WORLD CUP FEVER - June 26

Group H

	Argentina		Croatia
	Japan		Jamaica

Group G

	Romania		Tunisia
	Colombia		England

There were four games today but you will forgive me (you will) if I ignore three of them and concentrate on Japan against Jamaica. Hang on a minute...

Make that In-ger-land. Yes, we have the worst fans, yes we are fat ugly pigs who can't enjoy a football match without getting drunk and having a fight. But does this mean I, a peaceful and sensitive soul, have to bury my head under a bushel and pretend to support Denmark or someone? No, I will be in the pub clutching a series of lucky charms otherwise known as pints of lager and shouting obscenities at the television screen like (nearly) everyone else. But which pub? Surely not the poncy, overpriced Slug and Lettuce? For a while, it looked a possibility. There were some 'leaving dos' for people I don't know and we had a few drinks there. The deal was that they were showing the game downstairs bar, but there was a £3 admission fee, and only one television down there. Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler? While some were prepared to go with this monstrous plan, I dillied and dallied and eventually made a dash for the King of Corsica with a few others as kick-off approached. Nothing like a bit of self-inflicted tension to add to the big event. And nothing like a proper pub - as opposed to a characterless barn aspiring to be a bar - full of roaring fans in which to watch your team. (Unless it's at the game itself of course.)

Confident of an England victory? Definitely. Everyone is pleased to see Owen replace Sheringham in the starting line-up, and Beckham is in for Batty. Now, I have to hold my hands up as one of the Darren Anderton knockers, and I still don't think he performed superbly in the first two games, but there's no way I'm going to object to him scoring the first goal. The news from St-Denis was that Tunisia had taken the lead from a penalty. How much better could things get? David Beckham's free-kick, that's how much better. Was his mind focussed on the job Glenn? These moments are rare in English football so, if you are of a mind, savour it again now. Go on, think about where you were when it went in.

Lots of people lost interest in the second half, satisfied that the win had been secured. But I wanted three or four. There were chances and I felt we ought to have done better. And then, inevitably, Romania scored so the giant shadow of Argentina came back into view. Glenn Hoddle says that's how he likes it, that he wants Argentina rather than Croatia. Probably this is manager talk, designed to instill confidence in the players.

And so we scattered into the night, euphoria in the air, a date with one of the old enemies just four nights away...



Results:

Argentina (1) 1	Croatia (0) 0
Pineda 36

Japan (0) 1	Jamaica (1) 2
Nakayama 75	Whitmore 39, 54

Romania (0) 1	Tunisia (1) 1
Moldovan 72	Souayeh 10 (pen)

Colombia (0) 0 England (2) 2 Anderton 20 Beckham 30 Final groups: Group G P W D L F A Pts Romania 3 2 1 0 4 2 7 England 3 2 0 1 5 2 6 Colombia 3 1 0 2 1 3 3 Tunisia 3 0 1 2 1 4 1 Group H P W D L F A Pts Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 0 9 Croatia 3 2 0 1 4 2 6 Jamaica 3 1 0 2 3 9 3 Japan 3 0 0 3 1 4 0

Shots off target:

The Romanian squad have all dyed their hair yellow. A gesture like that should be backed up by a resounding win over Tunisia, don't you think?

Half the population of the country watched the game tonight. What was everyone else doing?

Prince Charles and Prince Harry were there at the game. This was big news. Poor lad had to wear a suit.

(Not necessarily the World Cup but I've got a lot of them) Football Quote of the Day:
'If history is going to repeat itself I should think we can expect the same thing again.' Terry Venables