World Cup 2014: day 10 – as it happened

And on that bombshell, we're going to win down today's Big Rolling Blog O'Fun just in time for you to put your feet up and enjoy Argentina's match against Iran. Tune in tomorrow for more World Cup news and what not.

Great news for England: Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is fit! He took part in his first full session since straining a medial ligament in his knee during the 2-2 friendly draw against Ecuador on 4 June.

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Touré brothers to stay in Brazil: Kolo and Yaya Touré will be staying at the World Cup in Brazil despite the death of their younger brother in England on Thursday, Ivory Coast officials said on Saturday.
The pair trained with the rest of the squad on Friday soon after learning of the death of 28-year-old Ibrahim Toure in a Manchester hospital and were due to practise again on Saturday at their base at Aguas de Lindoia, a football federation spokesman told reporters. There are no plans for the pair to leave Brazil to be with family in England, where they both play.
Ivory Coast play Greece in Group C on Tuesday and if they win they will advance to the next round. They failed to get past the first stage at the last two World Cups.
Ibrahim Toure was long in the shadow of his more illustrious siblings, having had a journeyman career in Ukraine, France, Egypt and Lebanon.
He was on the books of Ligue 1 club Nice for a year but never made a first-team appearance and last played at Safa, where he scored six goals in 10 games this season as they finished second in the Lebanese league.
Messages of condolence have come from Fifa and the Confederation of African Football plus English champions Manchester City, where Yaya Toure plays, and Kolo's club Liverpool.

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Bad news for Italy ...

Bad news for Switzerland: Their defender Steve von Bergen suffered what looked like a very nasty facial injury last night and will miss the rest of the World Cup.
Von Bergen was led off the field in the fifth minute after he was caught in the face by French forward Olivier Giroud's left foot, leaving him with blood streaming from the wound near his left eye.
The SFV said the former Genoa and Palermo defender had suffered an orbital-floor, or blowout, fracture on the left side of his face. "The 31-year-old defender will return to Switzerland as soon as possible and undergo specialist treatment," said an SFV statement. Switzerland, who have three points from two games, face Honduras in their final Group E match in Manaus on Wednesday.

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Good news for Belgium: Belgium captain Vincent Kompany said he expects to be fit to play against Russia in a World Cup Group H match tomorrow after recovering from a groin strain.
Kompany missed training with the rest of the team for a second day yesterday while he received attention for the strain which he picked up late in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Algeria.
"I am fine thanks," he told a reporter when asked about his fitness before taking part in a group training session at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. "If everything goes well today, there shouldn't be any problems."
Belgium are top of Group H after the opening games which also saw Russia draw 1-1 with South Korea.

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This just in: Argentina coach Lionel Messi Alejandro Sabella has picked an offensive 4-3-3 lineup from the start as expected as his team seek to secure passage to the World Cup knockout stage in their Group F game against Iran. Abandoning the caution they showed in the first half of their opening game against Bosnia, four-times world player of the year and Argentina captain Lionel Messi starts up front with Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. Angel Di Maria, completes one of the world's most intimidating strike forces.
Iran, who opened with a dour 0-0 draw against Nigeria, will again pack the defence, leaving Reza Ghoochannejhad as lone forward and winger Ashkan Dejagah also seeking to threaten.

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Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart have drawn the short straws and will front up for the media once they've finished the most pointless training session in the history of football. In other news, England won't be hanging around after their dead rubber match against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday. They'll be flying straight back to Blighty once that game has ended.

