Well, what a brilliant World Cup its been so far!  It's thrown up some scintillating football matches, a whole new host of unknowns have been elevated to superstar status, and a whole host of "knowns" have been cast in the opposite direction.

 

Little Senegal .  Just a France reject team, eh?  How ironic that the real French team looked more like rejects.  But Senegal have impressed the world with their hardworking attitude.  But hell, they've got some great footballers too.  El Hadji Diouf looks like he's going to be a real world force.  His pace and sometimes breathtaking skill has been one of the highlights of the World Cup, and it has been his talent, along with players like Cisse (surely too classy for future club Birmingham?), Diao (will not look out of place alongside Hamann or Gerrard at Liverpool) and Fadiga (a left sided player with skills the likes of Trevor Sinclair can only dream about), that will mean if Senegal overcome Turkey to reach the semi-final in their first World Cup, no one will bat an eyelid.  The real surprise came when they beat France , and after that we knew what to expect from them.  A professional, workmanlike display, decorated with sublime skills from the likes of Fadiga and Diouf.  They must be everyone's favourite second team, and I'm sure will receive far more neutral support than Turkey, whose top domestic side's fans are only beaten in the obnoxiousness table by those of Lazio.  The lions of Millwall look positively tame in comparison.

 

But it's not just Senegal who have been delighting football fans all over the world from Group A.  France have caused absolute ecstasy for all non-French fans, disgruntled at their arrogance.  I, for one, will never forget Franck Leboeuf's performance on "They Think It's All Over", reiterating the same tired feat every time he got a question wrong, "I don't care, I won ze World Coop", the sentence which gets closest to instilling homicidal tendencies in me.

 

But, Leboeuf was part of a defence that gives a far more literal meaning to the phrase, "You are what you eat".  The whole back line played at a snail's pace, and it was blindingly obvious that Desailly and Leboeuf, in particular, could not cope with pace.  Diouf ripped them apart, as did Tomasson.  If they had got any further, they would have been ripped apart by Owen, Larsson, Aghahowa, Crespo, or any other half decent striker.  Even Saudi Arabia 's Al-Jaber would have proved a handful for these French flops.  Happily for all of us, this France side failed to make any kind of impression, and hopefully, the gloating Gauls will stop pretty much immediately.

 

My favourite failures were the arrogant Leboeuf, the arrogant Petit, and and erm ... the arrogant Desailly.  All three were useless, playing in a way that belied their massive egos, which appeared completely unjustified by their performances.

 

I was more impressed with Paraguay , who appear to have two or three quality players in their side.  Although they were never going to win the World Cup, they all worked hard and certainly had a bit of flair.  Bundesliga fans will have known about him already, but for the rest of us, this World Cup had unearthed a gem in the young Roque Santa Cruz.  He displays a lot of confidence for one so young, but appears to have his feet firmly on the ground.  And what quick feet they were!  His pace, skills on the ball and fearsome finishing makes him a safe bet to become one of the world's best strikers at some point.  I reckon Rocky can become even better than our own Michael Owen.  Playing at one of the world's best clubs in Bayern Munich, he can only get better.  Watch out for this guy, he's going to be huge, although many see him as a star already.

 

Arce of Palmeiras looks to be a tricky, but solid right back, who can tackle, but can also run with the ball and whip in a decent cross.  He also has a decent shot in him, it was his fearsome drive that led to Puyol's own goal against Spain .  The goalkeeper could not handle the power of it, and spilled it into the unwitting Puyol, and back into the goal, before either could react.

 

Finally, Nelson Cuevas seems like a fantastic prospect as well.  I think he's about 23, and the River Plate attacker was mighty impressive in Paraguay 's World Cup campaign, especially his two goal haul against Slovenia .  Almost criminally though, he was a substitute most of the time, despite his obvious skills.  A front pair of Cuevas and Santa Cruz will be a match for any defence in the world, and at the next World Cup, both will have matured considerably, and both have the potential, I think, to become world class by this time.  Maybe 2006 will be the time for Paraguay to really show their South American flair.

 

I've got to mention Slovenia , simply because they have one of our four players in the competition.  Milenko Acimovic, although a sub, when he got on, did enough to show that he will be a useful asset for us.  His quick thinking and passing will be invaluable for us next season.  I was very surprised to see that he was a substitute for so long.  He appeared to light up Slovenia when he came on, and you just wonder if Slovenia might have fared better had he been on from the start.  Although he's no Zidane, he's certainly one of Slovenia 's better players, and I'd rather have him than the Roy Keane-esque Zahovic, a temperamental, self-styled world class midfielder whose own perception of his ability far outweighs his true value.

