Saturday's Football pieces - oh dear edition

The England team's pitiful performance last night leaves it in need of a decisive win on Wednesday, against the only team in the group that has so far won a game. If that wasn't pressure enough the weight of the press (tabloid and respectable) must be suffocating as not a kind word can be found about the team they are supposed to be supporting.

One fan took it on himself last night to burst into the team's dressing room to give them a piece of his mind, which is generous as he didn't have much to spare for himself. Good hearted I call it. He was most likely only able to get through security because it's on strike.

Meanwhile Wayne Rooney is taking up much of the column inches as he decided to publicly rebuke fans for being less than supportive of the national team. Fans responded with drivel like "He's paid millions to be a role model and I've come a long way for this so I expect him to win all the games he plays in and behave himself while thousands of people heap scorn upon him as he sees his World Cup dreams dashed."

Basically I'm with Wayne on this one. England fans and the press do everything they can to demoralise their team. If you want working class footballers to reply to the boos and hisses with a smile and a bland salute then you'll be waiting a long time for that. Good on him. You can't win games with all stick and no carrot.

• Disgracefully the Vuvuzela has been banned from Cardiff. That's Welsh culture you're messing with!


• Those who risk their lives to watch the Cup in Somalia.


• The strikes have spread to half the venues where cops have replaced stewards.


• The Guardian argues that football banning orders are out of control.
  
  
• The Algerian team psyched themselves up for the game by watching Battle of Algiers.