OK, so my semi-final predictions were, er, 100% wrong. That is the reason why I'm not a professional gambler. At least Uruguay gave it a go, though. What was up with Germany - it was like they didn't realise they were in semi-final and just couldn't motivate themselves. After the first 20 minutes or so, I could see the game only going one way.

So, we're down to the last four: Holland, Spain, Germany and Uruguay.Frankly, I was expecting at least one other South American side to be here: most likely Brazil, but what do I know.The thing is, though, that only one of these teams has shown any real consistency so far in the tournament and that is: Germany.

OK, another brief post.Argentina are currently 2-0 down to Germany in the quarter final. Carlos Tevez is trying to win it on his own for Maradona's side. But, better than all this is the BBC commentator who has just said: "look at Tevez, on his own, like a one man battleship". Er, what?Also, nice to see Germany back in their historic black shirts.

Very short post today. Almost a micro-blog. It's just a shame that no-one has invented some kind of micro-blogging service ;)Anyway, right now, I've particularly enjoyed the colour co-ordinated Germany bench. Loew wears blue t-shirt under dark blazer...everyone wears blue t-shirt under dark blazer.Second, Bastian Schweinsteiger.

So, England crashed out 4-1 to a lean, young, hungry looking Germany side. And with that, the hopes of a nation are dashed. Such a shame.The problem is, though, not that England got well and truly beaten. The problem is with the whole 'hopes of a nation' thing in the first place.The simple fact remains that a few players aside, England just don't have that strong a squad.

The Group stages finished last night with Spain's 2-1 win over a 10 man Chile side, so now would be a good time to look back on the highs and lows of the 2010 World Cup so far.The Hosts: South Africa got drawn in a very tough group but can hold their heads high after a solid draw with a good Mexico side and, of course, after putting France out of the competition in the final group match.

13:42 Apparently Joe Cole isn't actually fit, according to John Motson, who probably knows better than we do. That would be a good explanation for him not starting the Slovenia match!OK, let's kick this thing off.13:37 - Expected England team: James; Johnson, Terry, Upson, A Cole; Barry; Milner, Lampard, Gerrard; Rooney, DefoeSo, it looks like Heskey is dropped in favour of Defoe and there is no

I've never done a live blog before, but as I'm doing some consultancy work tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this) and will be working from home, I'll be live blogging the England vs Slovenia match.If you happen to work for the company I'm doing the consultancy for and are reading this, then forgive me but I don't doubt you will all be watching the match too.

'The mission, should you decide to accept it, is to infiltrate a national football squad of your choosing, and render them next to useless.'Unfortunately, this mission seems to be not so much impossible, but ridiculously easy. France, England, even Italy have all imploded at this World Cup Finals.By far the best example, though, is France.

Well, I guess I should start with England vs Algeria. But luckily - due to a winning combination of drunkeness and boredom - I really can't remember anything about it. I think there was the occasional pass that actually reached another England player, but I might have dreamt that. I do remember a forward run, but that could have been Algeria.

Did anyone else see North Korea's press conference on Monday? For me this has been the highlight of the World Cup so far because, Germany aside, the standard of the matches has been dismal.It started with a question from a journalist about North Korea.The response from coach Kim Jong-hun? :"There's no such country named North Korea.

Legendary British comedians Morecambe and Wise used to have a running gag that went something like this:Ernie Wise (talking about the show): 'So, what do you think of it so far?'Eric Morecambe: 'Rubbish!'.And, frankly, that's how I feel about the 2010 World Cup Finals so far. I'm writing this before Italy play Paraguay, but so far only the opener between South Africa and Mexico and last night's

A very short post for you today, but certainly one that brought a big smile to my face.Those cunning/inscrutable/mysterious (delete to find your favoured Oriental cliche) North Koreans thought they could put one over the, er, mighty FIFA by registering striker Kim Myong-Won as their third goalkeeper.

Well, the first match of the 2010 World Cup Finals is just under a week away, but already key players are dropping like flies.Just to keep you all updated: Rio Ferdinand suffered an injury in a collision with Emile Heskey that will mean he misses the World Cup.Nigeria's Jon Obi Mikel also misses out as his knee injury hasn't cleared up sufficiently for him to play any part.

I suppose I really should have an opinion on yesterday's England world cup squad announcement. Frankly, though, there's been too much written about it already, so I'll do what most bloggers do (and what I hate to do) and that is: comment on the commentary on the story.Firstly, there's been a lot of complaining among the media because the FA delayed the official announcement until 4pm GMT.