A painful day - in more ways than one

Well my twisted knee has swollen up nicely and is giving me a sneak preview into life as an 80-year-old as I hobble about the place at a snail's pace. My poor girlfriend has been waiting on me all day. I'd probably starve to death if she wasn't around! It does give me an excuse to be 100% inactive and just lay around immersing myself in all things World Cup-related.

I was partially right about the South Africa V Uruguay game last night, they were just more convincing than I had thought. It was very disappointing to see the hosts sit back so much and get down-hearted so easily. Aaron Mokoena was still talking the talk after the game but they need a near miracle against France if they're to avoid being the first host nation to fail to qualify beyond the group stages. Mind you, it's not as if the French are unbeatable and I fancy there will be plenty of support for the Bafana Bafana back home in Ireland.

I had been hoping to go to one of Seoul's many outdoor viewing areas for the big game tonight but my knee is severely limiting my mobility so I watched it on TV with my girlfriend at her place. I don't think anyone would argue with me saying that the Red Devils were poor in the first half and were lucky that the outstanding Lee Choung Young gave them a lifeline just before the break. He's a player I watched regularly at FC Seoul and it's fantastic to see him developing into such an accomplished winger. Bolton will struggle to hold onto him if he keeps this form up and he has been linked with Liverpool.

The second half was a different story and had Yeom Ki Hun taken his chance it could have ended very differently. As it was, Argentina's class shone through and Maradona is starting to look like a pretty tactically astute manager now with his selections and the timing of the Aguero substitution. 16 wins from 21 games is no mean return either. I said at the beginning of the tournament that my heart said Argentina. If they can shore up their defence then my head might start agreeing. 4-1 was very harsh on South Korea in a way but they looked terrified every time Tevez, Messi, di Maria or Aguero ran at them so it's hard to argue too much. I certainly lost a bet with a few old friends back in Buenos Aires. I might even have said that I'd move back there if Korea lost by more than two. We make the best calls under the influence of alcohol, don't we?

Greece's victory against Nigeria in a fairly bizarre match means that the door to the last 16 is still very much open for South Korea. The Nigerians haven't shown anything too convincing in their two matches and it's one we can definitely win ('we' being South Korea...). A draw would probably be enough if the Pumas can keep up their fine form and beat Greece for us. The World Cup continues to fascinate and hopefully the increase in goals scored today and yesterday will shut up any remaining detractors. I still really can't get my head around the arguments that this World Cup has failed to 'come to life' (how many times have I read that phrase this week?). It has been engaging, surprising (at times) and there has been a decent amount of good football. I have a sneaky feeling that a lot of those complaining don't actually watch that many games. Football is definitely not always a high-skill, high-scoring affair. Appreciating the other parts of the game is what really makes people fall in love with the sport.

I'm looking forward to having a good look at France tonight. I missed their opener against Uruguay back last week when I briefly flirted with the idea of having a life beyond the World Cup. I didn't miss much by all accounts. They'll have to up their game against Mexico and both sides are now under a lot of pressure to take the three points following Uruguay's convincing victory over South Africa last night. I know that most Irish people will be Mexican for the night but I'm not going to weigh into that debate again. What's done is done.

I'm contemplating going on a trip with Adventure Korea again for the weekend of my birthday but it's also the last weekend of the World Cup. The closing games will be at 3.30am in Korea - not too accessible with work on Monday morning but there's no way I'll be missing the World Cup final. I think my schedule is pretty easy again at that stage anyway - maybe I have one class in the morning or something. Can't complain with that. The trip is to Seonyudo Island and looks really amazing. If I could convince a few mates to come along then it'd be really cool but I know everyone has different financial demands and priorities over the summer so we'll see. I'm also thinking about going to both Jisan and Pentaport rock festivals but not going away anywhere during my three weeks off in August. Have a couple of grand to shell out for my thesis in September so there has to be a cap on the fun at some point.

Anyway, still more than an hour before kick-off between France V Mexico. I'm going to predict a draw for this one and real pressure on France going into their final group match against South Africa. I haven't been doing too badly with my predictions thus far but I'm still glad I'm not a betting man because I get my fair share wrong too! To those of you not interested in football I promise I'll blog about other things at some point. The findings of the Saville Inquiry represented a big day for Derry and for truth and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Tensions continue to simmer between the Koreas. The World still doesn't seem clear on how to best deal with the global debt crisis. I'll come to all those things in time. For now it's hard to see beyond the World Cup or the throbbing pain in my right knee.