dear. I can't even say it was nice while it lasted since England's performances have been so painful to watch.

A nation yawns. If we can't beat Sweden then . . .

What I don't understand is why Theo Walcott wasn't brought on. He's in the squad as back up and thus there to be called on should the need arise. With Owen out the need has definitely arisen. He should have been given a run out so that when he is finally called upon it won't be his first time on the pitch.

Again, I still fancy us to get past Ecuador on Sunday but, as ever, I expect we will huff and puff our way into the quarter finals.

Technorati tags: worldcup2006, football, sport, england, soccer

Hello. Now that's what we've been waiting for. World Cup winners? I think so.

Technorati tags: worldcup2006, football, argentina, soccer

I don't think so. Certainly not on the evidence of their poor display against Trinidad & Tobago. OK, so we won but very unconvincingly and we were lucky not to have had to come back from a goal down thanks to John Terry's desperate clearance off the line. It doesn't bode well for the next round.

Technorati tags: worldcup2006, football, soccer, england

While I expect England to win their match against Trinidad & Tobago I also expect to feel disappointed in their performance. They say football is a game of two halves. The England squad too are a team of two halves. Usually a pretty good first half and then it all falls apart after half time. I just hope they score before the interval otherwise the pure hunger for an England scalp of Trinidad & Tobago might end up making us need a result against Sweden.

Technorati tags: worldcup2006, football, soccer, england

The one-nil scoreline against Poland doesn't do Germany justice. They had so many chances I lost count. They are the only team I've seen so far who look like they can take on anyone and I wouldn't fancy our chances if we (England) did. They seem to be running on youthful energy and the fuel of expectation from the home crowds. I predict they will go far and wouldn't be surprised if they won the whole thing particularly having seen Brazil looking less than impressive. Italy and Spain will be in there somewhere too.

Technorati tags: worldcup2006, football, soccer, germany

And so the next couple of weeks will be filled with unadulterated excitement for me. Can and will England win? No and no. But what's new? Aside for the tragi-comic endeavour of cheering England on to even more predictable levels of mediocrity, I'm really looking forward to watching all those sides who one never usually gets a chance to see in action. Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Holland, Portugal, Italy, Spain etc. With any luck England won't get out of the group stage and I can get on with enjoying the best part of the competition minus an over-hyped, expectation-laden England squad go out on penalties. Again.