Michael*

No apology necessary, it's all in good fun.

What can I say? We've finally thought of a way to stop getting knocked out on penalties.

Some interesting stuff regarding the Batmobile here.

Also, not sure if everyone's already heard about this, but it was news to me when I read it this morning. A number of sites are reporting that Gisele Bundchen is going to deliver the trophy for presentation after the final. http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-models/gisele-bundchen-to-present-world-cup-trophy

Alex Song's red card during Cameroon-Croatia gets the old 'hilarious gif' treatment.

What great fun Ecuador and Honduras was. Despite the alleged lack of quality in the game, the 90+ minutes felt like half an hour, and there was undoubtedly some skill on show amid the pace, application and gusto. One of my favourite games of the World Cup so far, the sheer intensity and will to win of both teams was gripping. With all the carry on surrounding England, I forgot to mention that I loved Ivory Coast-Colombia too, for much the same reasons. Another lively, end to end game. Colombia have looked a superb attacking side with Cuadrado’s direct running and Rodriguez’s finesse and creativity. Ivory Coast didn’t really give themselves much of a chance until it was too late, disappointingly sloppy in possession at times, especially in the lead up to the second goal. I have to say though, there was some truly awful officiating from Howard Webb & Co towards the end of the game. As if pulling Ivory Coast back for an 'injury' after Colombia had already played on wasn't bad enough, he somehow only came up with four minutes' worth of injury time after six substitutions and tons of stoppages. Then, to make matters worse, he didn't allow for the long stoppage within the added time. I honestly believe that some officials have a pre-planned figure of between one and four minutes in mind, and just stick to it whatever happens.

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What a performance by France. What a performance by Switzerland. Only one of those is a compliment. The scale of Switzerland's task in the final game will depend on the outcome of Honduras and Ecuador later tonight, France are through barring a defeat to Ecuador and a goal difference apocalypse. I'd like them more were it not for their numerous Newcastle connections, but the French look a formidable side. Their first eleven is solid with good options on the bench, pretty darn impressive for a team not designed to peak until the 2016 Euros.

Somewhat inevitably, we’ve been sent packing. Costa Rica are a testament to the power of team spirit, they produced a wonderful fighting performance to beat Italy and fully deserve to go through. The Italians were rotten, but of course will still have a chance to redeem themselves against Uruguay, in what should be a cracking final group game. As annoying as Uruguay can be (which is obviously not as annoying as England ), they were stronger and wanted it more than us. Granted, they had the brilliance of Suarez on their side, but it was their desire and readiness to get tough that got them through. I think we'll be needing to take the team apart now and rebuild it brick by brick for two years' time. Hodgson has already shown willingness to adapt, and I hope that continues. Sturridge looked decent in both games, Sterling is the future, and guys like Lallana, Shaw and Barkley should have something to offer long-term.

The latest in a long line of miserable failures by England's senior players to stand up and be counted at a major international tournament. So devoid of leadership, so out of sorts, so incapable of reproducing club form at the highest level. It's beginning to grow very tiresome indeed.

End of an era for one of the greatest sides to ever play the game. Del Bosque would have almost certainly had an inkling that something wasn't quite right, but perhaps underestimating the scale of Spain's problems, decided on tweaking rather than rebuilding. His loyalty was admirable really, and understandable given the achievements of many of his players, but with the U21s having won the last two European Championships, this summer may have been the right time to start bringing some of the younger talent through.

What a cracking, spirited performance by Australia, topped off by the best goal of the tournament so far. Dutch complacency may have been a factor, but they still pushed Holland much harder than anyone would have believed possible. Can't help but wonder how they might have done in a slightly less horrendous group. Things going from bad to worse for Spain, Chile are all over them like a rash. Not only are the new, direct elements of the way they're playing not working, they're even floundering when they try to revert to the old tiki-taka style.

Unfortunately, they're nowhere near as good a watch as they were four years ago. Capello has them playing conservatively and with very little imagination, although there was a marginal improvement towards the end when Kerzhakov and Dzagoev came on. Particularly Dzagoev, who if I'm not mistaken was Russia's best player at Euro 2012.

Ochoa's Wikipedia page updated shortly after last night's game.

As far as goalless draws go, Brazil-Mexico was pretty good. A great team performance by the Mexicans, matched only by a referee who didn't take any nonsense and let the game flow. Brazil are simply carrying too many passengers at the moment - you have to question Scolari's judgement, not only in persisting with Fred up front, but also in playing Paulinho, Luis Gustavo and Ramires as his midfield trio, a combination that would have made even Dunga cringe. Capello will probably be having horrible flashbacks of South Africa today, Akinfeev's blunder was eerily reminiscent of Rob Green in England's opening game four years ago. Bizarrely, it'd now be entirely possible for Russia to follow this result with a goalless draw against Algeria, before getting knocked out by Germany. Best keep an eye on Kerzhakov in case he starts insulting the Russian supporters while walking off the pitch.

Relief for Belgium, it looked like they were going to be in for a frustrating evening for quite some time, but they got there in the end against a well-drilled and workmanlike Algerian side. I'll never understand why David Moyes insisted on trying to convert Fellaini into a ball-playing midfielder last year, in doing so he took away everything that was good about him. As a round peg in a round hole, he still looks great. Second goal by Mertens was a cracker too. I can't believe we're into the second round of group games already. Time flies when you're watching good football.

Me too, putting a couple of quid on Lukaku to bag the golden boot as we speak.

John Brooks' reaction to scoring the winning goal for the USA will be one of the lasting images of the finals for me. He looked totally gobsmacked, just sheer joy and disbelief at what he'd achieved. Team Ronaldo is in serious trouble. Pepe's latest episode was certainly a factor in their surrender but they'd already peaked at that point, with the Germans two goals to the good and cruising. Also, we've had our first real dud game of the tournament, which I suppose had to happen eventually. Iran-Nigeria was so bad, it was tragic and comic at the same time. If only the fourth official had the power to take minutes off at the end.

Given Portugal's recent aversion to crossing the halfway line in the openers of big tournaments, I've a bit of a sinking feeling that we may see our first goalless game this evening. The negativity they served up against the Germans at Euro 2012 was barely an improvement on their ridiculously inflexible approach in South Africa. It's all about Jozy vs. Gyan for me tonight, but as an aside I'll be most interested to see Julian Green in action for the USA. He seems to have created a bit of a buzz, despite not yet having debuted for Bayern.

Another trailer for 'Guardians' has been revealed. http://youtu.be/0_OQFp8VtHc Word on the street is that Marvel are already discussing a sequel, which could potentially be out by May 2016.

Hats off to the Japanese fans, who apparently took part in a mass litter clean-up just minutes after watching their team lose to Ivory Coast the other night.

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There's still a bit of room for improvement, but the goals are flying in and we haven't seen conservative tactics rewarded nearly as often as we did four years ago, which hopefully carries on long into the tournament. I was rooting for Bosnia last night, found it impossible not to given the history of their young nation. If they can just sort out their shooting boots, I think they'll most probably finish as runners-up in the group. Argentina's 5-3-2 formation didn't seem to play to their strengths at all, although waiting for Messi to do something amazing probably isn't the worst strategy in the world. Highlight of the game was undoubtedly Rojo's 'Rabona' in his own penalty box, exactly the sort of ludicrous behaviour I want and expect to see at a World Cup.

Absolutely magnificent.