So, it all went wrong yesterday in terms of my betting. Having won literally tens of euros on predicting first goal scorer in the England and France games, I decided to get all fancy and put a double on Argentina and Germany yesterday.
Thanks for nothing, Germany. Apart from the really entertaining game of football but besides that thanks for nothing. Then I went for Bosnia and Herzegovina to beat Nigeria on the advice of the Mugsmasher. I think the lesson here is a) quit while you’re ahead and b) never listen to the Mugsmasher once it goes beyond 10.30 at night (as a general rule that works quite well also).
It was heartbreaking stuff for Iran as they were undone by an injury time cracker from Lionel Messi. I only saw the first half of this one, but Argentina really should have been ahead, spurning a number of good chances. You have to give huge credit to the Iranians though, who were well organised and made it very difficult for a team that many still fancy to go all the way, despite the fact their two performances so far haven’t been hugely convincing.
Then it was Germany v Ghana and what a second half that was. Mario Gotze pulled apart the Ghanaian defence to put Germany ahead before Andre Ayew equalised with a really great header. I was watching on RTE, and Ray Houghton wondered ‘What on earth Mertesacker was doing there?’. What he was doing, as was quite apparent to anyone with eyes and even an entry-level understanding of the game, was: marking a completely different player.
Asamoah Gyan made it 2-1, but then Miroslav Klose came on and equaled Ronaldo’s World Cup record of 15 goals in the finals. It was hardly his most brilliant goal – poking home with his studs from 3 yards – but they all count. Unfortunately for my betting account they couldn’t find a winner but a draw was a fair result really.
Then Nigeria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in a game I watched through a beer-ish haze so if you want the details, go find a match report. Suffice to say that Peter Odemwingie’s goal was enough for the Nigerians to get a win under their belts. Edin Dzeko’s ‘goal’ should have stood, but offside appears to be a fairly arbitrary thing in this World Cup.
Today’s fare is interesting at both ends with Russia and Belgium early, and USA v Portugal late. Sandwiched in the middle is Algeria v South Korea. I’m not 100% sure it’s that enticing a game so I probably won’t watch it (those of you that will enjoy the incredible 4-4 draw because of this decision can thank me later).
It’s still deathly quiet in terms of Arsenal news. There were some reports yesterday that we’d ‘agreed personal terms’ with Serge Aurier but frankly that means little. We’re linked again this morning with Balotelli and Remy, which just leads me to the conclusion that the World Cup is sapping the imagination from this transfer window. Wake me up when they invent somebody new for us to not sign.
Anyway, it’s Sunday. There’s a definite need for coffee and bacon, so I’m going to have coffee and bacon. Probably not in the same receptacle, but I don’t rule anything out. I’m quite open-minded.
