Belatedly...

A few words on last nights game. Probably the best football played so far, certainly technically. Argentina's first half performance should really be a warning to everyone, their passing and movement was a joy. Of course if they played like that for the entire match, in every match, we might as well all go home now. The great thing is, of course, that they won't. The latin mentality will never change, and though Argentina could conceivably have come out and got 3 or 4 more in the second half, they decided it was time for a late siesta, and the Ivorians can think themselves damned unlucky not to have come out of it with a point. Having watched quite a bit of the African Cup of Nations earlier this year, I can't say I gave the Cote D'Ivoire much of a chance (why do we have to use their language when saying their country's name by the way? This seems to apply exclusively to them - should we start saying Deutschland, or Italia, or Espana from now on?), and yet they were one of the better teams in that tournament. The best compliment I can pay to the Ivorians is that they looked like they deserved to be sharing the pitch with Argentina, not at all out of place when many a minor footballing nation would have been swept aside. Further proof that the global football gap is narrowing all the time in terms of quality. Argentina's 2nd half laziness allowed the Ivorians to have a real go, and Drogba's goal was thoroughly deserved. It would have been very interesting if it had gone in a little earlier, and Argentina couldn't have complained if an equaliser had been scored. But the right team won in the end, the major difference between the two being quality in and around the box, and to be honest, that's what counts.

The best team seen so far? Definitely.