World Cup Update

England
England need to rework their midfield, after the abysmaal performance against Paraguay. Steven Gerrard continues his subpar play on the international stage but I can't lay it all on his door: he and Frank Lampard are EXACTLY the same kind of player and they're getting in each other's way. I know it's hard to drop either when they finished 2nd and 3rd in voting for the European Player of the Year awards, but it's necessary. They're both functioning at 60%.

My suggestion is to retain Lampard on the team (because he's proven himself on the international stage) and drop Gerrard. Move Beckham next to Lampard and bring Aaron Lennon on to the wing.

I'm not so concerned about the group stage because England seem to have it sown up, but come the knock out phases, something needs to be done to enable the 3 Lions to play like a world class outfit.

Big shout out to Trinidad and Tobago for holding Sweden to a draw. While they don't have the tools to get far, they are well organized and boast quality players in Yorke, Hislop, the pacy Edwards and the superb Stern John.

Argentina and Cote D'Ivoire
I wasn't impressed by either one of these, though Argentina has enough quality players who didn't even feature in this game, to progress to the quarters or, even the semis. Cote D'Ivoire, on the other hand, really disappointed me. They have world class performers at every level EXCEPT a midfield general. Someone to distribute, to slow things down or speed things up, if need be. They batter you with waves of attack without varying the pace, changing the attack or making the extra pass. I don't think they have what it takes.

Holland defeated Serbia & Montenegro this morning and I was disappointed by them. They're talented and effective but Arjen Robben, who, unbelievably, voted man of the match, was the breaking point of all their good moves. He's a complete ballhog who simply isn't looking to make a pass. He cut in twice from the wings, with stellar acceleration and then missed a couple of WIDE OPEN strikers, moving into space. That kind of bad decision might be ok for a super-star who makes it up, but Robben ain't no super-star. He's just got a lot of ability and even more tunnel vision.