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World Cup live: Messi looks to weave his magic

Welcome to today’s coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Press F5 to refresh the pageResults: France 1 South Africa 2, Mexico 0 Uruguay 1. Results: Greece 0 Argentina 2 and Nigeria 2 South Korea 2Click links for full stories: Terry is forced to apologise to CapelloLampard left to pick up pieces Capello facing his greatest testUpson’s plea to fans: get behind us
A South Africa supporter waves the flag
A South Africa supporter waves the flag
AFP/GETTY

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FOR LIVE COMMENTARY ON Nigeria v South Korea and Greece v Argentina, click here

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9.22pm: Full time in both matches: Greece 0 Argentina 2; Nigeria 2 South Korea 2. That means Argentina progress as group winners and will play Mexico in the second round. South Korea finish as runners-up and reach the knockout stages for the first time on foreign soil. Their reward is a meeting with Uruguay. Nigeria become the second African side to be knocked out of this year’s tournament, though had Yakubu not missed that sitter, it would be them celebrating right now. How group B finished: 1. Argentina 9pts, 2. South Korea 4pts, 3. Greece 3pts, 4. Nigeria 1pts.

9.18pm: GOAL! Argentina’s reserve side are looking good and Martin Palermo, the forward plucked from the wilderness by Diego Maradona, brings a huge smile to the face of his manager by sidefooting home after Tzorvas can only parry Messi’s initial shot. Greece 0 Argentina 2.

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9.12pm Argentina phenom Lionel Messi produces some Messi magic and beats two men before smashing a shot against the post.

9.04pm GOAL! Argentina look like they are going to maintain their 100 per cent start to this tournament. Martin Demichelis is left unmarked at a corner and even though his initial header is blocked by his team-mate, Diego Milito, the Bayern Munich defender smacks the rebound into the roof of the net from close range. Greece 0 Argentina 1. Current group positions: 1. Argentina 9pts, 2. South Korea 4pts, 3. Greece 3pts, 4. Nigeria 1pts.

8.56pm GOAL! Yakubu is presented with an instant chance to make amends, as subsititute Kim Nam Il hacks down Obasi and that is a certain penalty. The Yak makes no mistake from 12 yards, or elf meters, is that’s your currency of choice. Nigeria 2 South Korea 2. Current group positions: 1. Argentina 7pts, 2. South Korea 4pts, 3. Greece 4pts, 4. Nigeria 1pts.

8.53pm The miss of this, or any other World Cup for that matter, as Ayila gets down the left for Nigeria and crosses low for Yakubu, who side-foots wide with the goal gaping from two yards out. It’s like watching The Times sports desk play five-a-side football on a Thursday!

8.46pm As it stands, Argentina will be playing Mexico in the second round and Uruguay will face South Korea. I’d fancy the South Americans’ chances in both of those.

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8.39pm And there is a second goal for South Korea against Nigeria. Park Chu Young’s innocuous-looking free kick somehow finds its way into the corner of the net with Vincent Enyeama, the Nigeria goalkeeper, inexplicably going the wrong way. Current group positions: 1. Argentina 7pts, 2. South Korea 6pts, 3. Greece 4pts, 4. Nigeria 0pts.

8.35pm We almost have a shock goal for Greece in Polokwane. Giorgios Samaras collects a long punt upfield, goes on a mazy dribble past two Argentina defenders and fires in an angled shot which wrong-foots the goalkeeper, but goes wide of the far post.

8.15pm Tzorvas makes fine saves to deny first Maxi Rogriguez and then Lionel Messi in first-half stoppage time. The Greece goalkeeper is keeping his side in this match, which at the break is Greece 0 Argentina 0. It’s Nigeria 1 South Korea 1 at half-time in Durban. Current group positions: 1. Argentina, 2. South Korea, 3. Greece, 4. Nigeria.

8.07pm GOAL! A major blow to Nigeria’s hopes as they concede an equaliser to South Korea’s Lee Jung Soo, who arrives unmarked at the far post and in trying to head home Ki Sung Yong’s free kick actually succeeds in putting the ball in with his foot. Nigeria 1 South Korea 1. That goal means South Korea are currently going through in second place behind Argentina.

7.49pm Right on cue, Argentina almost do score. Sergio Aguero forces a fine save at his near post from Alexandros Tzorvas, who them keeps out a thunderbolt from Juan Sebastian Veron that was swerving wickedly.