 

Another Slovenia sub, Cimerotic, of Lecce also impressed, especially against Spain, when he came on to score their goal.  He obviously has a lot of class, and I'm sure will have used his World Cup campaign to either move to a bigger club, or squeeze a markedly improved contract from Lecce, as is the way of so many players whose status is elevated by playing on the world stage.

 

Brazil, I think, have been the most impressive side in the tournament so far.  Although they still have the world class talent in attack that they have always been renowned for, their much-maligned defence has also been a lot better than people expected.

 

But there's no denying that the stars of the Samba side have been Ronaldo and Rivaldo.  You've just got to love the Inter Milan goofball, whose career has been more infamous for his injuries than famous for his goals.  That's not to say that his goals ratio has not always been mightily impressive.  It has, when he's fit.  Although people say he's not fully fit at this World Cup, he has still been awesome.  He has the strength to outmuscle any defender, as well as sublime skills on the ball.  His finishing is probably the best in the world, with only Vieri to challenge him at this World Cup for that honour.  Although not quite there yet, Ronaldo has sent a message to the world.  He's back, and ready to reclaim his throne as the best footballer on the planet.

 

Still, he'll have a job wresting that accolade off his Brazil teammate, Rivaldo.  Although he has not always been at his best at this World Cup, he's still been absolutely breathtaking at times, one time for the wrong reasons.  His pathetic show against Turkey tarnished the reputation of the game, and I think a ban would have been far more appropriate than the equivalent of depriving me of 30p of my weekly fiver.  But no one can deny that Rivaldo has shown people that he is the best in the world, still, which makes Newcastle 's genuine interest all the more mystifying.  Rivaldo in the Premiership would be fantastic, though, and signal Newcastle 's genuine championship hopes for the next season.  Still, I can't see it happening.  Rivaldo is far too good for a club, rejected by Boudewijn Zenden, a Barcelona reject himself.  If a Barcelona reject considers himself too good for Newcastle , how the hell can Barcelona 's best player by a mile be expected to lower his standards so far for the Geordies?

 

A more unexpected side to cause ripples was Costa Rica .  Although they had a suspect defence, Gomez and Parks were both excellent upfront, and both got goals.  They proved a handful for all three of the sides they played, and at one point, were 3-2 down to Brazil with no one in their right mind wishing to bet on Brazil hanging on.  Yeah, they went down 5-2 in the end, but they still only missed out on qualifying on goal difference.  Both Gomez and Parks have shown themselves to be quality players, and whilst Parks is already playing in Europe at Udinese, Gomez, will probably be hoping for a lucrative move to Europe after impressing in Japan and Korea .

 

Then there was Portugal .  They're really not as good as people thought they were.  Despite Figo and Rui Costa obviously being fantastic players, when these two fail to produce, then the whole side struggles for alternative ideas, and it showed.  When Figo was marked tightly, Portugal appeared clueless.  Their defence was possibly one of the most dodgy in the World Cup, and that absolute joker of a goalkeeper, Vitor Baia, was surely only put in the side by Antonio Oilveira for comic value.  There isn't an award for worst individual performance in one match, but if there was, Baia would win hands down.  And that was the problem.  His hands.  His failure to catch the tamest of crosses caused absolute pandemonium in the Portugal box every time the ball went near it.

 

Added to that, the failure of Figo to produce the special performance Portugal urgently needed from him secured their early exit.  He has done enough in the past to secure his place in the hall of fame as one of the best players of his generation, making a mockery of the phrase "You're only as good as your last game".  In that case, I expect to see Real Madrid starting their next campaign minus the services of Figo and Zidane, both absolute donkeys according to that logic.  But his presence will not be missed in the latter stages of the competition.  His displays were so low key that it must have demoralised the whole side, seeing their star player struggling so much.

 

But I won't be shedding a tear for them.  The appalling cynicism of Joao Pinto against South Korea provided concrete evidence for a red card, which he duly received.  However, the disgraceful protests by the whole Portugese side, in which they developed a disturbing fondness for squeezing the referee's cheeks, brought the whole facade to a new level.  Not content with an absolutely awful tackle, they had to outdo themselves with the ridiculous protests against a blatant red card.  And its not the first time they've done it.  At Euro 2000, Gomes and Xavier were both hit with heavy bans from UEFA after being the worst offenders in aggressive protests against a penalty decision for France .  Hopefully, a few players will be punished from this latest episode.  The supposed flair of the Portugese was not evident in their play, or their on-field conduct, and for this reason, I won't miss them at all.