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Cameroon infighting update. Former Cameroon coach Winfried Schaefer expected African sides to do better at the World Cup but was not surprised with the squabbling in his former team's camp, it says here. Was anyone surprised? Really?
"It's always about money," said the German. " It's always ahead of big tournaments. They work hard for four years and then they destroy everything over silly fights over money. "
Schaefer, who in a four-year spell coached Cameroon to the 2002 African Nations Cup title and took charge of them at the World Cup in Asia the same year, said the current squad lacked unity.
"It's like a cage of lions and they need a manager who disciplines them and is a strong leader. I've spoken to Samuel Eto'o and told him 'you don't play if you are not part of the group'. But in general the boys are good boys. The team is split in two groups. Eto'o and [Alex] Song. They need a strong group."
On the World Cup in general for African teams so far, he added: "I expected the Africans to do better. Ghana began playing great football against the US but then they played kick and rush against those huge Americans. I then saw one good pass and that led to the goal. The teams must not lose their African style."
Cameroon's players delayed their departure to Brazil in order to force more money out of their federation but have lost both games in Group A and are eliminated with one match to come on Monday against Brazil in Brasilia. The other four African sides in Brazil are all struggling to get into the knockout round.

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Breaking news!!! Leighton Baines, Daniel Sturridge, Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka and Steven Gerrard are training separately, away from the main group of England players. Make of that what you will; my guess is they won't be playing against Costa Rica, although they might just be in particular disgrace and on Roy Hodgson's equivalent of the naughty step.

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England training update. For reasons best known to themselves, England are currently training ahead of their match against Costa Rica. And for reasons best known to themselves (the fear of having a P45 waiting on the doormat upon their return home, probably), the press pack that's following them around Brazil are diligently watching them. I believe the technical term for such a monumental waste of everyone's time is "keeping up appearances".

Let's face it, footballers and journalists alike should all just sack off the session, hit the pub and get royally leathered. Most people would probably applaud such behaviour and the time for worrying about what idiots who'd frown upon it might think almost certainly passed a couple of days ago.

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My friend the top Irish journalist Miguel Delaney is in Brazil and has taken time out from what sounds like a hectic meat-eating schedule to flag up this highlight from last night's ITV coverage. If you haven't seen it, already, it's Martin O'Neill reacting to some jovially disparaging comments from Adrian Chiles, then rendering his fellow pundits Patrick Vieira and Fabio Cannavaro speechless.

Of course apologies are all well and good, but there's no point offering one unless it's sincere. Wayne Rooney's seemed genuine enough and while I haven't heard Daniel Sturridge's, he seems like a nice fellow, so I'll presume he's sufficiently contrite. Here, for your amusement, are what sound like a couple of decidedly insincere apologies.

Well shiver me timbers and what's that lying two points abaft the port beam? Why, it's England's World Cup dreams lying face down in the briny. Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge have already fronted up and apologised for the early exit, after defeats to Italy and Uruguay. What we want to know is whether or not you think they should feel obliged to apologise. After all, it's not like they did anything really serious, like spill your pint, look askance at your girlfriend or voice an opinion on a social network site that doesn't tally exactly with your own. Cast your vote by clicking on this link.

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Shocked to the core by the graphic nature of that furry filth, I now require a lie down in a darkened room, and bid you all a fond farewell. Barry Glendenning will be steering this ship onto the rocks safely into the harbour. Aye aye, Cap'n Baz!

Anyone remember Tip and Tap? The mascots from the 1974 World Cup?

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Well, you wouldn't have caught them grinding with the ladies like this:

Oh Fuleco! And you with a remit to amuse the kids as well! How could you!

That Ecuador-Honduras game last night was good fun. Perhaps not one for the purists, but good fun. Not least because the wilfully physical Hondurans managed to concede a free kick after three seconds, which is going some by any measure. You have to admire that sort of carry-on. They know they're almost certainly away home after losing 2-1, but won't be giving up hope, just in case. "We need to bow out on a high note," their coach Luis Fernando Suarez has said. "If you don't try everything it will play on your conscience forever. We don't want that to happen when we leave the World Cup." Switzerland watch out! They might be taking home a couple of your legs as souvenirs of their time in Brazil, along with maybe some nice coffee, a scale model of Christ the Redeemer, and whatever toiletries are still unopened in the hotel bog.

Meanwhile it appears I have unfairly maligned one of Lou Reed's more esoteric works (1.30pm). "What's wrong with listening to Metal Machine Music on an expensive stereo?" asks Spiff Blunge, who sounds suspiciously like a muso, heavy metal drummer, or at the very least a roadie to me. "It would have been time and money better spent than watching Iran versus Nigeria on an expensive home theatre." It's a fair point. I'll gaffer tape my mouth as punishment and say nothing more.

