Will the real footballer, please stand up??

Just sat/yawn/cursed/ thru the Saudi v Spain match. Spain decided to field most of their reserves for this match, whose result was inconsequential as they are already into the last 16. Still I expected some value for my money when the kick-off whistle blew.

Yes Raul was starting, yes Fabregas and Reyes got their run out onto the first 11. Yet it took a corner, headed in by a defender to get on the scoresheet. The rest of the time Spain came close but blew their chances left, right and above the goal. When it did get onto target, Saudi's 'keeper Jaidi did his job well and made some fine saves.

In fact, the last 20 minutes the Saudis were getting into a fine rally. I was in fact willing them to score the equalizer, if only to jolt the Spainiards outta their complacency. The match ended 1-nil, with Spain topping the group, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure Aragones has a few choice words for the team too.

Then there's the England team, whose idea of mojo comes in the form of their wives, girlfriends, partners(what's the diff??). Yet no amount of wrestling in bed can bring out the best in any of the players. Heck, I suspect even Sven is having difficulty coming up with the right formation rather than the right position in bed with his lover!

The Brazilians are not having it easy too, labouring their way thru the group stage. Perhaps being based in Europe has softened the samba in them. They wanna get another star on their jersey, they better start getting in step man...

So far I think the Argentina, Holland, South Korea and to a certain extent, Portugal have got it right. They are playing football without all the fancy trappings, without their woman getting into the tabloid headlines, and with a lot of heart.

It'll be interesting to see how far these 4 progress in the knockout tournament.

My bet is on a Argentina v Brazil final.