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5.02pm BST
Well, it's time to knock this on the head now. Football returns tomorrow. See you then. Bye.
4.56pm BST
The big question: is it Dr Steve Peters? He's had precious little to do for the past two weeks.
Brazil's manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has called on a psychologist to bolster the national football team after a near emotional meltdown during Saturday's nailbiting World Cup game against Chile.
4.50pm BST
'A night on which heroic endeavour trumped outrageous villainy'
There has already been an avalanche of articles written about that 1982 clash between France and Germany. But not many can top this one, written in 2008 for the Observer, by Tim Pears. Thanks to Migeul Delaney for flagging it up again.
4.43pm BST
On the subject of official anthems this, by The War on Drugs, should have been Brazil's.
4.40pm BST
Who knew Wyclef Jean still existed?
Shakira will perform La la la (Brazil 2014)' at the final, while Santana and Wyclef (!) will perform their "official anthem". I can't wait.
4.36pm BST
In case you missed this, overnight in Brazil some scalpers got their comeuppance.
Police have broken up a ticket-touting ring in Rio de Janeiro and arrested its alleged ringleader, a businessman with ties to many of Brazils best-known footballers. Mohamadou Lamine Fofana claims to be a consultant and agent to clubs and players. The website for his company, Atlanta Sportif International, shows photographs of him with Pelé, Ronaldo, Romário and Dunga. He was arrested along with 10 people during a raid in which police seized 100 tickets and about 10,000 reais (£2,600), according to the Globo website. Investigators said the sting was the culmination of a month-long inquiry into the inflated sales of tickets intended for sponsors, NGOs and three national delegations, including Brazils."
4.30pm BST
Bad news for Burnley fans. James Rodriguez doesn't fancy a switch to Turf Moor. Or any other Premier League club. Colombia's golden child doesn't fancy the "physicality" of English football.
Ive said in the past that Id like to play in Spain one day, because it is a league that is good technically, and where you get a lot of touches on the ball, which is my style. The Premier League is maybe a bit physical at this stage. But I am a Monaco player and Im not thinking about anything like that at the moment. I am now just concentrating on Brazil, which is going to be a wonderful experience for us."
4.19pm BST
Vote! Vote! Vote! Who will make the semi-finals of the World Cup? Here's our poll. I reckon it will be France, Argentina and Holland but I can't make my mind up between Colombia and Brazil. I reckon this may be the game that the 104-year-old Mario Yepes finally gets exposed. And I think Brazil's huge wave of emotion might just tip the balance in their favour despite James Rodriguez and co's best attacking efforts. Oh, I don't know. You decide.
4.11pm BST
Questions ! Questions! Questions! I believe Barney Ronay has now conquered technical glitches and is now online in a kind of World Cup agony-aunt role to answer your Brazil 2014-related queries.
Reader: Barney, other than Fred, who in this World Cup would you let take a penalty for you if your house depended on it?
4.07pm BST
A colleague has just alerted me to this wearable England flag that was hastily taken off the shelves before the World Cup kicked off. Now, I know it's old hat but it's well worth revisiting. Was this the worst Brazil 2014-related piece of merchandise or have you seen something even more dreadful? The Suárez bottle-opener is actually all right.
3.50pm BST
How the France v Germany match is going to end from the viewpoint of someone living a brief life full of anguish in an absurd world.
@GreggBakowski We all know how the France v Germany game is going to end World Cup Philosophy via @existentialcoms - http://t.co/ZMZmrsso6M
3.38pm BST
The lurgee, mind-games or an early excuse? You decide. Joachim Löw has claimed that seven Germany players are suffering from mild flu and "throat aches" a day before the quarter-final ding-dong with the impressive French. He hasn't named them all, though, but did say that Christoph Kramer had a curious case of the chills and Mats Hummels was feeling particularly ropey after all the travel around Brazil. Here's what he had to say
"Seven players have somehow come down with slight cases of the flu. As a result, it's too early to make any final decisions about the lineup. I hope they're all doing well now. It's not all that bad at the moment. I don't want to dramatise it. Mats Hummels suffered a negative setback on the second day."