We're all big kids at heart, aren't we? But it's not time for hot milk and blanky yet. Until the World Cup shuts down between 7pm and 8pm, for the toddlers' truce that gives us time to tuck you up in bed, you can play with your Lego. Here's the latest brilliant brick-by-brick report! Enjoy, if you can bear to sit through England v Uruguay again. And take that piece out of your mouth! That's Luis Suarez's right leg!

Andy Hunter loves to go a-wandering, along the sandy track, and as he goes, he loves to sing, his knapsack on his back. That knapsack contains a laptop, folks, for Andy's off to the Estadio Castelao Fortaleza, with a view to reporting on Germany and Ghana later this evening. He's even stopped en route to send us this pre-match report of Germany boss Joachim Low effectively telling both Jose Mourinho and irate ITV anchor Adrian Chiles to stick their opinions somewhere north of Ceará (i.e. where the sun don't shine):

Joachim Low has offered a little insight into the world of Thomas Muller. The striker earned both acclaim for his hat-trick against Portugal and criticism for his histrionics that preceded Pepe's dismissal on Monday, with Jose Mourinho claiming his compatriots had made life easy for the Bayern Munich player.

Low retorted: "Thomas Muller is important for us not only in terms of what he can do on the pitch, where he is unpredictable but always there to score a goal. He is important in terms of the motivation he gives to his team-mates. He is a lively character, he is good fun, he is always positive and he believes the national team is very important. He'll go around and talk to everyone at dinner, he is a real team player who brings everyone together. He transmits this happiness to the team and that is very important at a tournament."

All together now: Valderi! Valdera! Valderi! Valder-ahahahahahaha! Valderi! Valdera! A knapsack containing a laptop (and maybe some sandwiches for half-time) on Andy's back!

Pools news:

The following matches have been pools panel assessed:

8 FNQFC v Brisbane City Half-time No Score Draw
8 FNQFC v Brisbane City Full-time Home Win
9 Palm Beach v Olympic Half-time Home Win
9 Palm Beach v Olympic Full-time Home Win
10 Redlands Utd v Harimau Muda A Half-time Void
10 Redlands Utd v Harimau Muda A Full-time Void

To the tragic news of Yaya and Kolo Toure's brother Ibrahim, who died on Thursday. Yaya and Kolo have, contrary to earlier reports, decided to remain at the World Cup with the Ivory Coast squad. "The Toure brothers, Kolo and Yaya, have decided to stay with the team," announced a spokesman for the Ivorian Football Federation. "They are not leaving Brazil." Ivory Coast face Greece in Fortaleza on Tuesday. A win will see them through to the second round. Ibrahim had been suffering from cancer.

Good old Wayne Rooney! He's been on Facebook, presumably to make his Scrabble moves. [Note to self: pop onto Facebook after posting this entry and make your Scrabble moves.] Having secured himself a couple of bingos in his games against Coleen and Moyesy, he then posted an apology to England fans, a mea culpa for the team's performance at this World Cup, which has been either less than ideal, or a wonderful homage to the 1950 campaign, depending on which way you look at it. Here it is:

Absolutely devastated to be out of the World Cup. Going into each game we had great belief in ourselves but unfortunately it hasn't worked out. Sorry to all the fans that travelled and at home that we haven't done better ... gutted!

Having dragged wide of an open goal against Italy, then missed a header from two yards and slapped a chance from six straight at the keeper against Uruguay, Rooney is one of a long list of folk copping flak for England's early exit. That list also includes Steven Gerrard, Phil Jagielka, Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill, Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson, Dr Steve Peters and Uncle Tom Cobley. All a bit unfair in my book. The players did their best. I'm slightly surprised Roy Hodgson has come out of this totally unscathed, having attempted to graft a Liverpool-style attack onto the front of his old regimented system, then failed to give his players a similar licence to roam. It's a classic case of falling between two stools. It's also like spending a lot of money on expensive hi-fi equipment, then using the fancy new set-up to play Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, or the collected works of Merzbow.