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7.44pm GOAL! It comes in Durban as Nigeria take the lead against South Korea. Chidi Odiah hares down the right and crosses for Kalu Uche, who nips in front of a slumbering defender to put the Africans in front. Nigeria still need Argentina to beat South Korea to go through, however.

7.37pm: Near-miss inside the first two minutes in Durban, as Lee Chung Yong, the Bolton Wanderers and South Korea midfielder, slides a shot just wide of the post and is injured in the process.

7.35pm: Tom Dart writes: “Superb atmosphere in Polokwane, largely thanks to a huge contingent of bouncy, noisy, Argentina fans. They must make up two-thirds of the crowd. But Greece supporters have just unveiled the biggest flag I have ever seen. They may wish to drape it over their side’s goal during the match for protection.”

7.25pm: So everything to play for in Group B. Argentina need a point to be sure of progresssing, although their goal difference is very good anyway. A win for South Korea over Nigeria and they should be into round two.

6.50pm: And here are the teams for Nigeria and South Korea at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Former Arsenal and Portsmouth favourite Nwanko Kanu starts for the Super Eagles.

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Nigeria: 1-Vincent Enyeama; 17-Chidi Odiah, 6-Danny Shittu, 2-Joseph Yobo, 5-Rabiu Afolabi, 12-Kalu Uche, 20-Dickson Etuhu, 13-Yusuf Ayila, 8-Yakubu Aiyegbeni, 19-Chinedu Obasi, 4-Nwankwo Kanu.

South Korea: 18-Jung Sung-ryong; 22-Cha Du-ri, 12-Lee Young-pyo, 4-Cho Yong-hyung, 14-Lee Jung-soo, 8-Kim Jung-woo, 16-Ki Sung-yong, 7-Park Ji-sung, 17-Lee Chung-yong, 10-Park Chu-young, 19-Yeom Ki-hun.

Referee: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal).

6.40pm Here are the teams for the match between Greece and Argentina at Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Greece: 12-Alexandros Tzorvas; 11-Loukas Vyntra, 5-Vangelis Moras, 16-Sotiris Kyrgiakos, 15-Vassilis Torosidis, 6-Alexandros Tziolis, 8-Avraam Papadopoulos, 19-Socratis Papastathopoulos 7-Giorgos Samaras, 10-Giorgos Karagounis, 21-Kostas Katsouranis.

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Argentina: 22-Sergio Romero; 2-Martin Demichelis, 3-Clemente Rodriguez, 4-Nicolas Burdisso, 5-Mario Bolatti, 8-Juan Sebastian Veron, 20-Maxi Rodriguez, 15-Nicolas Otamendi, 10-Lionel Messi, 16-Sergio Aguero, 19-Diego Milito.

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Team news: Argentina coach Diego Maradona makes seven changes, but Lionel Messi starts, at least. Greece coach Otto Rehhagel brings in defender Vangelis Moras and striker Georgios Samaras for Dimitris Salpingidis and Fanis Gekas.

6.35pm: Raymond Domenech, the France coach, until he arrives back on home soil, tries to put on a Gallic stiff upper lip on his side’s implosion. He says: “The over-riding emotion is one of sadness. We would have liked the dream to have continued.

“I shook hands with the players because we have been through some difficult times together. We need to be dignified in victory and defeat. Our goal showed we had taken a step forward.”

6.15pm: Fabio Capello, the England manager, has admitted he made mistakes and that the spirit in the camp is good ahead of tomorrow’s match with Slovenia. Here is Matt Hughes’s piece on the press conference, and here is Patrick Barclay’s analysis.

6pm: Charles Bremner writes: “The players, who had been flown to the World Cup in the first class cabin of a new Airbus A380, faced a second class return journey in the back of a Boeing 737. A coach was waiting outside the stadium in Bloemfontein to whisk them off to the airport without stopping at their hotel.”

5.56pm: It goes on. Le Figaro, the French newspaper, have called for the whole squad to be sacked. “The honour of French football can only be assured if all those involved in the tragicomedy encacted in Aouth Africa leave the scene permanently,” its editorial said.

5.53pm: Charles has been listening to Bixente Lizarazu, a former Bleus star, give his tuppence-worth on the catastrophe:

Apparently Lizarazu called “this fiasco from science fiction,” and said French football must analyse everything that went wrong since Domenech was reappointed manager following France’s ejection from Euro 2008.

“It was an error to keep him on. Everything fell apart from that moment. We have become the laughing stock of the world,” said Lizarazu, who is commentating for RTL radio from South Africa.