3.23pm BST
On the subject of worst players at the World Cup, surely Russia's Igor Akinfeev deserves to be in goal for his stunning impression of 2013's Joe Hart against South Korea.
3.16pm BST
Will David Wall be given the live blog byline he so richly deserves by the end of the World Cup?" asks Nick Horton. "A nation (well, I guess a few of the people who read this) awaits."
If David had third-personed that email himself, I may have stuck his name up there for such a stunning show of chutzpah. But seeing as you requested it Nick, I'm afraid not.
3.13pm BST
In non-World Cup-related news Emre Can has signed for Liverpool. It was agreed a while back but the Is have now been dotted and the Ts crossed and whatnot. The fee is around £10m.
3.08pm BST
Hello. Gregg here. So, what's happening then? Landon Donovan has stopped eating his sour grapes for a moment to have a pop at Jürgen Klinsmann's tactics, that's what's happening.
I think tactically, the team was not set up to succeed. They were set up in a way that was opposite from what theyve been the past couple years, which is opening up, passing, attacking trying to do that. And the teams been successful that way. Why they decided to switch that in the World Cup, none of us will know. From a playing standpoint, I think the guys will probably be disappointed in the way things went.
2.55pm BST
And with that I am out. Gregg Bakowski will be the man in the hot seat for the rest of the day. Thanks for all the emails and tweets. Speak soon. Bye!
2.50pm BST
David Wall has been in touch about the worst XI. Says David:
Perhaps the entire Cameroon side, but if that's going a bit far then certainly their captain and main striker. Played one game in which he barely seemed interested. Rather than putting himself in the shop window being out of contract, he put himself in the remained bin along with those autobiographies of Ashley Cole, and Glenn Hoddle's World Cup Diary.
2.40pm BST
From one of our men on the ground:
Not everyone in celebratory mood. This from Bahia Independence Day parade: "Your vote is worth more than football!" pic.twitter.com/L6rcuF7wbh
Illustration in Thursday's Salvador paper A Tarde... pic.twitter.com/ehuihiWJRE
2.30pm BST
From Fabio Capello to Kevin-Prince Boateng via Miguel Herrera, departing players and coaches arent going quietly. Gregg Bakowski has spent hours upon hours
Googling
performing painstaking research to put all their quotes in once place. The result is this:
Fabio Capellos side hardly lit up the tournament with two draws and a defeat before tumbling out. And the former England manager was feeling particularly prickly after the 1-1 draw with Algeria that led to their elimination. But rather than focus on the lack of illuminating football played by his team as the reason for their exit, it was a dazzling light in the stands directed at his goalkeeper that bothered him. There are pictures. You can see that in the footage. This not an excuse, it is a fact. There was a laser. I have never come up with excuses to get by in my entire life, growled Capello. Asked if his complaints deflected attention from the performance of Algeria, Capello responded: Never, never. I would never do that. You have to listen to when I speak so that I dont have to repeat the same things.
2.20pm BST
Matt Dony has a retort for Peter McFarlane:
At Euro 2012, England rigidly stuck to the ol' 'two banks of four', and hoofed it up to the big man. Would Peter McFarlane praise them for 'respecting their footballing past and philosophy'? We'd all like to see a display of free flowing, 1982-esque football from Brazil, but can we really blame them for taking a more pragmatic approach if they feel it's their best chance of success? Socrates' words are lovely, but sadly out of touch with football today. I wish it were different, but it's not.
2.12pm BST
David Hytner reckons Manuel Neuers display against Algeria has haunted France with memories of one of the World Cups most notorious incidents. He writes:
Joachim Löw called him extraordinary; Franz Beckenbauer described him as a tougher-tackling libero than he was, while on the internet the death-or-glory performance drew the comparison to Chuck Norris.
Manuel Neuer was Germanys hero of the World Cup last-16 victory over Algeria on Monday, when he not only kept goal with customary assurance but moonlighted as a sweeper behind an extremely high back-line. On numerous occasions, he raced from his penalty area to make tackles and even one diving header.