Afternoon, everyone! Sadly, I'm afraid that contrary to Mr Doyle's grand claims, all that's on offer today is a cold Scott Murray. Not even tepid. Scott's a-cold! Po' Scott's a-cold! No news, you see. Right, I'm off to have a proper rummage around the wires. There's got to be something, somewhere, with a World Cup going on. Back in a minute! I'll not let you down!

Legal disclaimer: I might let you down.

I think we can all agree that what's needed now is some hot Scott Murray action. I won't stand between ye. Bye!

What happened to the great Rashid Yekini? Simon Burnton explores a strange tale.

Here's Vitor Alvarenga on Nani:

It was Portugal’s first training session after the humbling defeat against Germany and Nani showed up with a star and his squad number shaved into his hair. It was as if he had not quite grasped that this was the time to knuckle down rather than show off a new haircut.

A fresh crop does not necessarily mean a player will fail to work hard, of course – the newly shorn Luka Modric has showed plenty of application at this World Cup – but it does, perhaps, hint at a player’s priorities and, more importantly, it reinforces the feeling that Nani sometimes is more about style than substance. There is no doubt that the Manchester United midfielder is outrageously talented. He has everything you expect from a world-class footballer: quick feet, mesmerising technique and stamina. But it never quite comes together for him.

"Just to say the best sub ever was John Aldridge v Mexico in 94," bawl;s Oli Duncan. "Just for the swearing and rage really - that was good TV." So good it's worth another look:

All those Ghana fans hoping that Kwadwo Asamoah will be restored to midfield to provide the Black Stars with much-needed creativity are set to be disappointed, according to the well-informed Veronica Commey.

Manchester United have just announced that Antonio Valencia has signed a new three-year contract at the club.

Brian McMahon, who is know to his friends as Brian McMahon, has got in touch to recommend Toto Schillachi as the greatest sub in World Cup history. "He began the tournament on the bench, came off to score the winner against Austria and went on to achieve greatness!" blurts Bri.

Sionnaich's treatise below the line on team emblems gave me a moment's levity, especially this observation:

Meanwhile in Honduras:

" Ok. We're all ok with a whopping big capital H as our emblem? Great. See you all in the hotel bar for Martinis night."

Honduras are fast becoming my favourite team in this world cup.

I'm assuming Sesame Street is big in Honduras. Meanwhile, the Bolivian emblem suggests that country is home to a curious creature that can't decide whether it's a bird of prey or poultry.

Julian Keith is the first to suggest a candidate for the best substitute in World Cup history. "Hello there Paul," begins Julian in a good old-fashioned email. "Since he’s the man of the moment Tim Cahill is a good shout. He was subbed on against Japan in 2006 and scored the equaliser and then the go-ahead goal in the 3-1 win. Quite the illustrious little World Cup career."

"Spewin' that Benzema's final goal was chalked off (not to mention his peno!)," spews the catchily-named ID3995119 below the line. "He was my pre-tourney selection for Golden Boot. Who, if anyone, did you plump for PD?" I went for Sergio Aguero and an each-way thing on Eden Dzeko, which are further reasons why I'm hoping for a goal splurges in today's matches. Now here's a question for you: what is the best substitution in World Cup history?

Thanks to Paul Reidy for pointing out via twitter that it is 20 years ago today since Diego Maradona scored against Greece and gave that maniacal glare into the TV camera, which, surely, is football's equivalent of Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny" moment in the The Shining.

It is my long-held belief that England would perform better at World Cups and so on if they prepared for matches by listening to something more invigorating than God Save Our Queen, which, whatever about its all-round worthiness or lack thereof, is a dreary number. Iron Maiden's The Trooper strikes me as a suitable replacement, blending patriotism, for the anachronistically inclined, and drive. Mention of Maiden gives us a handy excuse to refer to this fine interview with Bruce Dickinson, in which, amongst many bon mots, one of the greatest vocalists in rock history discusses the similarity between his band's fans and football supporters.

