England are in a mess and everybody knows that. A team that had been hyped up to go all they way are perched precariously on the edge of a precipice now.
After a dreadful performance against Algeria on Friday, the Three Lions’ will face an unbeaten Slovakia in a win-or bust match at Port Elizabeth on Wednesday. Fabio C

The dream is over, almost. South Africa’s hopes of advancing to the next round from Group A were dealt a serious blow after they lost to Uruguay 0-3 here on Wednesday.
The festive atmosphere at Loftus Versfeld Stadium failed to inspire South Africa. Bereft of imagination, the hosts never came close to scoring. Their first shot on goal, an innocuous one at that, came in the 68th minute.

Brazilian supporters had swarmed Ellis Park on Tuesday night in the freezing cold to see their team “hammer North Korea” in a Group G match. But the anticipated rout didn’t materialise as the Samba Boys could only scrape through to a 2-1 win.

World Cup local organising committee chief Danny Jordaan’s reported comment on a possible ban on the noisy vuvuzelas has caused quite a stir here.
Fans, local and foreign, are aghast that an instrument that symbolises South African football may be taken away. Even though an LOC spokesman, Rich Mkhondo, has reiterated that the plastic trumpets are not under any threat, many fans aren’t convinced.

Mundra Omprakash never gets tired of watching sports. The 60-year-old resident of Nagpur has been to a number of mega sporting events either as a fan or as a volunteer from the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. The Indian’s volunteerism has taken him to three Olympics — two Winter editions and one Summer Games at Athens and an Asian Games. “My wife, Premalatha, accompanies me to all places. She is in South Africa as well. We always go as a pair,” he laughed.

No. 8115, Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg is an address most South Africans are familiar with. The address is now a pilgrimage centre for foreign football fans. Former South African president Nelson Mandela lived at a quaint little house bearing No. 8115 from 1945 to 1958.

In football, the No.10 jersey is revered. The number has an aura that has eluded others in the same family. Okay, No.10 is the basic part of the decimal system and it offers a sense of completeness, alone or in multiples.

Argentina coach Diego Maradona’s selection of first XI at the World Cup may not go down well in the legend’s household. Maradona will incur the wrath of his younger daughter, Giannina, if he omits Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero from the line-up because she is married to the Atletico Madrid forward. Aguero and Giannina have a son, Benjamin.

More often than not every football World Cup has witnessed an upset of such intensity that it has left the fans shell shocked.

The World Cup in South Africa will bring joy to millions of people around the globe. But for Messrs Andrey Arshavin, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Petr Cech, Luka Modric and Dimitar Berbatov, the football carnival will be a painful reminder of their teams’ failure to qualify for the mega event. Watching television and reading newspapers may not be easy for the five stars from June 11 to July 11.