2.09pm BST
Peter McFarlane does not have anything to say about what he believes to be the best/worst XI in this World Cup but he does have a response to Neyamr's press conference jabberings. Says Peter:
How appropriate that your post about Neymar saying his team's main focus is to win the quarter-final against Colombia and not to put on a show was right next to an advert for Guardian t-shirts with this quote from legendary Brazilian football player, Socrates "beauty comes first, victory is secondary - what matters is joy". This generation of Brazilian footballers don't deserve to progress if they don't respect their own footballing past and philosophy. Colombia seem to respect it more.
2.00pm BST
Some worst XI suggestions for you:
@ianmccourt Surely anyone guilty of a brainless, team-sabotaging red card will make a Worst XI? Step forward fools... pic.twitter.com/tsrjekUzzW
1.52pm BST
Neymar has been talking to the press. He says his team's main focus is
not to cry
to win the quarter-final against Colombia and not to put on a show, after the squad was criticised for playing boring football. He also says it's not Brazil's main priority to 'put a smile on everybody's faces' and is instead working hard to become champions for the sixth time. You can see utter all this jazz in this handy video:
1.41pm BST
Some transfers news for you.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar tells Bild: "Regarding rumours abt Liverpool it'd only be fair to speak to Schalke first" #lfc Contract runs out in 2015
Huntelaar: "I've talked to Schalke about an extension for a while. After WC I am having a holiday. Then I will speak to them again." #lfc
1.34pm BST
Incidentally, if you think you know more about this best XI business than Zico or the brains at Whoscored, then please feel free to email in your suggestions. Or, if you prefer, you can send your most disappointing XI of the World Cup so far, that way we can discuss how bad Mario Götze has been. Either are good. The necessary address is above.
1.24pm BST
The afternoon's first email. And it comes from Jonathon Moloney, who wants to have a word or two with you about the Whoscored Best XI and Essaid Belkalem. Says Jonathon:
Seeing the whoscored Best XI I must say I'm immensely proud of Essaid Belkalem. Despite the patronising tone of itv's commentators the other night about both Watford and Essaid, I have to say I was really impressed by him when I saw him last season. He looked completely at home in our back three, composed and commanding. Fans of big teams might not understand this pride, but as I'll never get to see my team win any trophies, it's things like this that make it all worth while. You da man, Essaid!
1.14pm BST
This video may sum up how Michael feels:
1.12pm BST
@ianmccourt Impossible to summarize in 140 characters the feelings of being a Fulham supporter and seeing Bryan Ruiz in Zico's XI. ARRRGGHH.
Was he really that bad for Fulham? Can't say I saw too much of him.
1.08pm BST
Unfortunately, wifi problems have meant that Barney's webchat is going to be delayed ever so slightly. Will keep you posted, when he's in the house, so to speak.
1.01pm BST
Elsewhere on this website, Barney Ronay is online from Brazil and ready to answer your questions about
normcore
the World Cup. You can pose your noodle scratchers below the line here.
12.54pm BST
Do you hate your job? And I mean, really hate your job. Do you spit in your bosses coffee? Do you blow your nose in their sandwich? Instead of going home at night do you go direct to the pub because the only thing that softens the blow of returning to that squalid hell hole is alcohol? Worry no more. Salvation is at hand. And it comes in the form of THE GREATEST GAME KNOWN TO MAN AND WOMAN. I got Gaizka Mendieta.
12.43pm BST
The laughter. The darkness. The emptiness. It must be today's O Fiverão. Today it features nothingness, Russian MPs v Fabio Capello, Paddy Kenny and York Citys maverick funding plans.
12.35pm BST
If anyone wants to send this to the Guardian Sports desk just to thank us for all the hard work we are putting in over the summer, the address is Kings Place, 90 York Way London N1 9AG. Thanks in advance.
Luis Suarez bottle opener now on sale.!!! Canners...cfc pic.twitter.com/XcSv6HjaCB
12.30pm BST
Here are the guys who deserve to be in Zico's World Cup XI. And here are the guys who deserve to be in WhoScored's World Cup XI from the round of 16. If you are finding it hard to fill the void in your life on these rest days, you can play spot the difference.
12.17pm BST
Meanwhile in Brazil ...