If you're a rabid supporter of a football team and you believe passionately in that team, the fact that they have a couple of off seasons doesn't stop you supporting them. As long as they maintain the integrity and don't take the piss. They can play appallingly as long as they're trying hard, and you'll forgive them. If they do it repeatedly over a period of years and then acquire a manager that makes everybody wear pink lipstick and a strange tutu then you may consider your allegiances.

Here is a link to an article with some talking points from yesterday's matches.

Anyone like to predict the total number of goals that will be scored in today's three matches? I'm going to have a shot at 15, although you wouldn't completely rule out Argentina scoring that amount alone against Iran, Carlos Queiroz's defensive obduracy notwithstanding. Ghana could suffer at the hands of Germany – but could also threaten going forward themselves – and Bosnia and Nigeria could be a goal-fest too, even if the match will feature two of the best goalkeepers in the tournament, Vincent Enyeama and Asmir Begovic. Speaking of high-scoring World Cup contests, perhaps you'd like to read more about the circumstances surrounding the biggest win in the tournament's history, Hungary's demolition of a heroic El Salvador side. It's a great tale. Here's a snippet:

[El Salvador] players were especially angry that they did not even have a pennant with which to perform the traditional exchange with opponents before kick-off. Their 20-year-old goalkeeper Luis Guevara Mora decided to improvise. "When we arrived, we saw that all the other teams had brought gifts for their opponents, shirts, flags and even a book relating the history of football in their country. As for us, we hadn't brought anything," he recalled in 2007. "Then I spotted a pine tree and cut a piece of wood from it, into which I carved the words 'El Salvador'. And that's what we gave them."

What about the Swiss media's reaction to the spanking by their neighbours? I'd like to say local tabloids have run with headlines such as “scALPed“ or “Hellvetica” but that's not how they do things there, apparently. Instead La Tribune de Geneve has assessed each player : here are their marks out of 10:

Benaglio 4; Lichsteiner 2 (“has rarely been so bad … given a hellish time by Benzema .. and his attacking contribution was almost non-existent”); Djourou 3 (“the least bad of the Swiss defenders”; Senderos 3 (the Djourou-Senderos axis gave a bitter reminder of the days when Arsenal's defence had an open-door policy”); Rodriguez 3 (“completely anonymous”); Inler 4 (“Devoured by Matuidi …. the captain of the national team hade made an awful start to the tournament … it's becoming worrying”); Behrami 3 (“swept away by the blue tide”); Dzemaili 5 (“cut the deficit from a freekick and was asble to bring some precision to the passing”); Mehmedi 5 (“clearly the best Swiss player on the pitch”); Xhaka 5 (“Hitzfeld stubbornly continues to play him as a false nine but the weeks go by and he still hasn't justified the faith put in him”); Shaqiri 4 (“maybe we expected too much from him”); Seferovic 4 (“isolated, he made no impact on the game”)

Some inconsistencies in the marking there, but the overall gist is steadfastly downbeat. Next up for them is Honduras – and if ever there was a team who look like they'd kick players when they're down, it's Honduras. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

"Dizzying!" No, not my reaction to being ordered to begin live data entry at 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, but the headline on the front page of today's L'Equipe. The French media are justifiably euphoric with Les Bleus' recent form, which just keeps getting better and better and reached new heights last night with the 5-2 destruction of Switzerland. That's Switzerland, people, with a defence marshaled by Phillipe Senderos and Johan Djourou! Snipes aside, France were mighty impressive yesterday and the performances of Moussa Sissoko and Olivier Giroud, who did not start in the comprehensive win over Honduras in the first match, gave further indication that Didier Deschamps has an array of good options at his disposal at knows how to use them. Franck Ribery is missing a party, France aren't really missing him.

France should have won 6-2, of course. Karim Benzema had a goal ruled because the referee, almost like Clive Thomas many moons ago, blew for full-time as the ball neared the line. That was supreme pedantry by the official, as the spirit of football generally seems to dictate that you wait until the ball is in a neutral part of the pitch before calling full-time. But that is hardly an adequate arrangement and is borne of yet more negligence by the same governing body that cultivates murkiness around most refereeing decisions. There needs to be far more transparency about how decisions are made and how time is kept. One day we may even get 90 minutes of action. A wise person wrote more extensively on this issue here.

