I know it's old news by now, but I ought to briefly offer my belated congratulations to England for qualifying for the quarter-finals of this year's World Cup where we will meet the winners of Brazil v Belgium. Saturday's second round 3-0 victory over Denmark was a strange game, as without particularly playing that well (in my opinion) it was a relatively straightforward win against a disappointing Denmark team who seemed to lack the guile and belief to exploit our increasingly sloppy defending. Not that I'm totally defeatist about our prospects against (in all probability) Brazil, who looked vulnerable defensively against poor opposition in their qualifying group. Whatever, if it happens, England v Brazil is likely to be one of the most memorable games of an already exceptional tournament.

Related link: Peter Schmeichel - Nervous Danes architects of own downfall (The Times, may require [free] registration).