I'm not going to South Africa. So instead I'm gonna try and watch a bit if not all of every game at work, or at home or in a bar or wherever. On the telly. With a beer. And I'm gonna predict who I think is gonna win. And talk about football stuff. So there.

Friday, 25 June 2010

21st: NEW ZEALAND

Entering the tournament, if you'd told the All-Whites they'd finish above Italy in their group, they'd have been delighted and would have assumed that meant qualification to the knockout phase. Not so. But NZ remained unbeaten, no small feat for a team who were predicted by many to be the whipping boys.

What they lacked in class they more than made up for in determination, and could be said to have outperformed near(ish) neighbours and rivals Australia. Their 1-1 draw against Italy will go down as one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, and the fact that they narrowly failed to make the last 16 one of the biggest shames.