WORLD CUP!!!

[Eoin Devane]

It's taken until only the second game! The Telegraph's live commentary description of the first half of Uruguay - France was: If that half was a chess opening, both sides have moved all their pawns one square forward and have now gone outside for a smoke.

[Phil Neatherway]

The French and Italians have surrendered early.

The Americans arrived late.

Japan is fighting its own battle.

And the English are left fighting the Germans on their own.

[Alex Holowczak]

This is ~ the 10th time I've heard that today.

[John Upham]

My prediction is that the England team will achieve their normal result : It will be 0-0 at full time followed by 0-0 in extra time followed by a loss on penalties of 99 -100.

It would have been a game of two halves and several people will be as sick as a parrot.

Everyone will be gutted.

We will consider that the manager (I assume that he is not English?) should resign and that the players are paid far too much.

[Alex Holowczak]

Me being me, I analysed our results in knockout football at the World Cup since 1966.

We've won against: Paraguay, Belgium, Cameroon, Denmark and Ecuador

Hardly world beaters.

We've lost against: West Germany (twice), Argentina (twice), Brazil and Portugal

Whenever we play any traditionally strong nations in knockout football at the World Cup, we lose.

[Alex McFarlane]

John,

England to score 99 penalties! How many hundred will they need to take to score that many?

Ah its good to see Engurland supporters suffering the way Scots fans have been for years!

By the way, is the English education system so bad that the fans only recognise the flag if it has the name written on it?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Me being me, I analysed our results in knockout football at the World Cup since 1966.

We've won against: Paraguay, Belgium, Cameroon, Denmark and Ecuador

Hardly world beaters.

We've lost against: West Germany (twice), Argentina (twice), Brazil and Portugal

Whenever we play any traditionally strong nations in knockout football at the World Cup, we lose.

Denmark and Cameroon may not be "traditionally strong", but they've both been continental champions. Also, four of the six losses were in fact draws; they only became losses because of the demands of the tournament format.

Beware of statistics like this; they don't necessarily tell you very much.

[Simon Spivack]

By the way, is the English education system so bad that the fans only recognise the flag if it has the name written on it?

Engerland fanz kant spel ... Shurely u no vat.

[Ian Thompson]

By the way, is the English education system so bad that the fans only recognise the flag if it has the name written on it?

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of foreigners think the Union Flag is the English flag, and wouldn't recognise the English flag for what it is.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Well, Alex's stats don't seem totally misleading to me. We have never beaten a former finalist or even semi-finalist in KO matches since 1966. How can that be put in anything other than a negative light, given the KO draw as it stands?

When watching, or rather not watching, England v Algeria, I introduced some work colleagues to my patented game "World Cup invasion". You had to work out which of the 32 starting countries had invaded the most of the other 31 countries in the past. "Invasion" requires non-consensual occupation of at least 60% of the land mass of another country for at least two months. No bonus points for repeat invasions of the same country.

You might have thought that England would have done well, given that Australia and NZ qualified. But at the end of the evening France and Spain seemed to be tied first with nine conquests each.

Any amateur historians out there care to argue?

[Richard Bates]

If England had (West) Germany's record in penalty shoot outs we'd probably have at least 2 to 3 major Championships in the last 20 years. In 8 major Championships we've gone out on penalties in 5 of them.

[Alex Holowczak]

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of foreigners think the Union Flag is the English flag, and wouldn't recognise the English flag for what it is.

Officially, the flag of England is the Union Flag. England is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so the Union Flag is the official flag for any lands included within that union; England being one of them. Hence in the 1966 World Cup, people are cheering for England, and waving the Union Flag. In the same way, the Union Flag is the official flag of Scotland.

However, since England and Scotland haven't been sovereign countries since the 1707 Act of Union, but we play sport as them, we use the official flags from the days of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland just to differentiate ourselves (presumably).

What is strange is that Wales hasn't been sovereign... well, ever? It was at best a Principality going back to the formation of the Kingdom of England (and I don't think even that was official). It was always within the Kingdom of England after the title of Prince of Wales was captured for the English crown. How Wales managed to become recognised as a country, and represent itself in certain sports, I don't know.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Most of what we now know as Wales was sovereign until the 13th century.

It wasn't often united under one native ruler, but was on occasion (rather like Ireland)

[Alex Holowczak]

Most of what we now know as Wales was sovereign until the 13th century.

It wasn't often united under one native ruler, but was on occasion (rather like Ireland)

Well yes, but it was only in about 1950 that Wales ceased to be legally an indivisible part of England. Yet Wales had competed separately in football and rugby for half a century or more before that.

[Eoin Devane]

Good to see that this thread is back up and running! We need to justify the existence of the "Not Chess" subforum.

Anyway, I was pleased that both Spain and my adopted team Chile qualified this evening - they're certainly both much more exciting to watch than the Swiss. I'm not entirely sure what was with the twenty minutes of madness towards the end of the first half, though, in which several Chilean seemed to have decided they were going to foul any Spanish player who came near them - perhaps they had been playing Jonathan's game and were attempting to avenge the Spanish conquest of their homeland!