5.48pm: Charles Bremner, our man in Paris, has found himself in a nation in mourning. According to Charles, this is how the commentator on TF1 television, the main national channel, summed up today’s defeat: “This is a dark day in the history of France. This is a catastrophe for French sport. The 22nd of June, 2010, will be remembered as an absolute nightmare.”

5.25pm: Rafael Marquez, the Mexico defender, says his side will need to improve if, as is likely, they have to play Argentina in the last 16. “We will have to work to reproduce the kind of form we showed in the match against France,” the Barcelona player said. But France make every side look good, no?

5.07pm: Mexico’s second-place finish means they are likely to face Argentina in the last 16, an enticing prospect for the neutral fan, but a formdiable one for the North Americans.

5.04pm: Tom Dart writes on the French: “National disgrace? Shame and infamy? The most galling Gauls of all time? Cheese-eating surrender footballers? Give me, and them, a break. The France squad haven’t forfeited hero status because of their inept performances and mutinous antics. Quite the reverse. They can leave after this afternoon’s dim-witted defeat with their heads held high as the most entertaining and edifying team in the tournament: the cadeau that just kept on giving.”

Pray explain, Tom. “With France, everything is out in the open. The truths may be harder to stomach than a boudin noir blood sausage, but there’s a refreshingly brutal honesty. The atmosphere might be poisonous, but at least Les Bleus have characters. Maybe there truly aren’t any personality clashes in the England squad – because to have personality clashes you need personalities.”

4.59pm: Nobody loves Raymond yet just when you thought it was hard for Domenech to worsen his reputation, the coach has just refused to shake the hand of Carlos Alberto Parreira, his South Africa counterpart. Quite why is unclear.

4.54pm: That’s it. South Africa have beaten France 2-1 but fallen short of making it through to the last 16, with Mexico joining Uruguay in the last 16 on goal difference. The French complete a disastrous World Cup campaign with another humiliating and deserved defeat.

4.51pm: What a miss! Tshabalala hits straight to the keeper from less then ten yards out. The final whistle has blown in Rustenburg. Uruguay have beaten Mexico 1-0.

4.46pm: Seeing as we’re on handballs that nobody will let lie, why not mention that it is 24 years to the day since Diego Maradona scored with his divine deception.

4.45pm: This is the first time France have scored in the finals of a major tournament since 2006. They lost all their games without scoring in Euro 2008. I guess they’re making progress, then.

4.41pm: Thierry Henry is being booed by elements of the crowd - presumably the French quarter - though quite why they have picked on him is unclear. He has done no worse than many of his team-mates since appearing as a substitute. Perhaps they resent him for scoring the handball that meant the team went to South Africa and suffered this whole debacle.

4.37pm: Thshabalala fires a long-range shot over the bar. South Africa look tired, with most of their players having slowed almost to a trot when really they need to bringing the game to France. Perhaps that’s a symptom of the fact that most of their players do not play in the best leagues in the world and thus do not need to reach elite levels of fitness.

4.31pm: So, to recap, if the current scores remain, South Africa and Mexico will both finish on four points behind Uruguay on seven with France on one. Mexico will qualify for the last 16 because their goal-difference is three goals better than the host nation’s.

4.29pm: Florent Malouda has scored! The substitute slotted into an open net to almost certainly end South Africa’s hopes of achieving the remarkable by qualifying for the last 16. Twenty minutes remain.

4.23pm: Steven Pieenar has a shot easily saved moments after South Africa miss an easy chance. Tshabalala has taken a knock to the knee and hobbled to the sideline. It’s unclear whether he will play on.

4.17pm: Uruguay almost make it 2-0 in Rustenburg. Diego Forlan swings over a free-kick and Diego Lugano’s header brings a great save from Oscar Perez. If it remains like this in both games, Uruguay and Mexico will qualify from Group. South Africa still require a two-goal swing in their favour to progress.

4.10pm: Two wonderful chances for South Africa to extend their lead, but both go narrowly wide of Hugo Lloris’s goal. Thierry Henry is preparing to come on for France. Desperate times ....

4.05pm: We’re underway in the second half of both games in Group A.

4.02pm: Here is how it stands in Group A:

Uruguay’s goal in Rustenburg has opened the door for South Africa to qualify. If the scores stay as they are Mexico would still go through behind their South Americans colleagues - but a further two-goal swing in South Africa’s favour - eg, if they beat France 4-0 - would see the hosts sneak in.

Hold tight.