They were building up France-Germany on one of the Brazilian TV stations last night. Just a few shots of the Nazis marching into Paris...
... segueing into Mats Hummels tackling and things like that. A different one.
12.11pm BST
There is not a lot happening at the moment so here's the best instructional video on how to put on a pair of trousers set to Europe's The Final Countdown you will see today.
12.06pm BST
Here we go. The studs are OK but the hamstrings are a bit tight and the gold chain complete with cross and diamond earring had to come off. And with that here I am and ready to run about, put in a shift and hope to make a difference with my fresh fingers.
11.51am BST
Right, I notice that over on the touchline the fourth official is holding up my number. Standing next to him is Ian McCourt, currently going through his pre-match routine of calisthenics and having his studs examined. He'll be your guide for the first part of the afternoon.
11.43am BST
An email. "Could you please ask Barry Glendenning how it feels to be 'near the epicenter of international football'?" asks Samuel Cutting. "An article in The Atlantic suggests that's where he is, metaphorically speaking. The piece also confirms that Barry is 'not the Supreme Leader of Football'. Shame."
11.27am BST
Ever fancied making your head look a little that of Professor Quirrell at the end of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?
11.18am BST
A couple of blogs that are well worth your attention:
First Beatles-loving Brazilian Fernando Duarte explains why Luis Gustavo's absence is such a problem for the host nation.
11.06am BST
The World Cup best shirt debate: as far as I can tell we've now have nominations for Colombia, Mexico, France home, France away, USA away, Iran, Holland, Ghana, Uruguay, Italy home, Italy away, Germany away, Russia, Belgium away and Honduras. And the more I think about it, the more I like the Australia shirt, and the quiet simplicity of both Greece efforts.
Perhaps it'll be easier, then, to come up with a definitive worst shirt of the tournament. Which is surely this:
10.54am BST
Today's big news is that Germany are in the vice-like grip of a flu crisis! Or, more accurately, a few of their players have slight colds. Here's the full story.
Joachim Löw has confirmed that seven of his Germany players are showing symptoms of illness in the buildup to Fridays World Cup quarter-final against France.
Days after Mats Hummels was ruled out of the game against Algeria due to sickness, the Germany manager said the problem seemed to have spread, without naming specific players.
10.48am BST
Here's the full story on the South Korea FA's refusal to accept Hong Myung-bo's resignation.
10.45am BST
Spanish newspaper As has dressing room footage of Argentina's players celebrating their win over Switzerland.
It's a singalong to the tune of Bad Moon Rising:
10.33am BST
A few other shirt votes coming in below the line. OoughO suggests USA away:
10.21am BST
"Who has the best shirt in this year's tournament?" asks Gary Naylor rhetorically. "No contest "
10.17am BST
Where have all the goals gone? Not today, obviously. You can't really expect goals on days without matches that's asking too much. But in general? Barry Glendenning takes a look.
9.53am BST
A question that has been the burning issue in the office this morning (in lieu of any conversation about actual football): who has the best shirt in this year's tournament?
A quick straw poll brought nominations for Colombia (from yours truly:
9.40am BST
Morning all. John Ashdown here, stepping in for David, who has gone off with what looked to me to be a hamstring strain. You never like to see that. Anyway, first things first, let me direct you to Dominic Fifield's piece on Paul Pogba, a complete midfielder worth two Gareth Bales.
9.16am BST
Matt Dony emails about the day's talking point (see 7.20am).
I can't believe people are doubting David Wall's existence. I, for one, am glad to see his contributions. Maradona is inextricably linked to the 1986 World Cup. 1998 was dominated by Zidane, even though he only really turned up in the knockout stages. 2002 was original Ronaldo's story. And now, in 2014, I think we can all agree Wall has taken his place among the greats. This is his World Cup. His creativity, his consistency, his bloody-mindedness. What a contributor"
9.02am BST
Here's some news. Germany have been hit by a flu scare. A Sieben Spieler Grippe-Alarm. Joachim Löw says: "Seven players are somehow slightly ill with flu There are sore throats It's not so bad and I don't want to make a drama of it."
