WORLD CUP ALMANAC. Day 13

Yesterday saw the return of an old favourite. Remember, in simper times, when huddled masses congregated on sprawling terraces and men were men, one of the traditional sounds was the "Bull-shit ahhhh" which accompanied goal kicks.

Seemingly lost to progress, the concept of distracting the keeper is actually alive and well in Mexico. It´s the same drill, except on the moment of impact the chant goes up, guttural and loud: "Puto!" I don´t speak Spanish, but I believe that it does not mean "welll done".

Anyway the Mexicans were a fine bunch, probably the most enthusiastic supporters so far, apart, perhaps, from the Argentinians. Their meeting in the second round will be tremendous fun.

Has a little of the sheen gone off Argentina after the failed to sweep away the Netherlands in the same manner as they did Serbia & Montenegro? Not really. That match had ´draw´written all over it, and although the Argentine squad is so strong that resting players doesn´t really hurt them, they did make widespread changes to the team that started last Friday.

I wouldn´t expect Jose Pekerman to start both Messi and Tevez when the big games come along, as the absence of Crespo´s physicality was notable, and the former pair bring too many of the same attributes to the table.

There were still legions of England fans in Cologne last night. The Altstadt area rang out for hour after with the familiar chants of "Engerland", "Three Lions", "Steve Gerrard, Gerrard, he´s big and he´s f#cking hard", and one unprintable classic which went along the lines of the old "Bestiality´s Best" number, except involving Sooty the bear, which partially made up for the fact that the city felt more Coventry than Cologne.