Argentina had plenty of luck as soon as they ran onto the Soccer City pitch on Sunday night. Everything went their way: the luck, refereeing, even the odd Mexican defender.  And yet, no one would ever believe that Messi, Tevez and co deserve anything less than the right to play an energised Germany in the World Cup quarter finals. The match ended Argentina 3, Mexico 1.

Teamwork – that was the difference between England and Germany on Sunday evening. The English relied on flashes of brilliance from their lavishly paid collection of stars, while Germany played as a unit, worked together and worked for each other. In the end, the 4 -1 routing of the English was a justified result.

Mandela still deciding on whether to go to final; Fifa to investigate Jabulani, AFTER the tournament; Uruguay first team to advance to quarter finals; Black Stars shine brightly for Africa; Internet man of the match scam.

The group stage completed, after 48 matches: European teams suck; Qatar wants World Cup 2022, sans beer; Brazil vs Portugal, yawn; Spain outplay Chile; Meet Paul, the pet psychic octopus.

The Spaniards appear to have fully exorcised the ghosts of their first-round loss to the cuckoo-clock makers. As they walked over the Chileans in a confident manner, their supremacy was never in doubt. The match ended Spain 2, Chile 1.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Portugal and Brazil play to a 0-0 draw in Durban. It was supposedly going to be the match of the tournament, with both teams boasting considerable firepower in attack, and a flowing, graceful style of football. Yeah, right.

Beware the vuvuzela, the World Cup will create more jobs, South Africa is a great candidate for the 2020 Olympic Games and other fairy stories related to Fifa’s soccer tournament our country won’t be winning.

As the Carlos Parreira-led Bafana Bafana leave the World Cup stage, the movie about another iconic South African coach is about to hit theatres nationwide. The one that won us the only big cup, ever: Clive Barker.

Brazil's President Lula to attend final; Zimbabwean energy minister fired after World Cup power cuts; Slovakia and Paraguay advance, while Italy crash out; Japan beat Denmark to join The Netherlands in the second round; Vuvuzela blasts its way onto YouTube.

It was more of an exhibition match than anything else. The Dutchmen were already through to the final round. Cameroon were already out. There really was nothing to play for. And yet it was Cameroon’s most emphatic showing in this tournament. It ended The Netherlands 2, Cameroon 1.

If anyone doubted that quality soccer is now played all over the world, the Group E duel in Rustenburg between Japan and Denmark was all the proof they’re wrong. The Asian team defeated the European champions of 1992 in a most emphatic manner in a game that never saw Denmark having much chance of survival. It ended Japan 3, Denmark 1.

There is truly no country for old men. Italy, the doddering old codgers were humbled, nay – crushed – by a youthful and energetic Slovakian side, to see them become the second World Cup defending champions ever to exit the tournament in the group stages, joining, you guessed it, France, which did so in 2002. The match ended Slovakia 3, Italy 2.

In South Africa, so much of life is politicised. And is dominated by the ANC. So you won’t be surprised to hear that the South African Football Federation has a national executive committee. And 52 regions. And provinces, and various other structures. And they vote in these structures. And conferences have a propensity to come close to disaster.

Museveni wants Ugandans to concentrate on farming, not football; US restaurant serves World Cup lion meat special; US and England make second round; Ghana advances to next stage (so does Germany); Aussie boy lives in soccer bubble.

Ghana lost to Germany in their last group match, but thanks to an Australian win against Serbia in the other Group D match, they make it through to the last 16 stage of the tournament. It ended Germany 1, Ghana 0.

Nelspruit’s Mbombela stadium was a grand theatre for the drama that was the Group D match between Serbia and Australia. Mauled by the Germans and thwarted by the Ghanaians, the Australians finally managed to present their best face at the expense of unlucky Serbs. It ended Australia 2, Serbia 1.

As in every good Hollywood blockbuster, their heroes endure every calamity known to man, survive many injustices and save their country with mere seconds remaining before complete destruction. On Wednesday in Pretoria, the US soccer team pretty much followed that recipe: the match ended US 1, Algeria 0.

What magic can 90 minutes do for a team under pressure? A lot, it turns out, as England proved against Slovenia on Wednesday in Port Elizabeth. They ran onto the pitch at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as the team of the damned - they left it a team of heroes. It ended England 1, Slovenia 0.

Fifa surrenders case of the orange mini-dresses; Bafana lose match, win hearts and minds; Uruguay and Mexico qualify for second round; Argentina and South Korea advance; Domenech loses any friends he had left and alienates even more people; New Zealand’s amateurs put professionals to the test.

We all knew it would happen: Greece stood no chance against the advancing Argentines. And yet, they put up a good fight. It ended Argentine 2, Greece 0.

Durban's Tuesday night duel drew many a gasp of disbelief as Nigeria allowed the hard-working Asians a draw in a match of missed chances and ill-disciplined defensive play. It ended Nigeria 2, South Korea 2.

So, this is what bittersweet tastes like...

Many a pundit predicted that Uruguay and Mexico would do the safe thing and draw their last-round game. Nothing could be further from the truth: Uruguay were professors and Mexicans eager students in a great display of footballing panache. It ended Uruguay 1, Mexico 0.

In what should be the trigger for his immediate redeployment by the ANC, if not impeachment, President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday said that at least some foreigners have the ability to play the vuvuzela better than South Africans. Among his other delusions: that foreigners won’t worry about possible World Cup strikes simply because it is strike season.

Fifa’s bungling attempts to prosecute two women involved in the Bavaria ambush marketing incident have ended up exacerbating the very situation it wanted to avoid – giving (almost) free publicity to a company that isn’t a World Cup sponsor.

Advertisers ditch French team; There can be only one hand of God; Portugal destroy North Korea 7-0; Chile beat Switzerland 1-0; Spain overwhelm Honduras 2-0; Group standings at end of second set of matches; @Seppthedog becomes a frequent flier.

Ellis Park was host to a beautiful game of soccer on Monday night. Spain attacked, then attacked, and then, for a change, attacked. From their side, Honduras was a fair partner, too. It ended Spain 2, Honduras 0.

It was a fight for every inch of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium: a fight between Chile, who would not cease their attacks, and Switzerland, who barely understand the meaning of the word ‘surrender’. It’s a shame this was another epic fight that had a referee decide it. It ended Chile 1, Switzerland 0.

All who believed Portugal were a spent force need look no further than their second-half destruction of the North Koreans, when Christiano Ronaldo and his team turned up the heat and incinerated their opposition. It ended Portugal 7, North Korea 0.