The minnows have real bite now

IT SEEMS strange not to have any of the usual suspects – Brazil, Germany or Spain – in this final week of the tournament but it shows how fast the gap is closing.

The big guns have gone out and the so-called “cannon fodder” have got results you would not expect.

The coaching of these smaller teams has been key. Carlos Queiroz at Iran for example – what a job he has done! They played good attacking football, defended well and pushed Portugal all the way. South Korea beating Germany was a huge shock, to see Spain struggle was something nobody expected and Brazil, too, losing to Belgium.

It is great to see and shows you where we are at in world football.

We lost to Iceland two years ago and were mortified. We said we should never be losing to a team like Iceland, but why not if you don’t do things right?

The structure in some of these smaller countries is good and they are producing really good teams right through the age ranges. For my money, Germany are the ones who will definitely use this World Cup as their own personal ‘Iceland’. They are not used to going out in the group stage and it is a bitter pill.

Still, manager Joachim Low remains the right man for the job, he will know the youngsters to bring in and they will be strong next time around. It is not so certain how Brazil and Spain will react. The bottom line is that winning matches at major tournaments can no longer be taken for granted and the standard is improving so much that perhaps a 48-team World Cup isn’t such a bad idea.

My initial thought was it is going to be too much; but when you get to a World Cup and see the spectacle of all the teams coming together, perhaps it can only do football good.

That way, some of my mates north of the border might finally get to share in the fun again, too!