A Collection of Ramblings.

Having not been able to closely follow the games in the last couple of days, rather than an overriding theme here are just a few things that have crossed my mind as the group stages have gone on.

1) At first, I was genuinely disappointed and upset by what I'd seen from the African teams. The Ivory Coast in particular have flattered to deceive in both games, until the sixty minute mark where Drogba's introduction has sparked something. Yesterday both Ghana and Nigeria bucked that trend. Whether or not the latter of those results was more down to a disjointed Bosnia side I can't comment having only heard about the game (though Dzeko's disallowed goal which I have seen will have been a massive turning point). Either way its nice to see that after a few early disappointing performances that there is still room for one or two to qualify for the knockout phases. In a tournament that appears as wide open as this is, it's only right that there are as wide a spread of teams as possible.

2) One thing I am truly upset about is that I've not yet actually been able to see a France game properly so that while most are anointing them as genuine contenders I have to refrain as yet. Certainly the result alone that they got against a side like Switzerland - who themselves are much more of a dark horse than Belgium - is a statement of their quality.

3) A word, very briefly on England's exit. Very unsurprising, especially in the wake of Roy Hodgson's comments regarding Suarez not being world class. Costa Rica have shown the group itself to be not quite as difficult as was first made out; neither Italy or Uruguay are quite at their best right now. Progression from the group would only have delayed the inevitable. For me, the worst part of it all was the lack of any real sympathy on my part following Uruguay's win. I'd like to hope that it's maybe just down to the manager and I'm never ever going to be one of those dressed head to toe with my face painted up with the St Georges cross but I thought that maybe I would feel something for this team. Now I have to try not to roll my eyes too hard while the same old process of trying to revolutionise English football while letting everything remain the same begins in earnest.