I'm getting right into the swing of this World Cup lark. Three games a day is hard to beat, kicking daytime telly into touch, but the Saturday shift is a wee bit different. After all, despite the changes to the fixture list imposed on us by TV and the SPL, Saturday is still football day and it was good to slip into the old routine. A few pints with the Bears in the boozer, a wee trip to the bookies, then wall to wall fitba. Ye cannae whack it!
Despite winning their first game against Angola last week, Portugal were a big disappointment and I really expected a lot more from them against Iran in Frankfurt. Yet again I was not impressed, even although they won 2-0 to book their place in the next round. Not unlike England, they are guilty of doing enough and no more. Their problems will start when they are asked to lift their game to a new level when they meet more testing opposition.
For all the talent in their ranks, they struggled to break down the Iranians. After a grim first half, it was Deco who made the breakthrough with a peach of a 25-yarder and, although they had one close call at the other end, Portugal were quite happy to run down the clock, gratefully accepting the bonus of a second goal from a late Christiano Ronaldo penalty after Figo had gone down rather easily.
Two points in front at the top of Group D, the Portuguese need only to avoid defeat against Mexico on Wednesday to win the group but, with either Holland or Argentina lying in wait in the knock-out phase, they will have to lift their game considerably to have any hope of making progress. I have my doubts about them being capable of injecting fresh impetus into their play.
Following their impressive start to the tournament, the Czech Republic's defeat from Ghana was a major shock. Gyan's strike after just two minutes conquered any early nerves but I felt they might suffer for having marked the Czech's card too early. No way could I see them holding out for the remaining 88 minutes although, to their great credit, they never sought to sit back on their lead. Indeed, they always looked as likely to add to their lead as they were to concede the equaliser.
The injured Jan Koller was a big miss for the Czechs. Although Rosicky and Nedved were always keen to push forward, Lokvenc was a poor replacement for Koller so the attack lacked the necessary cutting edge. For all the possession they enjoyed, they did little to trouble goalkeeper Richard Kingston who had looked a bit iffy in the opening game against Italy.
In an effort to save the game, coach Karel Brueckner gave us our first look at Libor Sionko and I was up and out of my seat when he was sent sprawling on the edge of the box. But Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo waved play on and, just a few minutes later, he pointed to the penalty spot at the other end when Ujfalusi clipped Amoah just as he was about to pull the trigger. The ref made a helluva drama out of showing the red card, so much so that Gyan took the penalty before he had finished the paperwork, shooting high into the net, got booked for his haste, then smashed the retake against the post.
But there was to be no great escape by the Czechs. Sionko played wide on the left, cutting inside to link up with Nedved and Rosicky, but the Africans took full advantage of their numerical superiority and were the more dangerous side. Petr Cech made several excellent saves before Sulley Muntari lashed the ball into the roof of the net to secure a win which blows the group wide open.
Italy could not have asked for a greater boost going into their clash with America at Kaiserslautern. Victory would put them well and truly in the driving seat and, going ahead through a Gilardino header in their first serious attack, it looked like being a good day for the Azzuri. But just five minutes after going in front, a dreadful attempt at a clearance was sliced into his own net by Zaccardo, then it started to get silly.
Daniele De Rossi was rightly red-carded for a savage elbow on Brian McBride and, knowing how referees work, the Yanks really should have been cuter and not given yet another fusspot with a whistle, Uruguay's Jorge Larrionda, the chance to even things up. Pablo Mastroeni was daft enough to lunge into a challenge and he too was on his way to the dressing-room before half-time. And just moments after the restart defender Eddie Pontiff (admin won't let me mention Pope!), having been booked in the first half, picked up another card rather harshly for a careless challenge.
At that point most folk expected the Italians to take the game by the scruff of the neck but, although they were pinned back for much of the time, the Americans looked dangerous on the break and even had a goal disallowed. When Alessandro Del Piero was brought on for the latter stages, I looked for him to exploit the gaps in the American ranks but, apart from seeing one shot saved by Kasey Keller, he made little impact.
The main feature of this match was the midfield duel between our old friends Rino Gattuso and Claudio Reyna. Rino was initially on the bench but the reshuffle forced by De Rossi's red card saw him brought in to shore things up in the middle and into direct confrontation with the American skipper. Claudio had a superb game, especially after his team went down to nine men, and it says much about the character of both men that they could be involved in such a competitive environment without it getting nasty. Indeed, match summariser David Pleat made special mention of how Rino combines his ultra-competitve attitude with the ability to play the game fairly. Aye, it's the Ibrox education, David.
So all four teams are still in the hunt in Group E and next week's Italy-Czech Republic and USA-Ghana games will be very interesting. Italy could settle for a draw against the Czechs, knowing such an outcome would guarantee their place in the next round but, if Ghana were to beat the Yanks, the Africans would win the group…leaving the runners-up with the dubious honour of facing Brazil. Methinks second place means a pretty rapid exit.
Hopefully, Libor Sionko will get a place in the Czech's starting line-up and, in such a high pressure situation, we might get a chance to see the shape of things to come at Ibrox next season.
LITTLE BOY BLUE