Planet World Cup

Tall tales of Tallaght "The 'Tallaght Tiger', as he is known, having grown up in that rough area of Dublin where surviving is in itself an achievement . . "

ABC, the Spanish newspaper, with a delightful insight into Robbie Keane's background. (Thank you Ian.)

". . . the district of Tallagh (sic), to the north of Dublin, an inhospitable place that is the source of very serious problems, so much so the drivers of the urban buses refused one day to cover the route there. Keane, one more of the hard boys of Tallagh . . ."

El Pais, the Spanish newspaper, with another "insight" into Keane's background.

An appalling vista

Last year, Anne The Weakest Link Robinson upset the entire population of Wales by making rude comments about them, but BBC radio presenter John Humphrys equalised, with a spectacular goal, for his fellow country people on the eve of England's game against Denmark. According to the Guardian, Humphrys told the audience at a Scottish Business Achievement Trust charity lunch in Edinburgh that he would find it "unbearable" if England were to repeat their 1966 success, and asked them: "Can you imagine what it would be like living in London if that bunch of precious, overpaid tossers win the World Cup?" A spokeswoman for the event revealed that the comments were "greeted with cheers by a number of the distinguished guests".

Can footballers read?

Internet book-selling people Amazon, who describe themselves as the "Official Entertainment Supplier to the England Football Team", have very kindly sent Sven's lads a bunch of goodies to while away their free time at the World Cup. Included in the shipment were the following titles: Berlin: the Downfall, 1945, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, The Floating Brothel and Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps. The one, though, we reckon they'll really fight over is How to Be a Gardener, Book One.

World Cup Speak

"Grown-ups who are losing their confidence amid uncertain society must have felt encouraged by watching cool young players who have their hair dyed red and blonde."

- Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the impact the national team's success might have on the country. And you thought it was only a game?

"A player as important as Eusebio told me that he had known Joao Pinto since he was a boy, and came to ask me not to report what I had to report."

- Referee Angel Sanchez gets the Portuguese legend into a spot of bother after revealing he tried to persuade him not to report Pinto for punching him in the ribs.

"It was so exciting I almost forgot to breathe."

- Japanese woman interviewed on local television after the hosts' win over Tunisia.

What's in a name?

The BBC has issued an apology for the wacky subtitles, provided by their speech recognition machine, that appeared on its teletext service during the Portugal v Poland group game. Referee Hugh Dallas became "Huge Dallas", Portugal's Jao Pinto appeared as "So Pointed" and Polish goalkeeper Jerzey Dudek was renamed "Dudeback". Superb. And less of your Gazza jokes please.

Background noise

According to the Sunday People, English radio station Talksport's World Cup coverage is taken from television monitors, so they need to use "canned" crowd noises to add a bit of atmosphere. That, then, the paper explained, is why listeners could hear the "crowd" at the Costa Rica v Brazil game singing "Here we go, here we go, here we go".

News of Japan's demise exaggerated

Oh ye of little faith, Japan's fans were entitled to say to the country's biggest news agency, Kyodo News, after it issued the following headline following Japan's 2-0 win over Tunisia: "Tragedy in Osaka . . . Japan's dreams shattered with triumph in sight". The headline had been prepared in advance and appeared on a number of Japanese websites. It was finally removed, three hours later, and the agency issued an apology.

Caveat Italia

Italians consumer association Codacons has announced it intends to sue the linesman who disallowed a goal against Mexico in the group stages. "It is very evident from the TV footage that Inzaghi's goal was perfectly legitimate. We will make an appeal to the Italian law on behalf of Italy's supporters," they announced, adding that they would be looking for £641,030 in compensation from Malaysian Mat Lazim Awang Hamat for ruling Filippo Inzaghi's goal offside.