3.57pm: Ignominy awaits for the French. If all that had gone before hadn’t been bad enough then today’s performance against the hosts has plumbed new depths. They deserve to be 2-0 down, but the decision to send Yoann Gourcuff off did look a little harsh. It promises to be a fascinating second half.

HALF TIME: Mexico 0 Uruguay 1, France 0 South Africa 2

Hand up who predicted those scores at the break? The French have fallen apart but Suarez’s goal leaves the door open for the hosts to qualify. Unbelievable stuff.

That’s all from me. Ben Smith will lead you through what promises to be a rollercoaster second half.

GOAL! Mexico 0 Uruguay 1 That’s set the cat amongst the pigeons as Luis Suarez heads home from five yards out to give Uruguay the lead. Hope for South Africa.

3.40pm: Bit of argy-bargy in Rusternburg as Diego Perez is cut by a stray arm but there is no red card,

GOAL! France 0 South Africa 2: France look dead and buried as the ball deflects off Abou Diaby and Katlego Mphela forces the ball home from close range. It could have been worse but Stephen Pienaar’s smart finish past Lloris is then (rightly) judged offside. What an extraordinary game. What have you got France?

3.34pm: Not sure how much intent there was from Gourcuff, but Cisse reacts with such anguish it looked like he was getting his marching orders. Still 0-0 in the other game - which would also see South Africa eliminated.

3.30pm: Speaking of red, England have worn all red on four occasions and never lost.

RED CARD! Things are really unravelling for France now. Yoann Gourcuff leads with his arm, catches the wonderfully named MacBeth Sibaya in the face, and gets a straight red card from Colombian referee Oscar Ruiz. Could things get any worse for Raymond Domenech?

GOAL! Is it au revoir for France? Siphiwe Tshabalala takes a corner, keeper Hugo Lloris flaps wildly and Bongani Khumalo leaps like a salmon to head firmly into the ground and hit the net.

In the other game, Mauricio Victorino misses a great chance for Uruguay, heading over from close range while Andres Guardado hits the bar for Mexico from fully thirty yards. Who says this World Cup is boring?

3.10pm: Understandably a rather cagey opening in Bloemfontein, France have shown more attacking intent but Gignac’s tame shot straight at the keeper and Djibril Cisse’s header are their best efforts thus far.

“Henry and Malouda on the bench drinking wine and eating cheese. They clearly don’t think they are coming on,” says Owen Slot.

In Rustenburg, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez gets himself into a good position but fires wide of the post in match where there is crowd noise, according to Kevin Eason “Hardly any vuvus. Mexicans making fab noise,” he tweets.

3pm: Chile beware. Vicente del Bosque, the Spanish coach, expects Andres Iniesta to be back to full fitness for the Group H showdown on Friday

The tricky midfield player picked up a knock in last week’s surprise 1-0 defeat to Switzerland and was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Honduras on Monday.

2.53pm: Matt Hughes is nosing around England’s new home in Port Elizabeth and is mighty impressed. “The houses round here are reminiscent of Beverly Hills, so at least Beckham should be at home. South Africa - a country of crazy contrasts.”

With Steven Gerrard due to give a press conference later, our Deputy Football Correspondent expects a show of unity but says that privately the England captain is “furious at Terry’s clumsy intervention.”

2.42pm: Some intriguing news coming out of North Korea about the state broadcaster’s coverage of the 7-0 thrashing by Portugal.

“In the second half, [the commentary] became much more intermittent,” said one foreigner who watched the game. “From four goals onwards, they just stopped.” The broadcast was abruptly terminated at the final whistle, with the words: “The Portuguese won the game and now have four points. We are ending our live broadcast now.”

Wonder if the BBC will do the same tomorrow?

2.25pm: And what must Laurent Blanc be thinking, having agreed to take over this nest of vipers when the World Cup ends? “I wonder if Blanc had a get-out clause inserted in his contract?” muses James Ducker.

2.15pm: David Cameron may believe in less Government intervention but that clearly isn’t the French way. Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot has claimed that she reduced members of the France squad to tears by giving them a severe dressing down for their behaviour and telling them that were a “moral disaster”.

“They applauded me and they were crying,” she said of the meeting at the team’s camp last night. Raymond Domenech’s thoughts on the matter are unknown.