I'm handing over to Paul Doyle now, who will keep you abreast of all the latest updates. I'll leave you with an extract from Owen Gibson's five reasons why England are going home that's pretty hard to disagree with:

Throughout the buildup, the biggest question mark was over England’s defence. There was much consternation over whether the first choice four would stay fit. As it turned out, even that didn’t help much.

Once England’s area of towering strength, it has become their biggest cause for concern. Glen Johnson and Leighton Baines offered attacking threat but were shown up defensively.

In the middle the relatively untested partnership between Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka that rang alarm bells during the warm up matches caused them to clang ever louder. The latter, an impressive Premier League presence all season, was left sadly exposed and throughout a sense of fragility abounded.

C'mon, Costa Rica...

One team who are already through to the last sixteen are Costa Rica. They've beaten Italy and Uruguay, and a point against Group D whipping boys England will see them top the group.

As you can see, there was quite the party in San José, the Costa Rican capital, after the whistle yesterday. Their fans haven't felt this good since Juan Cayasso scored against Scotland in 1990.

You can read, watch and learn more about your new favourite team right here.

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So, Argentina play Iran today in search of a second win in Group G - and they could well be through to the knockout rounds before the day is out. As Jonathan Wilson points out, many great players have come and gone since the albiceleste last landed a trophy (the Copa America, back in 1993).

They're among the bookies' favourites, while our own power rankings but them fifth after the stuttering win over Bosnia. If Messi, Agüero and co need a few pointers, they could stick BBC Two on now - the 1986 World Cup film is on. That was Argentina's last World Cup win, led by José Luis Brown Diego Maradona.

Teams-in-the-World-Cup-longer-than-England department: South Korea and Algeria play tomorrow in Porto Alegre. With Belgium looking favourites to top Group H, a win for either could go a long way to seeing them into the second round - especially with Russia looking less than impressive. They're both being very good natured about the whole thing, though:

“Algeria’s offensive players are fast and each one of them has their own talent. I don’t think Algeria is an easy target,” said South Korea's Ji. “If we play like we did with Russia, then our chances are good.”

Vahid Halilhodzic blamed a lack of conditioning for Algeria's failure to hold on to their lead against Belgium – a shortcoming that has seen the squad given extra training at their base in Sorocaba. “I have told my players that they should not be ashamed of themselves,” said the Bosnian. “But this game against Korea is now the decider.”

You can read the full story here.

Good morning. Niall here from a sun-kissed King's Cross Copacabana on day ten of the World Cup. There's another three games to look forward to today. I know this tournament has been pretty drab and uninspiring so far, but let's try and make the best of it.

Today's games are as follows:

Argentina v Iran (5pm BST)

Germany v Ghana (8pm BST)

Nigeria v Bosnia-Herzegovina (11pm BST)

While we’re on the subject of big numbers, Japan’s clash with Ivory Coast was, perhaps surprisingly, one of the most viewed matches at this World Cup, with 34.1 million Japanese viewers tuning in to watch the Blue Samurai’s 2-1 defeat. Brazil’s opener against Croatia, meanwhile, attracted a whopping 42.9 million viewers in the host nation, while the US and Ghana was watched by 11.1 million in the States. England v Italy (14.2 million on the BBC, 12.8 million on RAI 1) and Germany v Portugal (26.4 million on ARD) were other big draws. And that's enough number-crunching for one day.

In more serious news, the South China Morning Post is reporting that Macau police have busted a bookmaking racket that allegedly took HK$5 billion ($645 million, or £379 million) in illegal bets - including a single HK$40 million bet - on World Cup football matches in a week. Feel free to speculate what exactly that monster punt was on.

Nigeria’s No1 is a goalkeeper whose skills used to seem the wrong way round: Vincent Enyeama was seen as a dab hand at scoring penalties but not much cop at saving them.

Read Paul Doyle’s fascinating profile of Enyeama, the man who should ensure Nigeria’s late clash, the final day ten match, against the impressive Bosnia, will be anything but dull.

