Oh, dear, here we go again.

Our football team were thrashed. Dumped on. Pistol whipped. Humiliated. Beaten into submission.

Oh, well… at least our cricket players did us proud.

On Sunday afternoon, England will face Germany for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. A great match in prospect between arguably one the greatest rivalries in world football.

Unfortunately, whenever these teams are paired up, the banter is routinely reduced to bigoted chanting. In England, the match is constantly used as an excuse to re-run World War II.

Tabloid newspapers repeatedly use offensive terms like Hun and Kraut, with references to Adolf Hitler. The national team is also often the target of  unfunny jokes. Anti-German sentiment continues to be rife, despite the fact that the war ended over sixty years ago.

I bet any German who has the misfortune of living in Britain is constantly reminded of the rubbish that’s written in the papers and broadcast on our TV screens…which can turn into a great motivation for their team to  beat England where it currently matters… on the pitch.

In football at least, there is more that unites the both sets of supporters than divides us. Can we just do the honourable thing and back our teams during the game, and then remain friendly, whatever the result?

Well, well, well….it’s been a crazy few days.

Who would’ve thought that fancied teams like France and Italy crash out of the World Cup, while England, who many pundits predicted was certain to be the first team going home, beat Slovenia 1-0, and finishing second in Group C to the United States, who beat Algeria 1-0 to finish top. On Sunday, England have set up a clash with rivals Germany, while the US will face Ghana in the last 16.

Italy lost 3-2 to Slovakia in their last group game to finish bottom of  Group E. Their opponents will go through finishing top of the group, while Paraguay, despite a goalless draw with New Zealand, finish second.

After an indifferent start, this World Cup is bubbling along nicely in my opinion. It has its fair share of shocks (Serbia’s victory over Germany stands out), and apart from Argentina, Brazil, and Holland, many of the surviving teams have yet to play to their fullest potential (particularly England).

There will be a new name on the trophy on July 11th. Can you predict who yet?

France have just become the first big team to be eliminated from the World Cup. Their quest for glory ended in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of hosts South Africa in Group A.

South Africa also went out at the group stage despite their win, as Uruguay had beaten Mexico in the other match. France had suffered from internal problems. Striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after a row with manager Raymond Domenech which lead to fellow members of the squad refusing to train on hearing the news.

It’s the second time in recent World Cups that they went out at the group stage. They also went out in 2002 despite being then the champions. It’s fair to say that they have been a shadow of their former selves, and judging the way they got to South Africa, many commentators felt that justice has finally been done.

However, I have a feeling that despite this, the team will definitely rise again. Unlike say, er, England….