2.12pm: And the teams from the slightly less controversial Group A game are also out. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the 37-year-old veteran forward gets a start for Mexico after his sprightly sub performance against France and replaces Arsenal’s Carlos Vela, while Andres Guardado comes in for the suspended Efrain Juarez. Meanwhile, Uruguay coach has dropped Diego Godin in defence in favour of Mauricio Victorino

Mexico: Oscar Perez; Ricardo Osorio, Hector Moreno, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Andres Guardado, Rafael Marquez, Gerardo Torrado, Giovani Dos Santos, Guillermo Franco, Cuauhtemoc Blanco

Uruguay: Fernando Muslera; Diego Lugano, Mauricio Victorino, Jorge Fucile, Maximiliano Pereira, Diego Perez, Egidio Arevalo, Edinson Cavani, Alvaro Pereira, Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan.

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

2.10pm: Here’s the teams - France: Lloris, Sagna, Gallas, Squillaci, Clichy, Diarra, Diaby, Gignac, Gourcuff, Ribery, Cisse. Subs: Mandanda, Abidal, Reveillere, Planus, Govou, Henry, Evra, Malouda, Valbuena.

South Africa: Josephs, Ngcongca, Mokoena, Khumalo, Masilela, Pienaar, Sibaya, Khuboni, Tshabalala, Mphela, Parker. Subs: Walters, Gaxa, Davids, Modise, Letsholonyane, Booth, Thwala, Nomvethe, Moriri, Sangweni.

Referee: Julian Oscar Ruiz Acosta (Colombia)

Just what does Thierry Henry have to do to get a game? Andre-Piere Gignac’s woeful second-half performance against Mexico will hardly fill the France football fraternity with much hope.

2pm: Massive upheaval in both sides as South Africa make five changes for today’s game, while France make six. Evra pays the price for his bust up with the fitness coach and is relegated to the bench along with Florent Malouda, Eric Abidal and Sidney Govou, all seen as troublemakers according to James Ducker. South Africa have opted for a more attacking lineup, pairing Bernard Parker and Katlego Mphela up front.

1.45pm: Some fascinating gossip emanating from the France camp that Patrice Evra has been dropped by Raymond Domenech and that Alou Diarra will captain the side in Bloemfontein this afternoon.

1.20pm: Joachim Löw has hinted that Brazilian-born Cacau could be the man to replace the suspended Miroslav Klose in the final Group D game against Ghana. Germany find themselves needing to win against the African side to make sure of qualification despite a 4-0 drubbing of Australia in their first game but the coach is confident his players can step up.

“We all know we have the quality and potential to win this match. I know it will be enormously difficult. This game will drain us not only mentally but also physically,” he said.

1.00pm: And here’s an interesting stat - since Zidane’s retirement in 2006, France have failed to win any of their five matches at international tournaments. No pressure then.

1.30pm: He may have been a bit headstrong on the pitch but when dealing with authority figures Zinedine Zidane was a model of restraint. “I could have used some influence in team selection — but I didn’t,” he tells Owen Slot. “And when I was a player [not captain], I was never giving an opinion as to who plays and who doesn’t. Today, I feel it must be the same.”

Hmm, more than a few current players could learn from that methinks.

11.59am: Some bad news for Patrick Barclay - the Chinese are stepping up their mass production of vuvuzelas to meet the huge demand.

“We were making 10,000 vuvuzelas a day for the past few days and I estimate we will make 25,000 per day in the next few days,” Wu Yijun of Ninghai Jiying Plastics said.

Perhaps they could tune them to play something other than an endless b flat whilst they’re at it.

11.50am: In a victory for common sense, a South African court has dropped a case against two Dutch women accused of an “ambush marketing” stunt by brewer Bavaria at a match between the Netherlands and Denmark

“Fifa was not interested in proceeding with the matter. There was a settlement that was reached between the parties and we ... decided to exercise discretion and not proceed with the matter,” a spokesman said.

Pavlos Joseph, the fan who ‘invaded’ England’s dressing room after the Algeria game and is due to go on trial on Friday to face charges of trespass, will be hoping for a similarly sensible approach.

11.42am: The backlash against vuvuzelas has begun, according to our man Patrick Barclay. “The Greenacres mall, Port Elizabeth’s biggest, has banned them. Over to you, Premier League,” he tweets.

11.30am: One man who definitely knows he will be on the team sheet tomorrow is West Ham’s Matthew Upson. The central defender is hoping to get the backing of the English supporters after the team were booed from the field in Cape Town. You can see an interview with him here.

11.15am: Should England fail, fingers should be pointed at Capello’s “near-incompetent” communication skills, according to Graham Spiers.

“Capello is the critical focus, the power-broker through which everything flows. Indeed, those close to the Italian often claim that he is authoritarian to a point of near-tyranny about how his squad and his team operate,” he says.

