Der Ball ist rund. Das Spiel dauert neunzig Minuten.

Those of you trolling for World Cup predictions (you know who you are): forget it. Go check Antonio's sister site (I know it's a bit thin right now, but it will pick up soon). As former German national coach Sepp Herberger used to say "Der Ball ist Rund" - and that's about all you can safely predict.

That said, Group C looks like a humdinger, the Cote d'Ivoire - Argentina match was more entertaining that any game in 2002, and I largely agree with Rob Smyth's analysis of the Dutch performance yesterday.