Meanwhile this has to be the most dire World Cup in years. I have yet to see a match that I found exciting or even enjoyable.
I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that most of the players seem to play either in the Premier League or European equivalents and are thus at the end of a very long season. There are few games when names normally heard on Match of the Day don't seem to crop up.
Another possible problem is said to be the new ball which few have experienced before. It does seem to have led to some goalkeeping "howlers".
The refereeing seems pretty OK to me although at a different standard to our Premier League .... it might be interesting to see if the yellow and red cards are going to regular Premier League players more than any other group of players.
For sure the poor performances cannot be blamed on the weather (which has been ideal) the pitches which have surprised me in their appearance (far better than Wembley) or the spectators who have packed the stadia and made all the right noises without any apparent signs of trouble.
Apart from the poor quality football being played it would seem to be a very well organised and planned tournament.