“Yet Capello can hardly speak. He offers those meaningless, incomplete, half-baked sentences which you simply have to ignore. What kind of leadership is this?”

10.50am: The England players look surprisingly chirpy this morning compared to the morose bunch who trooped off the pitch on Friday. Has Capello had a quiet word, do you think?

10.35am: My colleague Ben Smith has been quick to point out that England will actually be wearing an all-red strip on Wednesday, the first time they have done so at a World Cup since the 1962 finals in Chile. Well at least it will make Stevie G and Glen Johnson feel at home.

10.30am: Fernando Torres became the latest in a ever-lengthening list of players to lay the boot into the Jabulani World Cup ball after missing several scoring opportunities in Monday’s 2-0 win over Honduras.

“Personally speaking, I am very happy to have played but we need to practice a bit more with this Jabulani because we are having a bit of bother with it,” Torres said.

“But whereas the other day we couldn’t score today we got two and we have to be happy that we managed to turn things around.”

10.20am: The FA have confirmed that England will wear their changed red strip for Wednesday’s must-win match against Slovenia. Will that make any difference, I hear you ask? Well the evidence would suggest England do perform pretty well in red during tournament football.

In the last World Cup in 2006, England produced one of their better performances against Sweden, although they eventually drew the match 2-2. In Euro 2004 England beat Croatia 4-2 while sporting red, while in the 2002 World Cup, they beat Argentina 1-0 while wearing ...you guessed it, red.

Going further back to Euro 2000, England beat Germany 1-0 in the group stages and during the 1998 World Cup they wore red for their must-win match against Columbia, which they won 2-0.

And I don’t need to mention the 1966 World Cup final, do I?

Meanwhile, the match is being played on BBC where England have won 60 per cent of their World Cup matches compared to a measly 30 per cent on ITV, with a third-time-lucky centre-back partnership of Terry and Matthew Upson. What could possibly go wrong?

9.55am: Despite the controversy over the spate of recent red cards, Brazil’s Elano believes referees at the World Cup are being too soft. The former Manchester City player was stretchered off with a shin injury after a horrible tackle from Ivory Coast defender Cheik Tiote during Sunday’s 3-1 victory.

“I forgive because I am not a player that feels remorse,” he said. “But I believe referees should be much tougher because in this case the foul was committed close to where the official (Stephane Lannoy) was.”

Luckily for Elano, who scored his side’s third goal against the Ivory Coast, he has avoided serious injury and should be fit to face Portugal.

9.40am: Some good news for Fabio Capello as it seems all but the perennially crocked Ledley King have made it to the training session this morning. The England team will be flying to Port Elizabeth this afternoon with team morale hopefully miraculously restored.

9.25am: There may be dissent in the French camp but Carlos Alberto Parreira, the South Africa coach, is getting a right pasting in the local press. The Johannesburg Star says the Brazilian has “brought nothing but mediocrity and an impressive expense bill,” reports Kevin Eason.

9.15am: With England due to start training at 9.30, there will plenty of amateur psychologists attempting to gauge the mood in the camp and what Capello’s formation will be tomorrow against Slovenia. And the speculation has already begun.

“Lots of talk of Defoe starting tmrw,” tweets Oliver Kay in Rustenburg. “But Capello also considering Gerrard behind Rooney in 4-4-1-1.”

9.00am: Good morning and welcome to today’s coverage of the World Cup. A team divided, a nation disappointed, a manager under fire and humiliation only a game away.

But that’s enough about England. It’s France’s turn to go through the wringer once more as their squabbling squad face the host nation in a must-win final group game in Bloemfontein. If they show up that is. Raymond Domenech’s side will be eliminated this afternoon if they fail to beat South Africa, but a draw between Mexico and Uruguay will see both the French and the hosts leaving the tournament early.

Later, Diego Maradona’s highly impressive Argentina go for maximum points against Greece, while Nigeria, after losing their first two games, have an outside chance of progressing to the next phase if they can stick a few past South Korea.

We’ll also have the latest news from the England camp, with the fall-out still reverberating from John Terry’s explosive comments yesterday, as well as Fabio Capello’s rather Godfather-esque response.

Assuming the Chelsea captain isn’t sleeping with the fishes (he wont be making that “big mistake” again), we’ll be reporting from the England training session and their press conference at 6pm, while our dedicated team will be bringing you all the latest news, views, pictures and video from the biggest tournament on the planet.