Too late. It's a Football Manager classic. Do you send the flu-ridden players home and risk it spreading, or do you leave them to the physio?
8.47am BST
So it's 4.30am in Rio. The
big
only news is that Hong Myung-bo will continue as South Korea coach after the FA talked him out of resigning. Reuters say: "When the squad arrived back home on Monday they were pelted with candy, an insult in Korea, and met with fans holding a placard declaring 'South Korean soccer is dead'." The FA weren't moved though.
Phew. Also breaking: some rumours, a quiz about sports in books, and Massimo Cellino, who has taken against Paddy Kenny, for good reason.
Cellino is so suspicious of the number 17 that he had the seats at his former club, Cagliari, taken out and replaced with 16B. Now he has instructed the new Leeds head coach, Dave Hockaday, not to select Paddy Kenny after discovering that the goalkeepers birthday is on 17 May. Kenny, the second-highest earner at Leeds on £10,000 a week, has been left at home while the other players embark on a pre-season trip to Italy. He will not play for the club again.
8.28am BST
Morning from London. "World Cup live blog on a day with no game?" asks tj761938. Yes tj761938, no-one said this was easy. But there's good news. Classic YouTube is here! Thanks Classic YouTube. It features this.
7.56am BST
Here's Bertil Murunga with a valid point:
Rumour has it that all the teams that had a sex ban during the World Cup were eliminated. I frankly don't think it is proper for players to have sex during the World Cup. The stoppages are already too many, as it is. The cooling break we can bear with but who would want another break in the matches for the players to have sex.
7.48am BST
There have been rumour Maradona will take over as the new Venezuela coach. Venezuela aren't in the World Cup but Maradona played in a few and we're not going back to Pierre Van Hooijdonk so you're reading about this whether you like it or not. Here's the Venezuelan FA. Yep, had them on the phone just now, their number is 0800-S-L-O-W-N-E-W-S-D-A-Y:
There has not been a proposal to hire the famous ex athlete and coach Diego Armando Maradona, despite insistence in recent hours by different media and social networks. The country will know the name of the new coach once the board of directors ... makes the decision, which will be after the World Cup has concluded.
7.25am BST
Thank God for David Wall. Yesterday there was some discussion in the comments section as to whether he actually exists. He may well be made up for all I know (I've seen Gary Naylor in the flesh so I am pretty sure he exists) but what I am sure of is that an email from David Wall drops into my inbox every day. Maybe it's actually me writing these emails but I don't realise, like in [SPOILER ALERT] Fight Club. But, let's face it, what else are we going to talk about on a day when the biggest news is a former Nottingham Forest striker telling someone to eff off on a plane (we can probably rule out the offender being Dennis Bergkamp). Anyway, Wall is here:
Re: Pierre Van Hooijdonk, it seems to have been the day for endorsements yesterday, though I'm not sure how grateful Suarez will have been for the one he received from Sepp Blatter. It tells us all we need to know about Suarez's 'apology' that it was praised by the head of that bastion of responsibility Fifa. I wonder what Lou Vincent is thinking: if only he'd used Suarez's legal and PR teams, he'd have been rewarded with a standing ovation in the NZ parliament, a life-time IPL contract, and a recall to the NZ international side.
7.12am BST
Morning. What about tonight's match, eh? What's that? Ah. Well, what about last night's match? With the goals? And the sendings off? Ah. Well, in the absence of any actual football let's hear from Pierre van Hooijdonk, who got a bit shirty on a flight to Rio when someone made a pop about Arjen Robben being a diver:
I was on a plane sitting next to a Mexican and he showed his friend a video of Robben and he was all like blah blah blah. I said: 'What's the problem?'. He said: 'Robben dived for the penalty'. I just told him to shut the fuck up. Robben didn't dive for the penalty.
"I sometimes hate this [talk about Robben being a diver]. It annoyed me that he was talking about that moment. He didn't mention the time in the first half when he should have had two penalties when he was fouled
7.12am BST
Welcome to Thursday's coverage of the World Cup, featuring all the breaking news from Brazil and reaction to the latest results, injury news, squad stories and fan reaction.
Continue reading...