 

The good ol' US of A, however, have been a lovely breath of fresh air in this tournament.  Their absolute audacity in storming into a three goal lead within half an hour against Portugal  was just delightful.  Although they work together best as a team, (Its not about individuals, its about US ... I made that up myself!), they're not short of stars.  Landon Donovan, a prodigious 20 year old striker has excelled with his pace and dribbling, which caused all sort of problems for the bemused Portuguese defence.  Although currently playing in America for San Jose , his talents are obviously wasted on a poor side, and whose country have very little interest in the game.  3 million Americans watched the  Mexico game, out of 250 million!  Donovan should not have to experience this apathy any longer, and I hope he'll be making his way to Europe soon, where, if he keeps playing with the confident swagger in his step, he'll quickly become an icon.

 

Claudio Reyna, of Sunderland , has also shown what a good player he is.  He will provide some much needed flair on Wearside, and a full season with them will help to unravel his talents to the Premiership.  He works extremely hard, and was the best player on the pitch against Germany today.  His speculative shot which was not far off the top corner, when Kahn had run off his line, shows that he's not short of creativity.  I think he'll light up the Mackems like he has lit up the World Cup with his tireless running and incisive passing.

 

Like everyone else, I'm sure, I thought  America were just here to make up the numbers.  I imagined them struggling through their three games, using the route one method, (with a cry of "go long!" every time another ball goes flying over the midfield), cynical tactic with their tackles, (bodychecks, and "hustling"), and just going on about the "de-fense" for 90 minutes.

 

For this, I issue an apology.  Not that the American country themselves will particularly care.  Not just because I am a fairly insignificant columnist with an inflated view of my own importance, but also because America just doesn't care about football.  Wasn't George Bush alleged to have said, about the side, "I don't know what the hell you boys are doing out there, but I wish ya good luck" which just sums up their attitude really.  Hopefully, this campaign will give America 's footballers a little more publicity, because they deserve it.  They are not a bad team, and were desperately unlucky not to reach the semi finals.  Perhaps, if players like Donovan do move to Europe and become stars, they will get more publicity, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

As for the Irish, what brave performances from a very technically limited side.  To be honest, I thought they'd done enough in getting through their qualifying group (sentencing the likes of Overmars, Van Nistelrooy and Davids to summer holidays in Disneyland ), but they continued to impress, getting through a difficult group.  The lottery of penalties against Spain  was a sad way to go out, but the team had certainly done itself proud.  Robbie Keane, left on the bench in recent weeks by David O'Leary, has certainly given the gaffer food for thought now.  I wouldn't be surprised if he plays a far more prominent role in Leeds' campaign next season.  He is clearly a very good striker, strong, determined and with an excellent eye for goal.

 

And what about Matt Holland?  In the absence of a certain Mr. Keane, he was an absolute collosus in the middle of the park.  He has proved that he is a quality player, and it will be a travesty if he has to start next season playing in Division One.  He is far too good for that, and hopefully a Premiership club will come in for him, because a player like him should be playing with the elite, and alongside the elite too.  I wouldn't mind Spurs bidding for him, to be honest.  We could use someone that determined in our midfield, especially given the lightweight look it has about it at the moment.  Redknapp and Anderton are not the most solid of midfielders, although both are very talented.  Someone like Holland would give us the bite we need.  I know Freund was enjoying a good season before his injury, but surely he's not going to return from injury and pick up where he left off, especially given his age and dire form before this season? I may be wrong, but it don't happen too often, folks(!)

 

"This is the year that  Africa are going to make their mark on the World Cup", said everyone.  However, no one was thinking of Senegal .  The team uppermost in people's mind when they said this, was Cameroon .  Their African flair would take them far, said everyone. 

 

True, they've got flair.  Samuel Eto'o looks to be a fantastic young player.  Although he's not a goalscorer, his approach play is brilliant at time, and I really hope that he's still a transfer target for us, because he could do for us what Rebrov was supposed to do, but seemingly forgot how.  He was the only Cameroon player who really impressed, and suggested that he could be a really good player.

 

But Patrik Mboma did enough to suggest that he may be able to make a relative success of his time with Sunderland .  Although I cannot see him topping the goal charts, he is a bit like Kanu and Wanchope, and has a lot of talent which he only uses half of the time.  So although he's not going to become  Sunderland 's player of the year, he's too inconsistent, he'll bring some much needed excitement into the dull lives of the Drearsiders.

 

Also included in the "This year ... Africa ... mark... World Cup" phrase was Nigeria , the Super Eagles.  There was little super about the disappointing Nigerians, however.  Only Jay Jay Okocha really made a lasting impression, and for all his efforts, he's earned himself a move to ... Bolton .  Poor Jay Jay.  He must really feel like giving up his profession.  He's been one of the better players in the world's top tournament, and so gets himself a move to Bolton .  Football is unfair.

