World Cup Round Up: 12th-16th June

This series will feature the ups and downs every few days throughout the World Cup, highlighting all that is good, and all that needs improvement to make the greatest show on turf exactly that. Considering I've been glued to the television for all but 45 minutes of the games so far, I think I'm fairly well qualified to give my two centavos.

GOOD:

The Games: So far in Brazil, we've seen 3.41 goals per game (as of the end of Germany v Portugal), which I'm sure many of you will agree sounds like a festival of football worthy of the name. In particular, games involving lesser known countries such as Switzerland v Ecuador, and Costa Rica upsetting Uruguay, have
really brought the tournament to life. Even larger teams are going out on the sun-kissed pitches of Brazil's largest cities and playing football that is pleasing to everyone. Long may it continue!

The Minnows: Teams like Ecuador and Costa Rica, and even to some extent Australia have really shown some great flashes of football. Costa Rica's surprise victory over Uruguay delighted England fans across the
world, and no doubt relieved the pain of a defeat to Italy, as well as blowing Group D wide open. Look out for Matthew Leckie in Group B to cause Spain and Holland some trouble in Australia's next two games, he could be a real bright spark.

The Biggest Players: All the talk before the World Cup was about Messi, Neymar et al. being able to perform on the biggest stage of them all, and they have not let their many admirers down. Neymar showed up in the first game of the tournament with a penalty and well placed, albeit scuffed, shot past "The Octopus" Stipe Pletikosa in the Croatia goal. Not to be outdone, Andrea Pirlo completed 103 out of 108 passes, and ran the entire show in Manaus in Italy's victory over England. Then, last night, in the Maracana, one of the most famous stadia in the world, Messi came alive in the second half. Jinking past a number of Bosnian defenders, Messi knocked the ball with consummate ease past a hapless Asmir Begovic. Let's hope these guys keep it up.

England: As a "neutral" supporter, this England team has the potential to be really exciting. With the likes of Sterling, Barkley, Sturridge and Lallana, the Three Lions have a group of young playmakers who have the potential to light up the world for years to come. Whether Roy Hodgson uses them wisely or not remains to be seen, but I believe that England should make it at least as far as the Quarter Finals, although I think the Final would be a massive over-achievement. However, we all know how prone England are to choking in the big games.


BAD

The Referees: The first few days of the World Cup saw numerous bad refereeing decisions. The Brazilian penalty on the first night, as well as the "foul" on Diego Costa against Holland were both poor decisions. The game that stands out for me, though is the Mexico-Cameroon match, which saw two genuine goals clocked off for various reasons. Those decision, had they gone the other way, could have seen the game well and truly over before the 61st minute winner that eventually saw Cameroon off. With 2 extra goals under their belts, Mexico could have rested key players before tomorrow's game against the hosts.

The Coverage: For the most part, the commentary teams have been relatively good. Lawrenson's sparkling wit often pulls his partner along, but over on ITV, Tyldesley and Townsend provide commentary so banal that I'm surprised I haven't fallen asleep listening to them. The BBC's coverage team includes Thierry Henry and Clarence Seedorf, two world class footballers in their time. Meanwhile, ITV have gone closer to home with the likes of Lee Dixon and Ian Wright, both of whom provide little insight outside of the obvious, whereas the team on the BBC, including Shearer and Ferdinand, give viewers a taste of life in the camp, and indeed explain the complexities of international football to a far greater extent than the ITV crew ever have.

Anti-Government Protesters: Brazil has been a melting pot of political and social problems for years now, and no more so than the last 6 months in the build-up to the World Cup. Whilst I believe that there are problems that need sorting in one of the most financially diverse countries in the world, I don't think that violent protests during the World Cup is the way to do it. Keep the protests until after the tournament, when the government can see that FIFA have stripped away any possible revenue outside tourism, and they can begin to restore parity before the Olympics arrive in Rio in 2016. That said, if a stray missile hit Adrian Chiles, I probably wouldn't shed a tear.