Day One and I'm already wrong

Yup - Ecuador going nowhere. Well, what are you gonna do? They could still not advance but they certainly beat an uninspired Poland side. They should make Podolski come back from Germany. Agustin Delgado, who scored one and made one, never got the chance at Southampton so it was nice to see him perform. He was supposed to be a great player when he signed but simply could not stay healthy. Picked a good time to show his goods.

Germany looked OK but certainly won't be making Poland or Ecuador quiver with fear. They really missed Ballack. Borowski plays such a different role. I know they're the host country but they can go ahead and get knocked out as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully Lehman is hurt enough so they'll have to bring in Kahn. He'll liven up the proceedings a bit. Yeah, they scored four goals but their story remains tiresome. It was great to see the old Derby County man Wanchope bag a couple, though. Clinical finishing on his part.

Speaking of Derby, as my mate Alec (Derby native and Rammy fan) said, it was England's first game, they got the points, no complaints. What the hell was up with removing Owen, though? Did Sven do it just to show what a moron he is for not bringing Darren Bent and sending Defoe home? I realize Owen isn't totally match fit but when he comes off there is nobody to replace him! Crouch was all alone and Downing simply dribbled into the corner or crossed for Crouch who was marked by four dudes. A Bent or Defoe would be there to jump on Crouch's layoffs. Sven's a fool, but I guess we all know that already. England also still suffered from the Frank and Stevie G combo. I don't have a solution, but we're talking about two of the very best midfielders in the world here but they do not complement each other well at all. Frank got a few decent attempts at goal towards the end of the match and Stevie G had a couple beautiful passes but neither stamped their impression on the match, and that is a shame.