 

Julius Aghahowa, although he didn't set the World Cup alight, did show that he may be a star of the future.  Still only 20, his pace proved a problem for England throughout their bore draw, and a lucrative move away from Shaktar Donetsk, (the Ukrainian side he has helped to move out of the shadow of Rebrov's former club Dynamo Kiev and win the league this year), must be on the cards.

 

Another prominent phrase leading up to the World Cup was "Veron may have failed at United this season, but he'll show at the World Cup that he's one of the best players in the world".  Well, the Little Witch, once again, failed to weave his magic again.  There have been numerous reports that Ferguson will get a broom of his own to sweep this underachieving midfielder out of Old Trafford.  Veron has a lot to do to justify his price tag and reputation, after his World Cup turned out to be just as low-key as his outings for United.

 

But I'm certainly not going to cry for the "cunning" Argentina .  Simeone still remains remorseless for his theatrics against Beckham, and the team freely admitted that they would use snide tactics to try and anger the England side again.  I was impressed with the way that Mills managed to keep his cool, amidst alleged incidences of being spat upon.

 

Pablo Aimar was one of the few Argies that managed to come out of Japan and South Korea with his admittedly bizarrely decorated head held high.  The one who looks like the fifth member of the Strokes, showed that he was impossibly talented.  Valencia know that they have an absolute gem on their hands, the only player that Maradona would pay to watch, apparently.

 

I think that Ecuador  was one of the sides that could have done better, if luck had been on their side.  They showed that they do have some useful players in their ranks, not least the British based duo Augustin Delgado and Ulises De La Cruz.

 

Delgado remains a relative unknown at Southampton after several anonymous performances, but getting a goal will have boosted his confidence no end, and he could well become successful with the Saints.  His aerial ability is probably his best asset, and it will be very helpful in the English league, which is so concentrated on width.  I don't have hard Opta stats to back it up (I don't care enough to actually find out how to contact Opta, and then find if they have the stats to back this up), but I think that the English league relies on crosses for goals more than any of the other top leagues.

 

Ulises De la Cruz is a more established player, a fans favourite at Hibernian, and you can see why.  A skilful right sided defender/winger, with the traditional ability to run up the wing and deliver a telling cross, he is one of Hibernian's best players, and I would not be surprised if a bigger club had a look at him, because he clearly has quite a lot of useful talent in him.

 

I also thought  Italy were very hard done by, after suffering about five disallowed goals.  Whilst my unsympathetic mates were just happy to see the "Italian poofs" go out, I thought that they should have finished first in their group.  Graham Poll proved just how incompetent he is, and if he's our best referee, and apparently, he is, God help us all.  His ridiculous refusal to allow two legitimate goals against Croatia gave the ageing Croats an undeserved win.  Admittedly,  Italy deserved to lose against South Korea after they were matched throughout the game by the co-hosts, but should they have been in that position in the first place?

 

Christian Vieri showed what a class act he is, possibly the best striker in the world.  I cannot see a weakness in his game.  His positioning, his strength, his skill on the ball and his finishing are all immaculate, and it shows, with a very impressive goals tally for Inter and for all the other top clubs that he has played for.  It is a shame that such a top talent will not be competing in the latter stages, because unlike so many other of the world's best players, he did not underachieve.

 

A one Francesco Totti did, though.  Denied the space he craves to be the playmaker he is so renowned for being, he remained anonymous most of the time.  Apart from his free kick which hit the post, he did very little of note throughout Italy 's quartet of his matches, leading me to the conclusion that he is vastly overrated.  I'm really not sure if he can turn it on for the big stage, and I think there are many better players in his position. World Class?  I don't really think so.

 

So, now we have six teams left in contention.  Brazil and Spain (not too surprising), Germany (well they're always there or thereabouts aren't they), and then, South Korea , Senegal and Turkey !  How surreal would it be if one of these three won the World Cup ?  Germany will face a tough test against Spain , or South Korea .  After having beaten Italy , you certainly cannot count them out of their match with Spain , and Senegal/Turkey will have a difficult time against Brazil .  But the World Cup has thrown up so many surprises up 'til now, why would they stop now?

 

My tip, somewhat unromantically, though, is Brazil .  But how the hell can I be sure when France , Argentina and Italy have all been so unceremoniously dumped out of the competition by supposed minnows ?  Long live the underdog !

 

Oh, and come on you Spurs, I suppose.