There is another intriguing match-up later on in Fortaleza, where Germany play Ghana, and the brothers Boateng - Kevin-Prince and Jerome - meet once again on the international stage. Here’s Andy Hunter on the elder sibling’s role in stoking the fires ahead of the game:

Kevin-Prince Boateng might have played the diplomat. He could have displayed the maturity that has marked his rise as a leading player for Milan, Schalke and in the fight against racism in football. But there is something about confronting Germany at a World Cup that encourages the provocateur in “Prince”. For the second time in four years, the Ghana midfielder faces Joachim Löw’s team as a pantomime villain out to settle a score against the land of his birth. Once again, he has been instrumental in the casting.

Read the full piece here.

And so to today. And it’s not a bad schedule with, as mentioned before, Lionel Messi’s Argentina playing Iran first up. The potentially bad news for Gulf nation is that Messi appears keen for his side to trust their attacking instincts more than they did in their opening victory over Bosnia.

We are Argentina and I think we need to concentrate on ourselves without fixating on who we are playing. We feel more comfortable with two up front and me behind because it makes it easier to counter-attack and, because we have more people in attack, we have more possibilities.

In yesterday’s other match, Enner Valencia became the World Cup’s joint top scorer as Ecuador beat Honduras 2-1. If you missed it, catch up with Sid Lowe’s match report from Curitiba.

Anyway, thankfully, it’s not all about England. How about the remarkably unified France, who hammered Switzerland 5-2? Are Les Bleus dark horses? Or just horses? Or neither. Read Jonathan Wilson’s match report from the Arena Fonte Nova.

And so, in time-honoured fashion, to the inquest into England’s latest debacle. Scapegoats are needed and fingers are cocked, ready to point the finger of blame. Owen Gibson gets us started.

Costa Rica’s stunning victory over Italy, the result which hammered the nails into the Three Lions’ coffin, should not have come as too much of a surprise though. Having now accounted for both Uruguay and Italy, it turns out the Central Americans are a pretty decent side, who should not have been overlooked, writes Amy Lawrence:

In the brouhaha over England’s forlorn hankering for a handout from Italy, scant attention was paid to Costa Rica. What an oversight. How deserving they are of recognition for a gargantuan World Cup achievement. To qualify for the knockout stages after two games and look down on three former World Cup winners is as extraordinary as Spain’s implosion.

Read Amy’s full piece on Los Ticos here.

Good morning. Or not, as the case may be for England fans who are still coming to terms with the fact that their national side remains as woeful as ever, having now officially failed to progress from the group stage for the first time since 1958.

To ease/compound the pain, why not listen to the latest edition of our World Cup daily podcast?

Mike will be here to guide you through the day shortly, but until then here's Jonathan Wilson's preview of Argentina's game against Iran later on.

Given the players they have produced over the past two decades, there is something ludicrous about the fact that Argentina have not won a senior international tournament in 21 years – the longest drought in their history. They have, in that time, won an Olympic gold in 2004 and, between 1995 and 2007, five Under-20 World Cups. The present side, which features six players from the 2005 squad (a seventh, Gabriel Paletta, is with Italy) may deliver, but Argentina, who face Iran in their second group game on Saturday, are in danger of wasting an almost unprecedented seam of talent.

Part of the reason for the success at youth level was the work done by José Pékerman, now the manager of Colombia, and his assistant and then successor Hugo Tocalli. “It’s true we have underperformed,” said Tocalli, “and we can’t find the reasons. It’s not easy. Nobody can say that Argentina lack players. We do have great players – 2002, 2006, 2010 ... but winning the World Cup is not easy. Fitness is vital, but they can be tired and it’s difficult. Also luck, because in 2006 we were winning 1-0, had to make two forced substitutions and everything changed. I’m a fan of long-time projects, and they offer results, look at Spain, it started with the youth teams … and the same with Germany, [Jürgen] Klinsmann and then Jogi Löw, who was his assistant. Argentina has gone crazy, switching from projects very quickly, without having stability.”