Michael*

We can only safely say it now because we know no-one was mortally wounded, but that was quite good fun. Honduras are probably the weakest team we've seen so far at the tournament, they looked like they'd been promised a leg-break bonus and were frankly lucky to end up with more than seven players on the park. France managed to play some very decent football amid the violence, Benzema seems to relish being their most important player.

Perilously close to our first draw. :persuazn: Switzerland certainly didn't look like a team ranked sixth in the world there. Those last few minutes were pulsating, but the game was for the most part an untidy and cagey affair. Already more than double the number of goals scored than at the same stage in South Africa four years ago, if I'm not mistaken. Long may it continue!

Pirlo's free-kick at the end really was something else. England came up slightly short last night, but it doesn’t feel that bad to lose when you see your team playing with purpose, energy and confidence. It actually looked like two European teams going to toe to toe out there, a far cry from the rearguard action of two years ago. Some of the forward play was really quite exciting, rather suspect at the back of course, but we knew that before the tournament started. Overall, I'm optimistic about the next two games.

Decent start to proceedings in Group C. After Colombia's superb qualifying campaign I put a frivolous couple of quid on them to win it all, though admittedly that was before Falcao was ruled out. Still, good seeing them bag the three points. Can't believe Faryd Mondragon is still knocking about, he must be the only active player left from USA '94. I'm going to count how many times the pundits manage to slip 'no-one is giving us a chance so you never know' into the conversation before England-Italy starts. My guess is triple figures. The Italians are in many ways the complete antithesis of us, in the sense that they tend to rise to occasions and love playing the big boys. It's dangerous to write them off of course, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were to perform against them (and Uruguay) and then shoot ourselves in the foot by dropping points to Costa Rica.

The exclusions of Navas and Negredo looked baffling at the time, even more so now that Spain have found themselves in such desperate need of attacking thrust. I'm in agreement that we'll almost certainly see Koke and De Gea against Chile. Del Bosque will probably be tempted to reinstate the 4-5½-½ formation too, but you wonder whether it's a good idea to start without a recognised striker in a game where they'll have to try and attack with purpose and go some way to getting their goal difference back on an even keel. And as loose a fit as Costa appeared to be for the Spanish system at times, his movement was key in stretching the Dutch defence in the first half.

Women's Health Magazine (UK) July/August 2014

Justice done for Mexico. Surprisingly competitive game between Chile and Australia too, enjoyable end-to-end stuff.

The diving headed lob is my new favourite type of goal. Catastrophic stuff from Spain though. In the second half, when Holland began to swarm over their midfield in waves, they looked unable to get out of cruise control and were punished for it by moments of individual brilliance. A lot of people will presumably point to the defeat against Switzerland at the same stage four years ago, but this was so different. On that night they were simply hit by a sucker punch, tonight's game was reminiscent of Bayern's dismantling of Barca in the 2013 Champions League semi-final. How on earth will Del Bosque pick them up after such a rout?

The shoddy officiating that plagued yesterday's game has continued today, Mexico being well and truly swindled at the moment.

I wish they'd reconsider the policy of having the host nation play in the opening game, where the weight of expectation is more than those involved can handle. It was just too much for Nishimura, who was out of his depth and too weak to stand up for what was right. Leaving aside the laughable penalty award, his decision not to dismiss Neymar for his elbow on Modric was clearly a bottle job. You could see his weakness too in the way he allowed a ruck of Croatian players to practically pin him against the advertising hoardings after giving the penalty. I'm no more a fan of Howard Webb than I am of Jack Colback at the moment, but I can't imagine something like that happening to him.

Just as you,I laughed out at it,so clowny view for the referee when he made it. I'm just waiting for the moment when one of the players, having watched far too many 'Police Academy' films, tries to swap the spray for superglue.

We've no need for a psychic octopus this year, I see. Brazil got lucky. A draw would have been a fairer result, but winning without fully doing yourself justice is a decent habit to get into in the group stages. You get the feeling from the way Scolari utilises Oscar and Neymar that he's fully aware of his side's limitations, they looked incapable of breaking Croatia down before being gifted the penalty.

The ref's free-kick swizzle spray is the best thing I've ever seen.

The opening was made all the more surreal by the terrible sound quality, although that may have been an act of mercy by the TV producers. I did like Pitbull's 'mom jeans' though.

Congrats JJ!

Trailer #2.

At last, we're here! Or at least, we will be in a few hours' time. While few images from the actual tournament will be as vivid as the ones portraying the recent protests and strikes, I hope it's still a fantastic journey. There's plenty of reason for excitement and I'm ready to enjoy the ride. Tonight's opener will be a formidable challenge for Croatia, but I think they're more than capable of springing a surprise. I'm backing them to score a quick goal, then succumb to a late Brazilian onslaught. 1-1.

I’d definitely jump at the chance to fully take in the atmospherics while tackling the main story missions, especially now in what promises to be such a breathtaking digital rendering of Gotham. Obviously though, it’d be extremely difficult (not to mention risky) to suddenly start pulling staples of the series up by the roots now. Plus, you can almost always revisit things afterwards, for Riddler trophies and suchlike. I’m probably just getting a bit greedy. It'll be most interesting to see Scarecrow take centre stage in this one. His voice has changed a bit, but his monologue towards the end of the trailer was genuinely chilling and the so-called 'Nightmare Missions' were always such great psychological asides to the first game's narrative.

Componere Magazine January-April 2012 Photography by Ian Harrison

Ah, I hadn't heard about Rocksteady's change of heart regarding the game's release date until now. Not the worst thing in the world, I suppose. It'll be next year (at the earliest) before I even begin to think about upgrading and I'd much prefer them to take their time and get it right rather than rush it out. Interestingly, it seems deliberate that they haven't featured much of Detective Mode as yet. The thought occurs that they may have figured out another way of incorporating its attributes without forcing the player to be in it quite as often. It was never any more than a minor irritation, but I remember feeling an ever-so-slight tinge of sadness when I had to use it for long periods of time in the previous titles, because it meant appreciating the level design less.

Another new trailer has just debuted at Sony’s E3 2014 press conference, looks like it's the real deal in terms of actual gameplay footage this time. They appear to have combined some of the best traits of 'Asylum' and 'City', and the speed at which Batman is able to fly around the rooftops is terrifyingly impressive.

Billboard Music Awards May 2014

Two from latest album 'True Romance' - the appallingly titled 'Boom Clap' and the brilliantly titled 'You (Ha Ha Ha)'.

Collaborations three: Icona Pop, Iggy Azalea, Marina and the Diamonds.

'Nuclear Seasons' and 'You're The One' from the debut EP, way back in 2010.